Gearing Up For the Holidays

   I realize that I haven’t written since Thanksgiving, but not a whole lot has been going on, particularly because I’ve put things have been on hold until I sell a few bicycles. I haven’t been doing much riding either, maybe squeezing in 20-30 miles every third day or so, depending on the rain/wind/temperatures we’ve been experiencing. I have had the indoor trainer set up to spin occasionally, just to keep the fitness at a reasonable level.

   I was able to find a decent replacement for the broken fork on my Cannondale SuperSix, and although the new part may not have the same graphic pattern as the original, its colors match up perfectly. I like that this fork has more blue on it, and I don’t think anyone would even know it wasn’t the stock fork unless I told them about my accident!

   I panicked a little when I first tried to assemble the headset, as dealing with a tapered steering tube configuration was a new experience. As you can see from the borrowed image below, from an online manual from Cannondale’s website, the top of the steering tube and bearings are narrower at the top than at the crown of the fork blades.

   When I had pulled the broken fork free, the inner ring of the bottom bearing (marked KP044 in the diagram) had popped loose because some rust had caused it to stick to the bottom race (part QC777). After I cleaned the bearing and polished away the bit of rust, I slid (what I thought was) everything onto the new fork. When I slid the fork into my frame there was obviously too much play in the headset, as though something was missing.

   What I hadn’t realized, because the bottom race had a black finish that matched the color on the top of my damaged fork, was this was a separate piece. I was able to slide an X-Acto knife between the race and the fork crown and gently pry off the part. I tapped the race down onto the new fork using the edge of a wooden block and a hammer, alternating front to back until it set flat on the fork crown.

   I was relieved to find everything functioned perfectly after I slid on the proper spacers in order, tightened the top screw, then clamped down the stem to hold everything together. I actually took a ride over the route I intended to do when I had my crash, taking great care to slow way down before reaching that treacherous intersection where the cinders had caused me to slide. This time my ride finished safely, and the SuperSix functioned as well as it ever has.

   My friend Brendan is heading over this weekend to assemble his Vitus 992, so I will be providing some build details and hopefully some photos next time. Meanwhile, I have been collecting all the necessary parts for Arol’s 979, and have had a mixed bag of luck so far. I came up with a great wheelset that had classic Mavic MA40 rims and the company’s 500/550 hubs. I also found a set of Mavic 820 downtube shift levers that were incorrectly listed as Simplex SLJ levers and was able to purchase them for about half the going price!

   I’ve been a little frustrated by the return on some of the recent sold parts, especially because I remember the premium prices I had paid for similar items earlier this year. I was hoping to have a nice budget cushion to spring for a nicer set of brakes and levers, like the Modolo Master Pro set pictured below (which Mavic copied for their Super Pro 430 set), but I’ll have to be patient for a bargain.

   I was hoping to do our famous Santa Ride on Saturday, but the weather has been rainy and nasty lately, with now some snow thrown into the forecast, which will make for a messy Perkiomen Trail. We may have to squeeze it in whenever things thaw out and (hopefully) dry up.