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.