{"id":3132,"date":"2010-05-09T19:54:41","date_gmt":"2010-05-10T00:54:41","guid":{"rendered":"\/?p=3132"},"modified":"2010-05-13T07:19:22","modified_gmt":"2010-05-13T12:19:22","slug":"bearing-repairing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asiawheeling.com\/?p=3132","title":{"rendered":"Bearing Repairing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align:justify\">Sim City 2000 rang out once again, calling the AsiaWheeling team to  action. We didn&#8217;t even grab a cup of coffee, we just hopped on the cycles, bungee-ing\u00a0 our poor Speed TR\u2019s wounded front wheel onto the  back seat of Scott\u2019s\u00a0 rental bike. Our first stop was this  place, Top Cycle, rumored to be staffed by a knowledgeable Frenchman by the  name of Willy.<\/p>\n<iframe class=\"aw-video\" loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Travel video\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/PyEfK_PLWG0\" allow=\"fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\"><\/iframe>\n<p style=\"text-align:justify\">It was strange to see Scott on this  huge-wheeled rental cycle. The wheels seemed so big for a seat that was  so low. I was troubled by this new problem with Scott&#8217;s bike so soon  after our ill-fated adventures in Bangkok, but it felt good to wheel. And, man-o-man were we wheeling hard. A  good hard wheel always has a way of calming me down, putting things into  perspective and focus. Paired with a good cup of coffee, the cocktail is  downright miraculous.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:justify\">Well, the coffee was yet to come, but by that time we&#8217;d  arrived at Top Cycle. We thanked our lucky stars to find them open for  business. When a Caucasian fellow came out the front door, Scott asked &#8220;Are  you Willy?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:justify\">&#8220;Yes,&#8221; he answered in a thick French accent. We  explained our predicament, and Willy frowned down at the Speed TR\u2019s  dynamo hub. He began to unscrew the lid of the thing, murmuring in the  way only a Frenchman can when wrapping his mind around a new mechanism.  Very early on, he identified the bearing was indeed the problem, as our  fellow yesterday had hypothesized, and seemed to think it was a  reasonably standard size bearing.<\/p>\n<iframe class=\"aw-video\" loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Travel video\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/-5YWJs4J9mw\" allow=\"fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\"><\/iframe>\n<p style=\"text-align:justify\">&#8220;I think I can fix it, but  this wheel is very complex&#8230; I also will need to go to the Chinese  market and buy a bearing. Come back this evening. Maybe 4:30.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:justify\">Scott  and I could barely contain our glee, and headed off in search of  celebratory breakfasting, coffee, and some unexpectedly free wheeling.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4187649.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3256\" title=\"Breakfast\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4187649.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"525\" srcset=\"https:\/\/asiawheeling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4187649.jpg 700w, https:\/\/asiawheeling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4187649-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:justify\">What had yesterday seemed like an insurmountable problem was so  quickly solved! Once again the gods of wheeling had shown us mercy.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:justify\"><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4187651.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3257\" title=\"Eating Noodles\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4187651.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"525\" srcset=\"https:\/\/asiawheeling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4187651.jpg 700w, https:\/\/asiawheeling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4187651-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:justify\">Unfortunately, now it was a holiday Sunday, and when we stopped at a  local hotel to ask directions we were told COPE and MAG were closed.  Without the convenient folding capabilities of the Speed TR, catching a  bus to the gardens that Motta had suggested we wheel would also be  tough. I guess some good old-fashioned unplanned wheeling was the move,  then.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:justify\">Feeling like kings, we headed toward the Mekong and rode along it, making our way out of town. Scott&#8217;s bike featured a  special passenger seat over the rear tire, which when not occupied could  be used for extended rough rider calls. In honor of a good friend of  ours who goes by the peculiar name, G-Money, we indulged&#8230;<\/p>\n<iframe class=\"aw-video\" loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Travel video\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/sOdoO4RzWVo\" allow=\"fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\"><\/iframe>\n<p style=\"text-align:justify\">We wheeled out of town and into a  neighboring village perched on the banks of the Mekong, where we took  advantage of Scott&#8217;s rental bike&#8217;s large front basket to purchase a  gross of people&#8217;s waters. From there we took the road until it petered out  into more of a dirt path, where we stopped to drink water and chart our  next waypoint.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Crossroads\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4187662.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"525\"><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:justify\">From there, we wheeled away from the river, up  into the modest industrial quarter of Vientiane. We passed the giant  factory where all Lao\u2019s cigarettes are made, and for a while the  entirety of the countryside stank like a humidor. Past there we called a  random lichtenschtein onto farm roads, where we promptly got lost.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:justify\"><iframe class=\"aw-video\" loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Travel video\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/V0LWkIeK8WE\" allow=\"fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:justify\">By this point, the roads were made mostly  of packed dirt, with large inexplicable puddles forming major hazards  from time to time. We decided to rely on our compass and the kindness of  strangers in an attempt to cut through this stretch of agricultural  land back toward the city.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:justify\"><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4187679.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3261\" title=\"Goats\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4187679.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"525\" srcset=\"https:\/\/asiawheeling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4187679.jpg 700w, https:\/\/asiawheeling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4187679-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:justify\">Using the aforementioned aids,  we headed onto ever smaller and more treacherous tangled Lao farm roads.  My Speed TR did an admirable job of this totally off-road wheeling,  fording large mud puddles, and climbing through uphill stretches over  loose gravel and rotting farm waste.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:justify\">Soon enough the road started  to get bigger, and traffic started to appear in the opposite  direction. We had made it. We stopped for a celebratory snack at a  strange convenience store. I had a milk-box; Scott had a strawberry  chocolate ice-cream. The convenience store seemed to have been erected  in proximity to and in preparation for a giant real estate development that was springing up out of the rice paddies. It seemed this land  would soon be agricultural no longer. As dirt turned to gravel, and  gravel to road, we made our way back to that good old hamlet, Vientiane.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4187673.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3260\" title=\"Roundabout\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4187673.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"525\" srcset=\"https:\/\/asiawheeling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4187673.jpg 700w, https:\/\/asiawheeling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4187673-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:justify\">Willy was waiting with a smile with our wheel. &#8220;Good as new,&#8221; he explained. He  expressed some interest in the dynamo hub. \u201cIt\u2019s full of very strong  magnets,\u201d he explained, \u201cand though it\u2019s got a large coil inside, it is  not sealed.\u201d I asked what he meant by this, and he explained that the  interior of the wheel is merely covered by an aluminum cab, with no  rubber gaskets to ensure water does not get inside. Despite this, he  assured us that the interior of the wheel looked very clean and tidy,  except for the broken bearing. This was not too surprising, since we had just bought that wheel brand new to replace the one  destroyed in Scott\u2019s accident.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:justify\"><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4187690.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3264\" title=\"AsiaWheeling and Willy from Top Cycle Vientiane\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4187690.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"525\" srcset=\"https:\/\/asiawheeling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4187690.jpg 700w, https:\/\/asiawheeling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4187690-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:justify\">Though only one of the bearings  was broken, he replaced both. When we asked why, he said that the  default bearing in the wheel is a Chinese knock off. He showed us the  bearings that he put in. The brand was called NSK, and they said \u201cJapan\u201d  on the side. Most good bearings come from Japan, Germany, or  Switzerland, Willy explained. Here was your bearing, he held up an  almost identical looking bearing, \u201cNBK\u201d it said on it. \u201cThis is a Chinese copy bearing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4187727.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3273\" title=\"NSK Bearing\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4187727.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"525\" srcset=\"https:\/\/asiawheeling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4187727.jpg 700w, https:\/\/asiawheeling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4187727-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:justify\">Interesting&#8230; perhaps Scott\u2019s collision  with Motta in the lead-up to Pi Mai Lao had had nothing to do with the  bearing failing&#8230; more experimentation would be needed&#8230;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:justify\">Though  we could not test it right away, once we returned to the Heuan Lao\u00a0 Guesthouse we found the dynamo even still generated electricity. Top  Cycle? Giant AsiaWheeling seal of approval.<\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"color:#0000ee\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">That evening, we ventured out into the night and came across a popular restaurant in the north of the city, far off the beaten path we had been previously searching for food. \u00a0As we sat down, a bucket of burning coals came to seat in the center of our table.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color:#0000ee\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4187703.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3268\" title=\"Burning Coals\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4187703.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"525\" srcset=\"https:\/\/asiawheeling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4187703.jpg 700w, https:\/\/asiawheeling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4187703-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color:#0000ee\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">From there, a menu was brought, from which we ordered a number of meats and\u00a0vegetables\u00a0to pair with each other.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color:#0000ee\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4187706.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3269\" title=\"Beef\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4187706.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"525\" srcset=\"https:\/\/asiawheeling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4187706.jpg 700w, https:\/\/asiawheeling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4187706-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4187699.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3267\" title=\"Noodle Dish\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4187699.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"525\" srcset=\"https:\/\/asiawheeling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4187699.jpg 700w, https:\/\/asiawheeling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4187699-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color:#0000ee\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Next, a grilling and stewing structure was placed upon the coals for cooking the ingredients we ordered.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color:#0000ee\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Cooking Meat\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4187716.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"525\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"color:#0000ee\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">As the center of the\u00a0apparatus\u00a0grilled meat, the juice ran down into the sides of the platter, mixing the fatty oils with the boiling greens. <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<iframe class=\"aw-video\" loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Travel video\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/xQSqZ5r3YR4\" allow=\"fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\"><\/iframe>\n<div style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"color:#0000ee\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">We continued to add beef and pork to the dome, and enjoy the greens, which were being cooked on the sides.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"color:#0000ee\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Lao Hot Pot\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4187713.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"525\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color:#0000ee\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Finally, after a drawn out and fantastic meal, we cleared the grill and laid back. <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4197729.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3274\" title=\"All Done\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4197729.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"525\" srcset=\"https:\/\/asiawheeling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4197729.jpg 700w, https:\/\/asiawheeling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/P4197729-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color:#0000ee\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> The day had begun in a mode of intense focus and concern, and now all was well. \u00a0We had experienced the outskirts of the city, repaired a bicycle, and discovered a local specialty. \u00a0The next day was to be yet another adventure, where we were to venture again into Thailand en route to Cambodia.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color:#0000ee\"><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sim City 2000 rang out once again, calling the AsiaWheeling team to action. We didn&#8217;t even grab a cup of coffee, we just hopped on the cycles, bungee-ing\u00a0 our poor Speed TR\u2019s wounded front wheel onto the back seat of Scott\u2019s\u00a0 rental bike. Our first stop was this place, Top Cycle, rumored to be staffed [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,38,6,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-asia","category-lao","category-scott","category-woody"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/asiawheeling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/asiawheeling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/asiawheeling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asiawheeling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asiawheeling.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3132"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/asiawheeling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3132\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3281,"href":"https:\/\/asiawheeling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3132\/revisions\/3281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/asiawheeling.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asiawheeling.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asiawheeling.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}