Frig Newton

   Not that I have anything against the town of Newton, New Jersey, but three out of the four times I've ridden through the area, something bad has happened. About a dozen years ago, during my first visit to the Sussex Branch Trail, the rear derailleur on my mountain bike blew apart. During the Cycle Tech Sojourn in 2022, my friend Ed was removing one of his clothing layers and accidentally left some subscription glasses behind (amazing retrieved them the next day).
   On Sunday Sue and I were doing a shortened version of the Paulinskill/Sussex Trails route, starting from Footbridge Park in Blairstown and just before reaching the junction of the two trails, I felt a strange click and wobble at the top of my right pedal stroke. There is a removeable rectangular metal strikeplate on the bottom of my shoe that fits between the cleat and sole, which protects the surface from gouging from the pedal, and when I looked at the bottom of the shoe and saw that plate had twisted slightly, I thought maybe it was causing an uneven connection between the cleat and pedal.

   Sue passed me her mini multi-tool, and I straightened/tightened the respective parts, but that did not solve the problem at all. About a mile later the hitch in the pedal stroke became worse and then an awful creaking sound came out of the bottom bracket area. I looked down, and the large chainring was no longer parallel to the frame. As I came to a stop, I realized the driveside crank was separating from the spindle. 

   Being very familiar with how FSA cranks go together, and knowing that the non-driveside crank which is bolted into the spindle, I was positive this was going to be an issue not easily fixed out on the road. Since I was much more familiar with the remainder of the route, as well as the roads returning to pick up the disabled bike and stranded rider, I was the chosen one for the ride back to our car in Blairstown.

   It was a real shame that Sue didn't get to complete the ride with me, as we had been having a brutally warm and humid past couple of weeks, and we were treated to some dry days with temps in the low 80s that weekend. Much of the route is also in thick forest, which kept us out of the sun the majority of the ride.

A large portion of the Paulinskill Valley Trail looks exactly like this.

   When I picked up Sue, about an hour later, she mentioned being a little concerned, but I asked her exactly how fast she thought I could ride ten miles and then keep the car respectfully near the speed limit on the way back! She then amused me when she said the very nice people who lived in the house near the spot I had left her came out to check if she was okay. They then asked if she needed any tools, to which she replied with thanks, but added that unless they had some welding skills, nothing was really going to help.

   I took some photos of the problem (shown below), not only to share here, but also in case I needed them to submit to FSA for (hopeful) replacement. This was original equipment on my Bianchi Impulso Allroad, and the bike is not even two years old! With a bit of online research, I found out there was a recall on that model of crankset for exactly the same spindle/crank separation problem, so I am hoping to be sent an alternative part.

   ...and no, I didn't fall and get a head injury when the crank fell off. I had actually made the decision to once again change up my bicycle collection, after a visit from an enthusiastic female customer. Really, I had been considering switching things up for a few months but just needed a "push".

   The mentioned customer came to me with her husband, who had broken a rear spoke on his mountain bike. He had managed to limp his bike back to their car after a ride, and they stopped by on the way home, hoping I would have the right length spoke in my collection of spares. I had been at Bikesport at the end of 2024, when they were clearing out some old stock, and I walked away with a great deal of a few dozen spokes of mixed lengths - traditional J-bends, straight pull, bladed, black and silver - for just a few bucks. I just hadn't had the time to sort them all out.

   I asked if they might like to step inside to my shop, where it was a bit cooler, and look around at my mini-museum while I sifted through the pile of spokes. She was immediately drawn to my "dead" Pinarello Prince. "Look at the fantastic curves on that frame - wow!" Her words didn't leave me for days, and I kept thinking about what first drew me to the fantastic Pinarello frames of that era.

   I certainly did not want to sink more money into repairing the Prince - it already had three flaws, and who knows if more might develop. This could have just been a fluke of a poor carbon setup for that frame. Pinarello started phasing out the double-S-curved Onda stays and fork about ten years ago, in favor of a more simplified curve, so I thought maybe I could hook up with a really late model of their earlier carbon design, hoping to take advantage of more time-tested technology in the material.

   LONG-time readers may recall that I once had an FP Due (FP2) in my collection, purchased back in 2012. What I came up with this time was the FP Quattro, and because I have a few red bikes, I was so happy to find one in Movistar team colors (by the way, very similar to those of my Cannondale SuperSix). Alejandro Valverde, an all-time favorite of mine, influenced my love of these Pinarello bikes, and he finished his career riding for the Spanish team, so that was a nice connection, too!

   Unfortunately the seller, despite my questions specific to this particular detail, misinformed me about whether the frame was compatible with mechanical shifting, so the status of this build is up in the air. I am mildly interested in the idea of Campagnolo EPS (electronic shifting), but I'm definitely not interested in the cost of the parts, plus such a project is going to require a whole bunch of reading/education. If I can convince the seller in Japan that refunding me the shipping cost is a better idea than having to pay the return shipping, maybe I'll take a shot at it.

   So, to obey my personal rule, one bike moving in means one had to be moved out. With the Saeco-Cannondale returning to my collection, I figured the SuperSix should find a new home. My friend Dan has been toiling around on a very average Scattante aluminum bike for years. For a while I had been on the lookout for something of great quality for him at a very affordable price, as he has two kids now in college (yike$!). I thought the SuperSix would be perfect for him, and I like the idea that I would still get to see it regularly on our group rides!

   Lastly, my friend has conceded that his physical ailments are going to keep him from enjoying his large collection of bicycle, so the link to Walt's Wonderful Wheels is back. Check out what he currently has for sale!