R.I.P.
I did not intend to write today. After all, I wrote entries both for this blog and for Random Reviewer yesterday.
But something happened this morning, and it just can’t wait.
I Briefly Consider Myself an Accomplished Downhiller
I’ve started attacking the climb on my commute each morning. It’s about four miles, 1500 feet of climbing. I’m trying to re-learn to ride at threshold. It’s a painful skill, but incredibly valuable if you’re going to race.
Today, the climb went well. I suffered the whole way up, but did not crack. I was pleased; how could I not be?
Feeling good, I hit the downhill hard and fast, and it wasn’t long ‘til I was spun out. I looked at my speedometer: 52.2mph. Considering that I was wearing a bike messenger bag and was not in any kind of tuck, that’s pretty danged fast.
I said to myself, “I should write a blog entry about how I’ve learned to be a fast, fearless descender on the road. I’ll find a self-deprecating angle, but will nevertheless make it clear that I’m a force to be reckoned with.”
All Hell Breaks Loose
That’s when the bike started shaking side to side. No, not shimmying. Not wobbling. Shaking. Shaking hard.
I went for the brakes and slowed the bike down a bit.
The shaking continued. In fact, it got worse.
I kept braking. The bike was now shaking so hard that both the water bottles were flung from their cages.
I remember very clearly saying aloud, “I’m going down.”
But I didn’t. I managed to bring the bike to a stop. Even at slow speed, though, the bike kept shaking.
I sat on the guardrail, adrenaline making me completely unfit to ride.
I looked over at my bike. This is what I saw:
OK. Well, that explains things.
A wave of nausea hit me as I realized exactly how close to dying I had just come: My downtube had snapped at 50mph.
Wait a second, I think I need to emphasize that a little more strongly:
My downtube snapped at 50mph.
How to Ride a Bike with a Broken Downtube
I went and collected my waterbottles, sat down on the guardrail, and thought for a moment. I was eight miles into a twenty mile commute. I had a broken downtube. What should I do?
Gingerly, I climbed back onto the bike. To my pleasure and relief, it held my weight. May as well finish that ride into work.
Here are some observations I have about riding a road bike with a broken downtube:
- When you’re off the bike, the break in the downtube merely looks like a crack. When you’re on the bike, there’s a gap of about 3/4 inch.
- A road bike with a broken downtube steers very much like a boat.
- A road bike with a broken downtube is very vertically compliant. Really absorbs the road vibration, bumps, everything. It feels just like a full-suspension mountain bike, really.
- Looking down at a big jagged gap in your downtube is not confidence-inspiring. I rode the rest of the commute at about 10mph. This affected my average speed significantly.
Goodbye, Old Friend
I’ve had that Ibis Ti Road for nine years. I planned to keep it forever. I still might, but more in a hanging-in-the-garage way than in a ride-it-til-I’m-old-and-gray way.
On the positive side, I now have the best possible reason to buy a new road bike. The shopping has already begun. Suggestions are welcome.
PS: Note to road bike manufacturers: There has never been a better time to step forward and get actively involved with the Fat Cyclist blog.
Comment by Unknown | 07.6.2006 | 4:46 pm
I broke a downtube on my old racing bike. It cracked about halfway through, but I noticed it and stopped before it separated completely. Still, it was a sad day. That was the bike I rode when I was a Cat 2 racer back in the ’70s. And I still have it, even if I can never ride it again.
Comment by Random Reviewer | 07.6.2006 | 4:58 pm
excellent. some cultures make you go out in the woods and kill a bear or a tiger to become a man. around these parts, you ride 50mph with a snapped downtube. you may now pass into the west.
i suggest the orbea orca. i’m partial to the orange/black, but the green/black is also just outstanding.
Comment by Karen | 07.6.2006 | 5:33 pm
Very nice save. Reminds me of the time that bikehubby was in front of me, at 55 miles per hour, when he started braking and steering erratically. I thought ‘Huh. I didn’t see him drink any beer before we left.’ Turns out that the stem bolts snapped, leaving him….well, one bolt short of a stem. However, I think he did it on purpose, because I was the one that had to cut my ride short and go back to the car so I could pick him up. Thank goodness you didn’t wimp out like he did, as it would have shattered my vision of you as a biker. Oh, wait, your hair review in random review did that. Nevermind.
Comment by Unknown | 07.6.2006 | 5:42 pm
HOLY CRAP! It’s funny we talked about incapacitating amounts of adrenaline on our ride last Saturday. Be honest. After you got the bike stopped were you still shaking as badly as when you were going 50 mph?
I think you just inspired me to replace my road bikes every 4 years.
dug, that’s brilliant (please note the intense flattery).
Botched
P.S. So, how you getting home?
Comment by Unknown | 07.6.2006 | 5:47 pm
I echo the Orbea recomendation. I ride an 05 Orbea Dauphine and I turn heads. It’s nice not having the same bike everyone else has, and the hand painted frames are beautiful.Oh, it rides well too, but who cares about that?
Comment by Jsun | 07.6.2006 | 6:06 pm
That’s the perfect bike to give away to LT100 weight-loss criterium winner.
You have just given away the secret to writing the world’s favorite blog by posting this statement
I said to myself, “I should write a blog entry about how I’ve learned to be a fast, fearless descender on the road. I’ll find a self-deprecating angle, but will nevertheless make it clear that I’m a force to be reckoned with.”I said to myself, “I should write a blog entry about how I’ve learned to be a fast, fearless descender on the road. I’ll find a self-deprecating angle, but will nevertheless make it clear that I’m a force to be reckoned with.”
Now, how do I use this new knowledge to take over trhe world
Comment by James | 07.6.2006 | 6:19 pm
Two other ways to think of it:- You very nearly met your goal of keeping that bike "forever" (which we all know means "until it becomes part of my estate") in a rather unexpected way- You very nearly deprecated yourself six feet down, bud.Any evidence that it was a pre-existing crack that you didn’t notice? IANA materials guy, but in that case I think part of the fracture area will be bright (where the two cracked sides polished each other over time) and part will be rough (where the material failed suddenly).
Comment by barry1021 | 07.6.2006 | 6:38 pm
Holy S__t!! I guess the biking lords were sitting on your shoulder! Have you seen that video of the guys going down the side of the mountain about a jillion miles an hour and the frames snaps and he face plants?? That’s what I assumed would happen with any catastrophic failure at high speeds. Kudos for keeping the bike on the road, well done. Now you are in the catbirds’s seat (old expression of which I do not know the origin) on the new bike. You can just say "Honey, I know it’s a lot of money but it’s the safest bike I can buy, and isn’t that what’s important"?
B21
Comment by Tommy | 07.6.2006 | 6:42 pm
So how were you able to shift gears with a broken downtube? Wouldn’t that raise all kinds of problems with the tension in the cables?
Comment by Unknown | 07.6.2006 | 7:05 pm
warranty,warranty,warranty.
if not the orca is a great, uhhh, big guy bike.
awesome value for the money.
or you can just wait for the 11 lb. out of the
box "complete" scott bike. oh yeah, better have 11 grand
hanging around too.
Comment by Fat Cyclist | 07.6.2006 | 7:25 pm
tommy – the shifting was in fact completely messed up. once the bike finally settled into a gear, i just left it there for the rest of the ride in.
bikemike – i’ll email scot nichols right away. i’m sure he’ll have no problem warrantying my 9-yr-old frame.
barry – i hadn’t thought about working the safety angle. you are a genius.
james – it’s the same color all the way around. it’s hard to imagine that there wasn’t some sort of crack, but i like to imagine that i’m really really observant and would have noticed. except i’m not, and wouldn’t.
jsun – don’t take over the world. it’s a fixer-upper right now, and more work than you want to deal with.
derek – i wonder if there are any major bikes out there that don’t ride well?
botched – you’re well on your way to replacing your road bikes more frequently than every four years, by my math.
lglegl – are you really, in fact, a legal eagle? do you have documentation that demonstrates your legality as an eagle? i don’t want any undocumented eagles in these parts.
dug – looking more like a lemond than an orbea at this point.
stan – yeah, i’ll probably keep the ibis as a cautionary trophy to all overweight cyclists: "Hey, look what being 20-40 pounds overweight for several years in a row can do to your bike."
Comment by Unknown | 07.6.2006 | 7:50 pm
That’s a scary experience. I’ve never had that happen, and hope that it never will.
I also just read your asterisk post. Funny, but in reality, there have been plenty of other years, before our time, that were those kind of years. And no one cares. There was still a winner. And if that winner wins more than once… He becomes a legend.
Go Levi!
Comment by Unknown | 07.6.2006 | 8:17 pm
"Today, the climb went well. I suffered the whole way up, but did not crack."No pun intended?
Comment by craig | 07.6.2006 | 8:58 pm
seven elium
Comment by craig | 07.6.2006 | 9:19 pm
oh..and I thought most Ti builders offered up a lifetime frame warranty, especially if you are ‘just riding along’ as it were.
Especially if you were really just riding along.
Comment by Unknown | 07.6.2006 | 9:22 pm
This episode just proves you are not really fat, maybe just plump. If that were me, I would have eaten a big chunk of asphalt post haste when the crack appeared, being truly fat. I’m veryglad that didn’t happen to you. Face plants suck.
Comment by Tyler | 07.6.2006 | 9:43 pm
well, like everyone else said, holy crap!holy crap, again!When I looked at your picture, I thought, woah, that bike can’t be actually missing a chunk of the downtube, can it? That’s gotta be a weird … see through … paint … or something.Seriously, nice work bringing the freight train to a stop on time and not, you know, dying.
Comment by michael | 07.7.2006 | 12:36 am
I’ve never even heard of that happening prior to reading your blog today. Have you told the Ibis folks yet? I suppose nine years is a pretty good life-length for a bike but I still may never purchase an Ibis as a result of this blog entry … oh, and I’m glad you survived.
Comment by Katie | 07.7.2006 | 12:53 am
And this bike cost you how much? My crappy cheap mountain bike is going to kill me then – it’s obvious.
But I have a question that you may be able to blog me an answer on – how the hell do you ride a bike properly?
Just a simple one really – not a complicated question. But I was doing a spin class last night (I only own a mountain bike, hence my road riding is crap, and so I substitute) and my friend was complimented by the instructor on her form, and she can ride incredibly fast. I am a "plodder". I suck.
But I wish to complete an Ironman at some point, and this would require actual RIDING, as opposed to my usual pace. I can hang onto a riding peleton for about 1 minute (whilst trying to look fast and failing) when they’re out on their weekend rides, but how the hell do I get FASTER.
50 miles per hour is beyond my comprehension. Watching the tour and seeing them do 50 KILOMETRES and hour is beyond my comprehension.
Help me, Fat Cyclist – help me!!
Comment by Unknown | 07.7.2006 | 1:06 am
Fatty, that was some good writing. You should nearly die more often. It would work wonders for the blog.
Katie – short version: ride harder. Much harder. Does it hurt? Good. You’re on the right track.
Medium version: Get Wenzel, Bike Racing 101. Find a local roadracing club with a fair number of women, and perhaps a women’s ride. Learn to wheelsuck (ride in a paceline) better so that you can go hard for a while at the front, then get in the draft, rest, recover, do it again. Maybe try mass start roadracing, like criteriums, incl. a local weekly training race. That will make you faster.
Long version: Get Joe Friel’s Triathlete’s Training Bible or Cyclist’s Training Bible. Learn it, love it, live it. Short answer, detailed work to build and follow a training plan.
Really short version – do 10 extremely hard, big ring, out of the saddle, 10-20 second sprints twice a week on your rides, quit immediately if your knees hurt.
Comment by Tom Stormcrowe | 07.7.2006 | 1:17 am
Man, Fatty, send some of that luck my way! Not the snapping downtube part, the surviving part!
Comment by Unknown | 07.7.2006 | 1:38 am
New quasi-new and light Road Frame advice (cheap…almost free), from someone who has broken a bunch of frames since 1969…. Ha!!!
Cancel the Orbea idea…poor quality but pretty "girly-man" frames mass produced in Spain (not an ally anymore…ask Al M.)… Le Tour bikes that they are hoping sell well so that they can make back the gazillions paid to severalProTour/Continental teams….
Seven…okay…pretty good quality..up to date on manufacturing methods and they have at least one welder who knows what he/she/it is doing…
Ibis…now being made in Southern China (per their ‘exact’ specifications…ha…) (think "Carbon on a stick". ugh. Used to be Norcal cool….sorry…
Bianchi…see comment on Ibis above…unless you can get the new FG prototype…very light and cool…but you’lll break it, too.
Ridley…see comment on Bianchi above, except made in Italy or Belgium or somewhere over the pond….
Try the new Carbon/Ti blend tubing technology offeBill Holland (also by Seven, I think)..really unique method of combining the strengths of both materials….
Moots….really good temperature control of Ti welding…important….
Trek/LeMond, etc….no need to go further, unless they are giving you one (and the needed replacements)
Cannondale and others….see comment on Trek above.
Some Commandments:
1.Carbon is light and smooth to ride…absorbs a lot of road jigglies.
2. Ti is light and stiffer, slightly heavier, and will tend to be brittle when made in a racing geometry and ridden lots/hard. Still…pretty nice ride when made correctly for YOU, with the corrrect tube widths and thicknesses….
3. Alluminum is well….better for wrapping Thanksgiving Turkey leftovers in…very brittle and light, and it will break.
4. Steel is heavy but generally more reliable than anything else…kinda retro and old fogeyish for FC, I would think.
5. So…it comes down to the builder…and to a lesser extent, the designer…AND..if you can get personal and close to the builder…you will have a lifelng relationship with the frame without having to hand it on a hook in your garage. Think Custom!
QED.
Comment by Robert | 07.7.2006 | 3:20 am
Fatty, could you post some close up pictures of the crack? Preferably some showing real good close ups of the newly exposed metal. Do you notice any small pits that look like air bubbles? Or is the surface nice and smooth? Maybe there’s a whole bunch of concentric rings, kinda like the growth rings on trees. These are ways of telling if the failure was due to fatigue or simply being overloaded from some strange event. Maybe all that power you put out on the way up the climb was simply too much for the frame to handle.The crack is right at the shifter bosses which acted as a stress concentrator. I saw a Specialized frame that I believe was involved in a crash at the Tour de California that had failed at the water bottle bosses that also seemed to act as stress concentrators. Hopefully I can tell you more if you post some good pictures.
Comment by Unknown | 07.7.2006 | 3:38 am
I had the same thing happen to me – although not nearly so dramatically – also on a commute. I couldn’t figure out why the bike (vintage steel Vigorelli) was acting so weird. Every time I got off it the gap closed. It was near the BB and the cables were pretty effective at holding it together. Finally on the way home I hit an underpass and stood on it and the frame shifted – nearly folding up.
It was, as you said, an opportunity. I’m looking forward to reading about your shopping experience. Ebay was my answer. I am nearly as fat, but not nearly as resourceful as you!
Comment by Unknown | 07.7.2006 | 3:41 am
Katie — Buy a decent road bike. Even an entry level Schwinn, if that’s all your budget allows. You’ll be faster immediately. Maybe Fatty can give us some tips on proper riding form. The only immediate thing that comes to mind is upper body motion. Generally speaking, on the road keep everything above the waist still. Good luck!
Becky in Indy
Comment by Tyler | 07.7.2006 | 4:37 am
Ay de mi, Dean, I’m tired of hearing that same line of elitist crap."Alluminum is well….better for wrapping Thanksgiving Turkey leftovers in…very brittle and light, and it will break."I get so frustrated with this sort of thing. Al is for beer cans, Carbon Fibre is plastic, blah blah blah. Where do you get that "IT WILL BREAK?"Carbon is light? Sometimes. Carbon can be light or heavy, stiff or flexible. There are SO MANY variables in bike design that these sort of generalizations, "made overseas = crap, certain material = crap," are worthless.
Comment by Unknown | 07.7.2006 | 5:08 am
Elden… I gasped aloud and felt like my heart just stopped when I saw that picture and realized what might have happened. You must have an angel riding on your shoulder and I join all your other fans and friends in my joy that you survived.
I still have something for Susan if you will send me your new address. I still wear the beautiful bracelet she sent me.
Hugs,
MuMo
Comment by Unknown | 07.7.2006 | 10:09 am
Hey Fatty… I know a guy who could weld up that frame for ya. Grind off those downtube shifter bosses and you could have a sweeeeeeeet singlespeed frame. Or if you’re interested, I could make several Ibis Ti knives out of it. Gotta disagree with the earlier comments though. Everyone is saying "what amazing luck!" I am inclined to think that skill was a big factor too. Luck doesn’t hurt, though.
Comment by BIg Mike In Oz | 07.7.2006 | 12:23 pm
There was luck involved. Everyone who knows about bikes knows that the fact you aren’t lying in hospital was pure luck. Just not the kind of luck they were thinking of…
Skill kept the bike upright.
Luck prevented the top tube from folding or snapping.
A touch of stupidity rode it the subsequent 12 miles.
There are times when the call of shame is not shameful. Today would qualify.
Comment by regina | 07.7.2006 | 2:29 pm
wow!that is crazy.
Katy get a road bike yes, but then remember two things, spinning is like weight lifting for cycling and you almost never ride on the road like you do in spinning class, they say things like "lets add some gears for this climb" which is not really how you climb on a bike on the road you spin for climbing, etc. Follow Als instructions, and just do what they do, put your bike in the same gear as the person you are able to stay closest to in the beginning and the rest will works itself out.
fatty again wow, surprised you did not ride home to hug everyone.
r)
Comment by Tom Stormcrowe | 07.7.2006 | 4:56 pm
Big Mike, that’s the luck I was referring to, by the way, in that Elden is lucky it didn’t come all the way apart.
Comment by Unknown | 07.7.2006 | 5:34 pm
ARGENT…
uh oh. You are reading between the lines a bit toomuch, methinks…. "ASSUMPTIVE" is the correct frame of mind I think you were in…let me explain….
re: the comment…."Alluminum is well….better for wrapping Thanksgiving Turkey leftovers in…very brittle and light, and it will break." Big generalization here, I admint, but purty darn true…..sorry…there is so much data about that…it is just true….and that is why most manufacturers are going away from Al frames…some still make ‘em, that is true, for sure, but we know that thousands have broken and been replaced…geez…it practically put Cannondale out of business…I know at least ten people that are on their third, fourth, or fifth (!!!) alluminum frame from some manufacturer who has to keep on replacing them…
I get so frustrated with this sort of thing. Al is for beer cans, Carbon Fibre is plastic, blah blah blah. Where do you get that "IT WILL BREAK?"
Don’t be frustrated…I’m not, and I’ve broken several steel, alluminum and carbon frames and forks, and dropouts, and blah, blah, blah…
Experience, my friend, experience…alluminum breaks…light carbon frames break…many steerer columns made of carbon break…the light stuff just can’t handle the repeated stress and repetitive impacts….unless, of course, you only ride the frame low miles or you are light yourself…(something I amnot, at least anymore). Frames and especially forks, dropouts and the like have to made carefully, and most Al and carbon manufacturers just don’t take into consideration the weight of the rider and the use of the bike….hence the virtual absence of the old lifetime warranties that used to be so commonplace on frames!
Carbon is light? Sometimes.
— Yes, and almost all current top end ($$$) carbon road frames are made light! So, that means when a heavier rider gets on them, or a more powerful rider gets on them…they don’t last very long…(short way of explaining what would be a long dissertation on fatigue analysis). Anyway, the bike frame manufacturers don’t make HEAVY carbon road frames because they won’t sell.
Carbon tubes can be laid up to be whatever the builder wants, but like they are finding out in Mexico, good concrete is good concrete, and makes a strong foundation…bad concrete is, well, just sand and water, and doesn’t make a good foundation!
Actually, carbon fiber comes in lots of different weights and qualities…and the best builders have found out that only the best quality carbon fiber wraps up into the best quality tubes, and, in general, carbon fiber sheets made into tubes that are "light", as you say, never get very "stiff", as you say, even when laid up in the most advanced manner, because the modulus that defines stiffness is largely based on factors dependent on weight.
Then you started to get vexed and pouty….saying…
There are SO MANY variables in bike design that these sort of generalizations, "made overseas = crap, certain material = crap," are worthless.
I didn’t say "made overseas + crap" or "certain material = crap", so please don’t write here and tell me that "these sort of generalizations are worthless"…That, Argy, baby, is what is called ASSUMPTIVE thinking.
Heck, I like several overseas bike frames, and used to drive Peugeots. And Alluminum is good for a lot of things, just not bike frames underneath heavier than we want to be or used to be people. In closing, I should have said that those and these are generalized streaming comments put into a parapgraph or two or ten, but largely unedited and
Comment by Unknown | 07.7.2006 | 7:06 pm
Seeing that picture and the fact you continued to ride it for another 12 miles with any repair reminds of my Red-Green experience of repairing my bike with duct tape to get me home.
I alway keep 6-12 inches in my seat bag just incase. This stems from my poor driving days when I would have to do road side repairs with nothing but duct tape and a screwdriver.
With a Red-Green repair job you could have probably had safer and less stressful final 12 mile ride
Comment by Unknown | 07.7.2006 | 7:37 pm
I was just thinking the same thing. Didn’t you write a segment on ‘things to take with you while riding’ which included duct tape? Or am I confusing you with another pudgey cyclist?
Comment by Andrew | 07.7.2006 | 7:39 pm
i once made a bike out of bamboo once. it was pretty decent.
Comment by Unknown | 07.7.2006 | 8:44 pm
Holy Sweet Mother of God! Glad you survived the trauma with nary a scratch! LUCKY! A catastrophic failure like that is something I always fear with my carbon road bike… SNAP! and then my life will flash before my eyes, before I see the white light….
Contact Ibis, I bet they will try to work something out for you and you’ll be able to score another Ti or CF for cheap(er). I’m sure you read that recent article in Mtn Bike Action about them rising from the ashes…
Comment by Jose | 07.7.2006 | 10:16 pm
Just two words for you FC: "Cervelo Soloist".
Comment by Teamfubar | 07.8.2006 | 12:29 am
Wow! That has to be the COOLEST break I have ever seen. You are very lucky (no skill involved…:^) to no have crashed and skewered your leg on the seperated down tube.
I am really here to chime in on the heated debate between Dean P and aregentius. Guys, can’t we all just get along? Buying a bike is all about choice and compromises. Just as Keith Bontrager said "Cheap, Light, Strong, pick any two." You unfortunately cannot have your cake and eat it too when it comes to bicycles. If it is light, it WILL break sooner than if it is built for strength. If it is built for strength, it probably will not be light (or the lightest). 9 years of hard commuting on a bike that probably not intended for commuting is not bad, Ti frame or not. I have seen frames of every type break (steel, carbon, aluminum and ti all in one XC race in South Dakota!)
A couple of things: 1. Just because it was built overseas does not guarantee crap. Just because it was built here does not mean it is good. 2. Cannondale did not almost go out of business because of aluminum frames, they almost went out of business because of bad business practices involving their motorsports division. I have had a Cannondale mountain tandem for 12 years of hard riding with my wife and it is still humming along fine. 3. FC, my high recommendation is a Moots. I have had the distinct pleasure of visiting their factory in Steamboat and I can assure you they have a passion about bikes and their QC is second to none. If you are going to commute, check out the Mootour. Right up your alley!
Comment by PAUL | 07.8.2006 | 3:32 am
Man! You got angels around you. You are really blessed.
Comment by Unknown | 07.8.2006 | 4:25 pm
Hi FC,
Well that’s just a LITTLE dangerous. Sheez. Good thing you didn’t DIE or anything!
Thanks for the photo because now I can see what could happen to my husband’s carbon fiber bike that I just crushed into our garage while it was on our car roof rack. The car rack was bent in half, the bike rack was crushed, but the bike itself? LOOKS perfectly fine, but there’s that little problem of unpredicatable carbon fiber shearing when the fram’s been compromised, so my husband says. <sigh> I’m such an idiot. I am super jet-lagged/tired so my brain wasn’t functioning fully at the time of the incident. Such is life sometimes…
-bm
p.s. I have a new blog and am defecting from MSN, but still supporting the locals. http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/beastmom
Comment by Unknown | 07.9.2006 | 12:54 am
I don’t know what size you require, but if I were going to buy a new frame tomorrow…I’d consider the Merckx Corsa Extra’s made with SLX tubing. They have #62 and #69 and are limited editions at GVH Bikes. I believe they are both 56cm.
Comment by bill | 07.9.2006 | 1:40 am
WOW, that is an amazing story!!! Glad to hear you were not hurt. I had a similarly nauseating experience, not related to riding as I have recently developed a painful infection near my spine and undergoing medical treatment, but regarding my attempt to retrieve my Cannondale F500, which was stolen last September. I found that dang thing on ebay.
Have you ever had one of your bikes stolen before?
Comment by pete | 07.10.2006 | 12:48 am
Jsus, Mary, Joseph & Fred!I once rode a mile with a sheared dropout and I couldn’t understand why my right pedal seemed to be going so much further than the left!Jeez that’s bad.I can’t wait to see the bike you get with the insurance.
Comment by JPSOCAL | 07.10.2006 | 4:05 am
If you want a titanium i’d suggest that you check out Seven Bicycles (http://www.sevencycles.com/). They make an absolutely beautiful frame. Should last you the rest of your life. Glad you weren’t hurt that’s a scary story. Also a piece of wooden dowel or even a bit of tree limb whittled to shape and shoved into the frame might have held it togther and been a little safer. There are ways of doing temporary repairs to get you back from a ride with a broken bike. I see it broke below the shifter braze ons…..unfortunately that’s not unusual.
Comment by JPSOCAL | 07.10.2006 | 4:05 am
If you want a titanium i’d suggest that you check out Seven Bicycles (http://www.sevencycles.com/). They make an absolutely beautiful frame. Should last you the rest of your life. Glad you weren’t hurt that’s a scary story. Also a piece of wooden dowel or even a bit of tree limb whittled to shape and shoved into the frame might have held it togther and been a little safer. There are ways of doing temporary repairs to get you back from a ride with a broken bike. I see it broke below the shifter braze ons…..unfortunately that’s not unusual.
Comment by Unknown | 07.10.2006 | 8:40 pm
Be like Superman, become a man of STEEL. I love my
Soma Crosscheck cyclocross/commuter made out of steel. I have already
been hit once on it and it didn’t even scratch the frame let alone crack
it. Toss on Phil Wood hubs, Chris King headset and a Tuvativ cyclocross
crank and you feel like Mad Max… mine is affectionately named Cujo. Ok
so it is a bit heavier than a typical weight weenie mobile but I never worry
about it letting me down and if I need to worry about weight I’ll take myself
to the gym and loose some off my ass before I start nit picking over grams on
my bike.
Comment by Unknown | 07.11.2006 | 5:22 am
Yo,
Stuff breaks; it sucks, but maybe it’s someones way of telling to get a new bike. Your frame can be fixed but maybe it’s more better to replace it, yes?
I’m sure you can find something nice out there.
Cheers,
Steve