GH>I'm gonna let a professional shop do the crank bearings, headset bearings,
GH>new chain, and to take a good look at the rear cog. If I need a new cog,
GH>fine.
Maybe steel alloys have gotten a lot better since I was riding in
the 70s, but back then, if you put a hard season on a chain, you
knew it had stretched, and therefore worn different spacings into
the rear cogs.  So when you replaced the chain you also replaced
the freewheel.  The only exception I ever saw was a freewheel
called a Regina Oro -- I went thru two chains before I had to
replace it.
But maybe the steels are better now.
Anyway, if you have 4000 miles on your chain and cog, I would just
replace them both, on general principles.  if you put a new chain
on a worn freewheel, the chain will hop around and not shift right.
I used to think of this as an opportunity rather than an expense.
After all, you know very well which gears you use all the time.
If you know that there are three gears you spend most of your time
in, you could build a new freewheel with five narrowly spaced gears
in that same range.
GH>In addition, I have Shimano 105 STI and it has 2 chainrings on the front.
GH>I've seen new bikes spec'd with 3 chainrings with the 105 STI, so I'll 
check
GH>with my bike shop to see if they can retro-fit the 3 chainring onto it..
GH>It'll make it easier for hills. :-)
I used to ride in the era when there was no such thing as a 28-tooth
front ring.  I liked to ride in the mountains, and I coulda used
them stump-puller gears!
GH>I noticed the bike was getting slightly louder then normal, so I cleaned 
t
GH>all up yesterday using that Finish Line chain cleaner. It came out really 
nic
GH> and
GH>sounds so much better now, but I'll still have the shop look it all over..
The best chain lube I know of is motorcycle chain lube.  It sometimes
comtains Teflon or synthetic greases, but the main ingredient is
molybdenum disulfide.  Moly-di is a metal salt that presses itself
into the microscopic hills and valleys in the chain's metal parts, and
reduces friction dramatically.  You just spray a teeny bit onto each
chain link, wipe off all exccess, and let the volatile carrier solvents
evaporate.  Do this every few months, and you'll notice that the chain
runs almost silently.
 * SLMR 2.1a * Marriage is like a novel, except the hero dies right away
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