At PBP last year, there was a rider whose Rivendell Road Standard cracked and broke at the junction between the top of one of the seatstays and the seat lug. He cobbled together a fix involving a screw and a hose clamp and was able to do the ride (I lost track of whether he completed the ride, but the bike at least was able to be ridden).
Yes, steel has some advantages. Try fixing a carbon frame in the storage room at a French hotel, with only basic tools and hardware! --Eric [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.campyonly.com www.wheelsnorth.org On Nov 24, 2008, at 8:57 AM, Mojo wrote: > > 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. 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
