I cringed a little bit in my mouth when I saw this topics headline. But I was pleasantly surprised how upbeat Mike's initial message and other's responses were. This is a rah-rah Rivendell post in my opinion, not at all a bash.
Most of us here are experienced enough to not expect perfection from Rivendell, or any other craftsperson product. Just a unique and well- made product and a good relationship with the company that will help us when things go wrong. This post affirms that. I would like to thank all the good folks at Rivendell for breathing new life into cycling for me in my post-racing bicycle life. They showed me a new way where it is not all about speed and efficiency and testing my testosterone level. I consider them friends that I have never met, but I know I will enjoy the chat when I get the chance. Member ever since 1994 On Nov 23, 11:56 pm, "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > You know....as much as we try, as conscientious as we are, as much as > we speak, believe and communicate that what we do is sincere and based > on quite-a-lot-of experience and not cutting corners and so on...once > in a while a frame breaks. Statistically it is inevitable. It is a > drag to have it aired, but so be it... Companies are supposed to be > impersonal and without feelings, just companies, and so there it is. > In this particular case, it is a break we've seen before. That doesn't > mean it's a defect, either in design, manufacturing, or materials. The > internet has the potential to expose-maybe for the good, I don't know-- > every little embarassment that may befall us or them or even y'all. > We will get the frame back. The dropout will be repaired and made > stronger than new. Meanwhile, I hold on to this fact dearly: Better a > rear dropout than a fork. Better in repairable steel than in carbon. > All will be well! > Grant > > On Nov 23, 2:23 pm, Mike <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > 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-721576098... > > > And the crack:http://www.flickr.com/photos/[EMAIL > > PROTECTED]/3054058864/in/set-721576098... > > > 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- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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