alessandro
11-03-2013, 12:09 AM
Today a friend and I were headed out for a ride, bikes on top of the car. He backed out of his driveway, where the seat of my Cervelo Prodigy snagged on a rope that he'd strung across the driveway to hang some Halloween decorations. The rope held. My bike was not so lucky, and got yanked out of the rack, bending the left dropout. I got the frame here on the forum this spring, cobbled together the parts mostly from the forum, and had it built up this summer. It's my first serious bike. Pictures below.
We went directly to the LBS--the Old Spokes Home. I have to say that it was lucky for me that today was a cloudy Saturday in November and not a sunny day in May, when the LBS would be slammed, because as soon as we drove up I had the owner and two of his mechanics looking at my fork. The owner shook his head and said we could try maybe bending it back with a bench vise or pliers or something, but he wouldn't recommend it. Then he put the question to his main wrench, who has a beard like Mike Napoli's, only longer. "I'll bend steel all day," he said. "But aluminum bonded to carbon? Not so much."
Another wrench went in back to rummage around for 1" threadless forks. No luck. But then he offered a spare he had at home, from a Surly Steamroller, like this one:
http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/download/file.php?id=215786
He lives just down the street, and offered to fetch it. Slow days in November have their benefits. My apologetic friend and I repaired to a bakery, where he bought me lunch, and then went back to the LBS with some coffee for the shop guys. After a bit the owner offered us a test ride on fatbikes--they have more than a dozen on the floor now, in preparation for winter, more than I've seen at this shop before. Maybe it was to hook us in on riding those plush 4" tires, maybe it was to get us out of the workroom, but that was a fun 15 minutes while we rode them around the graveyard: A Ti Salsa Mukluk with studded tires and a Surly Pugsley. When we got back to the shop, my bike was ready. The fork steerer had been cut a bit short for me, so they put an extender/adapter on it--not perfect, but it works. Total time: Less than an hour.
I know from the forum that there are great shops out there, but there aren't many. Some of it had to do with the time of year, but I'm still amazed that I could show up with a bent part and a tale of woe, have my bike equipped with a replacement from the guy's personal stash, and get it swapped out and rolling in that short period. If you're ever in Burlington, go check out the Old Spokes Home.
By the time we finally got out for a ride, it was raining. My buddy forgot his shoe covers, and his feet got wet and cold, so we had to cut it short, but I got to test the replacement fork going downhill at 40, where it was straight and steady.
Below are 1) a picture of my bike in the setting sun with the original fork, back when the bar tape was still white; 2) the bent dropout; 3) the cracked paint showing where the dropout was bonded to the fork. That line shouldn't be visible; the other fork leg is smooth.
So now I need a replacement fork. Anybody? The Steamroller fork is even black like the original, is steel, has a flat crown, and has a nice curve to it. But it's too short.
We went directly to the LBS--the Old Spokes Home. I have to say that it was lucky for me that today was a cloudy Saturday in November and not a sunny day in May, when the LBS would be slammed, because as soon as we drove up I had the owner and two of his mechanics looking at my fork. The owner shook his head and said we could try maybe bending it back with a bench vise or pliers or something, but he wouldn't recommend it. Then he put the question to his main wrench, who has a beard like Mike Napoli's, only longer. "I'll bend steel all day," he said. "But aluminum bonded to carbon? Not so much."
Another wrench went in back to rummage around for 1" threadless forks. No luck. But then he offered a spare he had at home, from a Surly Steamroller, like this one:
http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/download/file.php?id=215786
He lives just down the street, and offered to fetch it. Slow days in November have their benefits. My apologetic friend and I repaired to a bakery, where he bought me lunch, and then went back to the LBS with some coffee for the shop guys. After a bit the owner offered us a test ride on fatbikes--they have more than a dozen on the floor now, in preparation for winter, more than I've seen at this shop before. Maybe it was to hook us in on riding those plush 4" tires, maybe it was to get us out of the workroom, but that was a fun 15 minutes while we rode them around the graveyard: A Ti Salsa Mukluk with studded tires and a Surly Pugsley. When we got back to the shop, my bike was ready. The fork steerer had been cut a bit short for me, so they put an extender/adapter on it--not perfect, but it works. Total time: Less than an hour.
I know from the forum that there are great shops out there, but there aren't many. Some of it had to do with the time of year, but I'm still amazed that I could show up with a bent part and a tale of woe, have my bike equipped with a replacement from the guy's personal stash, and get it swapped out and rolling in that short period. If you're ever in Burlington, go check out the Old Spokes Home.
By the time we finally got out for a ride, it was raining. My buddy forgot his shoe covers, and his feet got wet and cold, so we had to cut it short, but I got to test the replacement fork going downhill at 40, where it was straight and steady.
Below are 1) a picture of my bike in the setting sun with the original fork, back when the bar tape was still white; 2) the bent dropout; 3) the cracked paint showing where the dropout was bonded to the fork. That line shouldn't be visible; the other fork leg is smooth.
So now I need a replacement fork. Anybody? The Steamroller fork is even black like the original, is steel, has a flat crown, and has a nice curve to it. But it's too short.