Small Hands, Rejoice! 🙌
Ways of adjusting your Brompton brake levers
TL;DR - you're looking at the new part-time Operations Manager & Marketing Officer of Herne Hill Velodrome
This past week I have been riding my e-Brompton like never before. From Leyton to Dulwich, my hands are being held in a pilloried position that's very un-ergonomic, and I now have a sharp pain in my left wrist. This discomfort has motivated me to seek out mods.
Modifications are something that I never really did to my bikes. I always just "put up with it", which I think comes from being taught by society that the way things are are the way they are supposed to be, and to be quiet, stay small, and don't make a fuss. But pain is a great motivator. It's the reason why LBK has a saddle library in the first place (I was the first customer), and now I am making modifications to my Brompton handlebars to see if I can heal quickly.
On the Brompton I have done two things:
1) I rotated the handlebars about 2 degrees backwards, so that they were closer to my body. I can’t go too far, otherwise the bars will stick out when it’s folded.
2) I screwed in the lever grub screws to bring the brake levers closer to the bars.
I wish I had done both of these things sooner! My wrists feel so much more comfortable, and I hope the damage I have done recovers quickly. One should not need piano player hands to reach your brake levers. My journey is a long one, and I will probably be taking public transport for some of it (shh don't tell anyone). I’m also going to move the brake levers up a smidge (again, the fold prevents any drastic changes, but I’m gonna do what I can.)
I’ve also started to go on deep dives on how to modify other parts of Uhura (that’s her name). Next up will be those rinky dinky rack wheels - I’m checking out these light up dynamo powered scooter wheels although first I need to figure out if I’m going to get heel strike.
Are you rocking your bike’s original kit or are you a mod?
NEW CLASSES UP
Classes are up for September, with more weekday evening dates to come. Get in touch if there's a class you'd like to take, but it's not on a day/time that works for you. We can try to schedule one in the future that suits you.
Brompton Puncture Repairs
Sunday 22 September 10am - 1pm
Introduction to Maintenance
Sunday 15 September 10am - 1pm
Saturday 28 September 10am - 1pm
Introduction to Indexing Gears
Saturday 21 September 10am - 1pm
How to Change a Chain & Cassette
Saturday 7 September 10am - 1pm
Emergency Roadside Repairs
Saturday 14 September 10am - 1pm
Saturday 12 October 10am - 1pm
How to Pack & Rebuild Your Bike for Travel
New class idea: Speedy Triathlon Puncture Repairs
Triathletes are under a different kind of pressure during their races: they have to fix their own mechanicals. So if you get a puncture you better know how to fix one! But also, time is of the essence. So I'm working on some class content that will teach you how to patch a tube the fast way, tips/tricks on how to get a wheel, tyre, and tube out-n-in fast, and time to practice under supervision.
I'm also testing this newfangled rechargeable bike pump from Cycplus. I will have a review out soon, and if I like it we will do a pre-sale with discount.
They are not cheap, but they are much better for the environment than CO2 cartridges, and much easier on your arms than a mini-pump. I have high hopes.
You’re so beautiful, you could be a part-time Operations Manager & Marketing Officer at Herne Hill Velodrome
If you've been reading past newsletters, you'll know that I've been having a bit of a year: Towards the beginning of 2024 it was becoming apparent that LBK was losing money from the repairs workshop, so as a team we slowly made plans to close it and then reopen the DIY space. The repair workshop closed the 31st of May and we launched our crowdfund the first week of June. At the same exact time, my flat's landlord informed us she was going to raise our £1250/mo rent to £1950/mo (a 60% increase!) and my partner and I couldn't afford a jump that big (we're both bike mechanics and we all know there's no money in bikes).
So two unexpected things happened this summer: 1) I was going to have to move and 2) I was going to have to get a second job to afford this new place. LBK had paid me just enough to afford my old rent plus some food and the occasional treat. With the way rents have been rising, we had been running on fumes and it was only a matter of time until our luck ran out.
I went into hyperfocus mode and eventually found a cute (read: smol) 1 bedroom in Leyton. I also went into 2nd hyperfocus compartmentalising mode and started looking for part time jobs. A chance discussion with a friend revealed that Herne Hill Velodrome was hiring, so I applied and got an interview.
Moving date was set: my birthday, August 3rd. And then another spanner was thrown into the works: food poisoning. In a blessed moment, it didn't hit until after my interview at Herne Hill Velodrome. But I was supposed to spend July on two things: LBK's DIY workshop and decluttering / packing up a 2 bedroom into a 1 bedroom. Life instead decided I would spend it in bed and on the loo. I finally got it under control with Russian drugs (thank you Enterosgel!) and I packed the house in one traumatising week. It felt like we were decluttering at the edge of a cliff.
July was also spent on tenterhooks as to whether or not I would be able to afford the new flat (rent is £1700/mo, which is better than £1950 but still quite high). So it was a bit of a hail mary signing the contract, but I had faith in myself and my abilities and it paid off. I got the job.
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A part of me feels guilty. It says I should solely focus all my time and energy into LBK and figuring out how to make it work. But I've spent 12 years doing that and I'm also running on fumes. Rather than burn out and throw in the towel completely, why not make it a side hustle again?
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Another part of me feels shame. I fucked up. It's my fault that all of this is happening.
This is a very narcissistic thought. It's also very oppressive. I have taken on the role of judge/jury/executioner and have decided that I solely had the power to control everything that was happening. While not true, it's a repetitive habitual thought, the first and loudest in my brain. It also makes me feel awful, which is weird - why do I enjoy returning to self-flagellation? (Where my ex-Catholics at?) And from that feeling I hide myself away. So who benefits when I hide? Who benefits when I keep myself small? Who benefits when I don't experiment, don't persist, don't put myself out there? I can tell you right now that it's certainly not me, and probably not you either, dear reader.
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Life is not linear. It's an interconnected mesh of flesh, emotions, thoughts, and actions that create a feedback system that pinballs around and you have NO idea where anything will land or where the next ball is coming from. My hope is that by having a stable income from another source, it will free my emotions from feeling fight/flight/freeze/fawn when running a business that is seasonally temperamental and increasingly at the whims of lobbyists, economists, and politicians.
To not worry about whether or not I can pay my rent or put food on the table is a gift.
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I was afraid of writing and sending out this newsletter, but I believe in transparency. Silvi and I are still working on DIY workshop development, but since we are now both employed elsewhere, it's become a side project. To that end, we will probably be hiring another person who would also like a part-time teaching job here at LBK.
I will still be writing this newsletter twice a month as I love it so very much. It's my creative outlet and I love it when the muse takes hold and words spill forth from my fingertips. I don't know when they'll come out, hopefully I'll find a routine in the next month or so, after I figure out my route and get comfortable.
I will also be doing some writing for HHV, in the form of a personal journey of how to get into Cyclocross. Stay tuned for that.
Maybe public opinion on Gaza is slowly changing (last week we heard from the pope and James O’Brien), but it honestly can't change fast enough. The US is still sending money and weapons to Israel, defying the ICJ's rulings; the UK has spoken about halting them, but their actions speak louder than words.
More dangerous than AIPAC are the white Christian Nationalists enabling the relationship between the US and Israel. I watched Praying for Armageddon over the weekend and I found it concerning. The use of religion to justify cruelty, theft, colonisation, and war is a tale as old as time. What we are witnessing in Gaza is what happened to indigenous populations as Western Imperialism spread throughout the world. I highly recommend watching it, it's available for free on the BBC iplayer.
I wonder why I love documentaries and prefer them to fiction (except for Star Trek).
Ride on,
Jenni x
You don’t need me to say this, Jenni, but you & the LBK crew are incredible and you absolutely need to do whatever’s right for you - god knows it’s hard enough surviving in London even if you’re on a “comfortable” salary! Hope Leyton is treating you all well.
Also thanks for the Brompton hints. There may be one on the cards for me in the near future 👀 which may be dangerous for me as a chronic part-replacer!