Derrailleur bonheur!

It's amazing what you can achieve with an allen key. I didn't have much time at the weekend for mucking around with bike repairs, but I did go to the Spittalfields agricultural show (yes, it's the London event of the year!) and there the kindly folks from the London Cycling Campaign were in evidence. They showed me around a derailleur and gently pointed out that the whole apparatus could be "swung" around the frame, and that possibly my derailleur had simply slipped and that was why it was scraping against the chain.

Sure enough, early this morning I got to do a bit of fiddling - and lo and behold the problem seems to have miraculously gone away! How amazingly satisfying to feel that you've carried out a (albeit minor) bike repair on your own, not spent your money, and got a good result.

The words of the Jabberwock were on my brain when I cycled down the canal this morning:

"Oh frabjous day, callou callay!"

I haven't quite slain the Jabberwock - but I've moved on to first base when it comes to repairs!

My derailleur has become a pain in my derriere

Yup - I went over some nasty bumps as I walked the bike along by the house-boats in Little Venice - and when I got back on my trusty steed, there were the tell-tale signs. My chain was "whirring" whenever I pedalled. I couldn't get into my third set of gears. And the clearest sign of all? I was rapidly losing my temper and therefore my karma. To cap it all, when I stopped and then re-started, sometimes my pedal would be "loose" and I'll whack my nether regions into the saddle. Pain.

Anyway - I've tried shoving the wretched thing across, but to no avail. I now need some advice on how to bring it back to a more workable state. Anyone an expert on derailleurs? Otherwise I'd better do some investigations.

Karma rating: poor.