I headed out on my Ram today after making some changes to it earlier in the week. The changes being trading out the 32 Pasela's for Ruffy Tuffys, putting on cloth bar tape and stripping away the heavy seat bags for a burrito wrap. Since getting the bike last year I had only ever run Pasela's on it and pretty much always had fenders and some kind of saddlebag. Since I now also have an AHH I wanted to make the Rambouillet a little racier.
I headed out and the ride certainly felt different but the bike remained comfortable. The tires seemed to make a huge difference in at least feeling fast and their design inspires more cornering confidence than the Paselas. I was pedaling along thinking about all this, and some other cycling related things, when the bike started to make a weird noise. I checked the cranks and BB but everything seemed find. I got back on it, rode a short distance (25ft or so) and the noise persisted along with a feeling of springyness. I thought maybe I had broken a spoke. As I was checking I noticed that my chainstay was broken all the way through. It could easily be pulled apart. The bike certainly couldn't handle my 190lbs. Of course this was like the one ride I didn't bring my phone on. Some cyclist stopped when they noticed me walking my bike along Skyline. I was able to borrow a phone and leave a message for my wife but was pretty much stuck walking home, a good 10 to 12 miles including down a 4 mile descent. I did not trust the bike to even be able to safely coast down the descent. As I was walking along one of the cyclist returned on his scooter with some pipe clamps and some metal sleeves. These were used to support the stay so that I could pedal home. It worked great. Because I use Silver shifters (friction) I was even able to get clean shifts as I pedaled home. Check out the fix: http://www.flickr.com/photos/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/3054058334/in/set-72157609818335769/ And the crack: http://www.flickr.com/photos/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/3054058864/in/set-72157609818335769/ I've sent an email to Grant and will contact RBW tomorrow about how to warranty the bike. I feel confident that RBW will take responsibility and address the issue. I am bummed that my ride was cut short and bummed that a bike that has brought me so much happiness has had this happen. It hasn't been crashed or used to jump garbage cans. It did sustain a ding to the top tube a month after I bought it but that would have no bearing on what happened today. I related all this not to belittle Rivendell, it's just one of those things that happened, but because it was so great that with a simple fix I was able to ride home. And how great is that that a stranger came and found me to assist me. And how about friction shifting? If I had STI or Ergo shifters I'll be it would have been off because the rear wheel was out of alignment with the frame. Luckily I have a new AHH in the basement which I love but I was really excited about my Rambouillet today as I started my ride. It felt like a whole new bike. One other thing. I was one of those people who was critical of the Betty Foy headbadge. Grant wished a pox upon us. Look what happened! --mike --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
