Sorting out an issue with the Oxford Hot Grips - the left keeps coming loose. It was too loose a fit on the bars and despite using plenty of superglue it still breaks free, the latest time was just after coming back from the SI trip. This is the third time I've glued it on, hopefully it's the last...
I've increased bar diameter by using a rolled 0.10 mm shim. The shim material was bought through Blackwoods Protector, but it's widely available as kits at most engineering supplies shops - you get an envelope of common thicknesses. Marking and cutting was as simple as ruler, Sharpie and tin snips, rolling was done with a screwdriver clamped in the bench vise and bare hands.
I didn't manage to photo the gluing process due to having no time before the superglue would start setting, but here's the rough sequence:
Get shim fitted about 1/4 way into grip
Put glue on outside surface of shim, compress shim, push shim into grip
Dribble glue down split line of shim inside grip, run a ring of glue around inner perimeter of shim, then rapidly push shim onto bar
Wipe any excess off.
I wore safety glasses and gloves for all this of course (way too easy to glue fingers together or eyes shut etc) and had cheapo bath towels down over the bike's bodywork.
This done I then left it well alone while the glue set. It's very tempting to see it it's gone solid immediately after placing it by twisting the thing in order the test the strength of the bond, but if it breaks free, it'll never set properly. I'll be able to test it out next time I ride.
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