New Attitude for the New Year?

   I was hoping that 2016 would see a turnaround in a long string of bicycle misfortune, but things didn’t start off particularly well. I dressed warmly and headed out one evening on my Bianchi ‘cross bike to do a big loop ride, returning via the Perkiomen and Schuylkill Trails. I didn’t get very far, as just a few hundred yards down the street, I noticed the rear wheel was rubbing on the non-drive-side chainstay.

   I attempted to remount the wheel, making sure it was in correct alignment with the frame, but each time I climbed back on and started to pedal, the rubbing repeated. I feared that the skewer had broken or that there was a more serious problem with the rear hub, but when I grabbed the rim and pushed side-to-side, I found out that the carbon chainstay had popped loose from the Scandium bottom bracket lug (see red circle area in photo).

   I am now attempting to find some help to re-bond the two parts. I sent a message to framebuilder Peter Dreesens, who had helped me with the blue Pinarello Treviso project, hoping he might have some experience with this or could point me in the direction of someone who does. He quickly replied that he would be willing to give it a shot, but suggested I contact HH Bicycles first. It’s been a week since I sent them a message and haven’t heard back. Maybe I’ll give them a call tomorrow.

   I did receive the two replacement tires from Michelin, although I was puzzled why they came in two separate shipments – one of which was ridiculously over-sized for only one road tire! I can only guess that each tire came from a different warehouse. In any case, each wheel is ready to go, but I suspect it will be some time before I get to use either, since one bike is at the shore and the other now needs frame repair.

   Now that it seems our mild winter weather has come to an abrupt end, with frigid temps, wicked winds and the first major storm predicted later this week, I have turned to working more in the shop. The paint curing waiting period ended for the Monteverde frame, so I applied the custom decals I had created with help from VeloCals - they look pretty fantastic! I put the fork, headset, stem and bars together, along with the seatpost and saddle, then threw on the wheels and took a few “teaser” photos to share with Ron:

   I was a bit disappointed not to be able to finish the bike, as I discovered a few small details were missing from the parts box Ron provided, but it should be quick work after the packages arrive.

   During the holidays I had devoted some time to finding parts for the Lemond bicycle as well. I had come up with a better quality carbon fork, appropriately a Reynolds product to match up with the frame’s tubing manufacturer. Chris had originally expressed a preference for an 11 speed Shimano Ultegra groupset, but I have only seen them in black, and we agreed the silver components would look better with this bicycle.

   I found a silver 10 speed Ultegra group at an incredible price and purchased it, knowing that I could use it for another project if the set didn’t meet Chris’ approval. He seems open to the idea and wants to take a look at it before making a decision whether or not to proceed.

   Again, I put together the parts I had on hand in order to share a preview photo for him:

   I have also been conducting a bit of a course in bicycle repair for a repeat customer and his family. Mike is a fellow homeschooling parent and expressed how important it is to him that his children learn to fix things themselves. He asked if I would mind providing a little instruction so that his daughter might try her hand at replacing a rear derailleur that broke on her mountain bike. After ordering the needed parts, I invited them over for a “wrench session” down in my shop.

   I warned Hannah that, by adding a couple more hands and a need to direct them, I might mix things up a bit from my normal order of doing things and might have to back-track once in a while. I kidded that there would be minimal yelling and then assured her that with some patience, the bicycle will eventually work correctly. She proved to be very capable and quickly became familiar with the tools.

   Unfortunately I was not aware that the right-hand Grip-shift (I much prefer trigger shifters!) was malfunctioning, so we were disappointed to have everything set up to test the shifting but not be able to check out the quality of our work! I will be ordering some replacement parts and scheduling more class time in the near future.

Michelin Mishaps and More

   After a rather hectic lead-in to the holidays, Sue and I decided that it would be nice to get away by ourselves and planned a trip to the shore for a few days around New Year’s. Tuesday afternoon we attended a party hosted by some long-time friends from the homeschooling sportsgroup I used to organize and afterward left directly from there.

   The traffic was predictably light on a Tuesday evening, and it seemed we were heading down the causeway into Stone Harbor in no time. I had never been on Seven Mile Island this late in the year and enjoyed seeing the Christmas decorations downtown and on the few houses belonging to folks who live there year-round!

   The weather forecast included more of the incredibly mild December temperatures we’d been having, so I had packed some cyclingwear, with plans to work off some of the holiday pounds. After doing some minor tinkering with the Cannondale I leave down there, I headed out on an invigorating 25-mile ride up to Avalon, out to the causeway there and looping back via the mainland.

   Cycling during the offseason down there is fantastic, since the island is so empty. As I pedaled block after block, I didn’t have to be as on-the-alert to potential cross-traffic collisions with daydreaming drivers. I didn’t really miss the crowds of shoppers downtown who pay little attention to the traffic lights or the scores of families zigzagging in front of me on their way to and from the beach.

   We didn’t get much rain, but unfortunately nearly every day was a depressing gray, with a rare peek of the sun through the clouds. I was happy to find a string of lights in the garage and decorated the living room to brighten up the mood a bit in the house.

   I probably could have gotten in another ride some time during our stay, but the temperature dropped and the wind picked up later in the week, plus I discovered a problem with my rear wheel/tire (more on that soon) and didn’t want to risk a blowout and be stranded out on the road somewhere. I decided instead to take a nice long walk with Sue down the beach and across the sandbar that now almost completely stretches across Hereford Inlet to Wildwood.

   I don’t know if I’d like to deal all winter with the cold, damp conditions that usually exist down at the shore, let alone the occasional nor’easters that blow in, but the peaceful offseason atmosphere really can’t be beat!

   I’ve had a preference for Michelin bicycle tires for decades because they have a great balance of affordability and tread life. A couple of years ago, Sue and I both had issues with their Dynamic Sport tires, which on a couple of occasions developed what can only be described as a twist in the tread. After a couple hundred miles you could visually detect an S-shaped “warp” in the tread when viewing it on edge.

   Sue brought the problem to my attention when she experienced a thumping or hop in the rear tire when out on an afterschool ride on the Schuylkill Trail. She was lucky to be able to return home without incident to have the tire changed. However, I was about 20 miles from home when a similar problem occurred, and I gingerly attempted to ride it out. Unfortunately the hop became dramatically worse as the tire quickly wore down around the flat spot and eventually exploded.

   Because I was well aware of the problem and had been going slowly, I didn’t crash. I felt a bit lucky on that note, but not so happy to have to call for a ride home. I obviously swore off of the Dynamic Sport model of tire, but wasn’t going to completely snub the Michelin brand, since it had otherwise served me well for so long.

   A few weeks ago I was cleaning and lubing my Bianchi trail bike and noticed a wobble in the wheel. Because I regularly traverse rough terrain with this bicycle, a wheel out of true wouldn’t have surprised me, but when I found that familiar S-shaped warping on these relatively expensive Cyclocross Jet tires, I felt a bit stunned. It was rideable, but I knew that it was only a matter of time that the uneven wear would become problem with that tire, too.

   After my New Year’s ride I had discovered that the rear rim on my shore bike had a bit of a flat spot, and I simply didn’t have the tools there to remedy that problem. I initially wondered why I hadn’t noticed the hop during that ride or during any of the rides I had done late in the summer. With closer inspection I found that, by sheer luck, a flawed part of the Dynamic Classic tire was mounted exactly in the location of the flat spot, and the resulting bulge sort of balanced out the wheel’s profile.

   The issue became more evident when I brought the wheel home, put it on the truing stand and smoothed out the flat spot pretty effectively. I could now see the tire flaw “in all its glory”, with the tire a couple of millimeters out of round.

   I thought four separate issues with Michelin was plenty and sent an email to their customer service department. To their credit, the company responded the next day with information regarding potential warranty. They had asked for an inspection by a qualified shop, and although I initially felt a bit offended that someone with my abilities and number of years of cycling experience wouldn’t be trusted to know when something is wrong with a tire, I had no problem taking the wheels over to my buddies at Bikesport.

   Once again, the guys stepped up by making a call to let Michelin know about the confirmed tire problems and stayed on the line for a good amount of time until it was agreed that two new tires would be shipped to me within the next couple weeks! I’m hoping for the best with the quality of the replacement tires and that somehow my trust in Michelin products will return.