The Bike is OOC

Posted by on Sep 7, 2009 in Bicycle Parts, Bike Maintenance, Blog | 9 comments

I drove up to my mom’s house for the holiday weekend and as I always do when I’m up there I use my dad’s shop to give my bike a thorough cleaning and tune up. It’s been a month since I’ve done it and I could really tell on my last couple of rides that things felt a little out of sorts. Little did I know how out of sorts they were.

The first thing I always do is give the bike a good cleaning to get all the road grime and build up off. While doing it this time I went ahead and took apart the chain rings and rear derailleur to clean them well. With the rear derailleur off I discovered my first problem. The derailleur hangar has a crack in it. Luckily, my hangar is the replaceable type so it’s done it’s job in not letting the frame crack. The bad part is that it needs to be replaced. I had actually broken my first hangar after only having my bike a few months because of a bad shift. It looks like this crack was a product of age and/or fatigue. I know I’d probably crack under the pressure of carrying an elephant around.

One of the last things I do is clean my rims and the front rim was the last one to get cleaned this morning and it held the last surprise. One of the spokes looks like it’s pulling through the rim and on the break surface side the rim is splitting apart. Not good and actually very dangerous should the rim have decided to fail while riding. I had replaced my rear rim about a year ago due to a similar problem (although the front rim is in much worse condition) so I was probably due to replace the front anyway. It is the original after all.

So, with those two problems it looks like I won’t be cycling until I can get them fixed and I’m not sure when I’ll be able to. Truthfully, I was actually worried something like this might happen with all the riding I’ve been doing but I think the bike held up pretty good considering its age and my weight. I’ll probably take it to the bike shop tomorrow to get an estimate on a rim, hangar, and a few other things that need to be done, and I’ll take it from there. It kinda sucks but I think my century ride is probably in jeopardy. It’s probably in jeopardy anyway if I end up getting the job I want back in Jacksonville.

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  • http://mildstallion.wordpress.com Al

    It sounds like you’re getting your money’s worth from Cannondale. Once you have it back it will ride like new. Nothing like new rims.

    If you miss the century that will be a bummer, but there will be more of them. Getting the job in Jacksonville trumps the century.

    The training done in preparation is what you probably needed more than anything else bike-wise. I guess the journey trumps the destination.

  • http://springfieldcyclist.com/ Tracy

    Things break…it’s a fact of cycling that the more and harder you ride your bike the more you’ve got to be on the lookout for problems before they happen. Sounds to me like you did good in that regard. Both your problems are easily fixable, but the wheel could be a little pricey.

    As for your training for the century, there’s no shame in knowing you’re not ready for the 100 miles. Maybe 100K (62 miles) is an option, or maybe you need to adjust your timeframe to better accomodate life.

    At any rate, you’ve made some gains cycling. The trick is to not lose the positive progress you’ve made and learn to incorporate those elements into a lifestyle that is sustainable. When you’ve done that, victory is at hand, regardless of whether you ride a century or not!

    Hang in there!

  • http://bikingtolive.com Bryan

    @Al: I agree that I am getting my money’s worth out of my bike. It’s just a shame that everything had to start breaking now. Oh well. Agreed, job in Jax trumps century every time.

  • http://roadtobikeacrosskansas.com Jackie

    That’s too bad about the bike, but luckily you caught it while you were off the bike. :) Hang in there, if you don’t make this century there will be others. Good luck on the job!!

  • andy

    get the shop to replace the hanger and adjust the trim on the der. for you for sure. a front wheel though is pretty cheap and if the lbs doesn’t carry an inexpensive option, rei or performance bike do. may not be what you want long term, but having a set of “rain wheels” or whatever you want to call them that are just beaters is a good thing. i’ve got a $100 cheap, heavy mavic rear spare that i can throw on the bike quick in the morning if i have an issue before my commute, or if i break a spoke, or whatever on the regular wheel.

    still reading backward through your posts here, but sounds like you’re earlier along on the same path I started a couple years ago. i’ve been riding just shy of 2 years (since a 20yr layoff) and dropped 60 lbs (dropped 55 before that walking) and have done 2 centuries this year. keep with it – it’s worth it!

  • retrogal

    Your post is very timely. I’ve noticed a lot of gunk building up on the chain and pretty much all over the bike. It’s time for a super cleaning. A job definitly trumps recreation. I’ve got my fingers crossed for you.

  • jaxgtr

    Hey Bryan, been a while I know, I recently got a new job and it very busy and lack of time to do much at night. I have a set of wheels that hang in my garage as backup that I would be willing to loan you if you end up back in town. Just let me know. I had to use them the other day and I popped one of the nipples so I am having them rebuilt with brass nipples and removing the alloy. They have been nice wheels and will hold my big behind, so your skinny behind should be no problem.

  • http://bikingtolive.com Bryan

    @jaxgtr: Congrats on the job. Thanks for the offer of wheels but the problem is that because my bike is older, and a 7 speed, the rear spacing is only 125mm which makes it incompatible with today’s newer systems. I’ve looked around for an older set of shimano 7 speed wheels for haven’t had much luck. I’m also hesitant of putting money into this bike when I may be better off served by putting the money towards something newer. I’m just going to wait and see how things shake out here in the near-term and take it from there. Unfortunately, I’m not riding right now and I can tell. I’m considering trying to do a little running but I’m not sure how that will work out physically on my ankles.

  • jaxgtr

    Oh yea, the 125mm is an issue, but you could widen the spacing in the interim, a couple of 2×4 and patience. :) . OK, well good luck and I completely understand the money issue and old bike, I am debating with my wife about the need for a new car. Mine is 12 yrs old and she wants me to get a new one and give my old one to my oldest son. I like my car, it runs great, why have a payment if I don’t need one. OK, have a nice day.

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