Advocacy Ride: Tiklop's Sikad Aklatan Ride

Tiklop Society of the Philippines is a group of decent folding bike enthusiasts that regularly holds rides that have a deeper purpose. Last July 8, 2012, we rode to support a worthy cause, that of Mang Nanie Guanlao's Reading Club 2000. His mission is elegantly simple: to give books to anyone who wants them, free of charge. Some say that in this world, nothing is free. Well these books are free for the taking. If you see one you like, take it, it's yours. Ideally you should be donating books as well to get the system going, but Mang Nanie thinks that this is not necessary. In his experience, there is a shortage of book donations from kind hearted donors.  With the high cost of books right now, this is a refreshing concept that should be taken advantage of by kids, teens and adults. That is, if we can wean them away from internet cafes, iPads and cellphones. A Quixotic venture, perhaps, but then again illiteracy is not just a windmill in our minds, but a dragon that must be slayed.

  

This ride was largely organized by TSP's Saddles of Advocacy (heads of the Advocacy Committee), Haze Frias and Ged Hidalgo. Mike Frias also assisted in the groundwork. The idea is to collect as much books as we can and deliver it to the Reading Club 2000 Library.

86 Tiklop members attended the ride, each one bringing a bag of used books, some more than others. These were loaded onto the TSP Truck which took care of the hauling.










Meet the youngest member who attended this ride. Kulas, all of 6 years old.

 Off we went, out into the morning sun at the BGC area.

Herding 86 riders in a tight group safely is not easy. At TSP we have devised a set of Riding rules and a marshal team to keep the group as safe as possible. In this photo, Mike D of the Rides Committee is seen shepherding the group through a busy intersection.

 Top: TSP in 3's formation at the BGC area.

Middle: We chanced upon this dog taking its master for a stroll.

Left: Single file formation is ideal for busy narrow streets.

When we reached Mang Nanie's place at Balagtas Street in Makati, we unloaded the truck 'bucket brigade' style.

Reading Club 2000's library was originally within the house, at the garage. Now because of the many books that are coming in, the shelves have spilled out onto the sidewalk. Easier access though for those who want books as it is accessible 24/7.

The Club, aside from books, also needs used tarps to cover the books when it rains. That's me in the orange shirt talking to Mang Nanie Guanlao.

All in all, it was a great day for riding and giving. Literacy is an advocacy that we should all support, as it is one of the foundations of our country's strengths. Mabuhay po kayo Mang Nanie and the Reading Club 2000!


NOTES:
- Mang Nanie Guanlao's Reading Club 2000 is located at Balagtas Street at Barangay La Paz, Makati City.
- If you would like to donate, he accepts books and used tarpaulins for rain protection.
- Everyone and anyone is encouraged to pick out books and take them home for free.
- Here is a good article on Mang Nanie's advocacy:
- Tiklop Society of the Philippines is an organization that promotes the use of folding bikes as a means to achieve more sustainable living in the cities. we ride often at an average of 4 times a week, and we organize rides that have meaning beyond biking. We like to think that with every pedal stroke we make and every time we fold our bikes, we make the world a little better. If interested in joining, please look up Tiklop Society of the Philippines at Facebook.
- All photos taken by Pio Fortuno Jr.

Strip Show: Overhauling Broomhilda's Internal Gear Hub

Broomhilda's rear hub acted up - making grinding noises with awful shifting and when freewheeling. (Broomhilda is one of my folding bikes, a mid-2000 New York black 6 speed Brompton). I opened it up and saw that the culprit was a slightly deformed bearing race and in it, somewhat worn bearings. Time to overhaul this baby, a SRAM Spectra T3 3-speed hub.

Hubstripping is easier than it looks, but you have to be tedious and methodical. Note the order in which you take off the parts - it is best to put them in all in a line so you know the sequence. Be careful of flying springs when you first open the hub. Take a picture if you can, better yet let somebody take it for you as your hands will be really greasy. In this photo, I already know which goes where so the parts are kinda mixed up.

This is a closeup view of the hub's internals. It is bathing in kerosene to clean out the old gunk. Kerosene leaves a thin film of lubricant on the metal surfaces as well, which is a good thing. The hub's internals were regreased with a mid-weight oil for the gears/pawls area and heavier lithium grease at the bearings. Care must be taken not to smear the pawls with grease, or they won't engage properly.





 The SRAM T3 hub has a lot of small parts. When I first overhauled this back in 2008, I left out a small part (size of a fat toothpick) and it wouldn't work at all. It took me more than a day to figure it out.







The bearing retainer in my hand was a bit misaligned, and the ball bearings in it were misshapen. A replacement bearing race from SRAM would take weeks to arrive here so I went to the local bearing shop and got a bunch of 3/16" precision bearings. The trick is to slather on a layer of grease so that the bearings would stay put when you reassemble the hub. 26 bearings were used, almost filling the hub flange - you need to leave space so they can roll around. Lithium grease was used, it is great for metal to metal lubrication.

 

The Brompton becomes its own repair stand while the rear wheel is off. Note that the rear mudguard flap is missing - I discovered this a day after this photo was taken during a ride. Tiklopistas, always inspect your bike's bolts regularly and tighten loose items so stuff won't fall off while you bike.

My son testing the rebuilt hub. It was clunky at first because of the viscous grease but rode better with time as the grease was sheared between the metal surfaces. Note my son's smile - the spawn wants a Brompton!

Blogger's Note: This was written in 2010. Since then, the spawn was given his own Brompton, a green one.