Rare Home Mechanic 'Pucker' Moment

[Vamoots58]

I've been doing all of my own wrenching for about 15 years. I am a bit of a tool nut, if there is a specific tool for a job I need to do, I buy it, even if it may never get used again (hey, you never know). In the process of building up my next project, a Look 695. First bike with an integrated seat post. The old 'measure twice, cut once' wasn't going to be enough to satisfy my angst. Over the course of Saturday and Sunday, must have measured 10+ times, walking away only to come back and re-measure. Installed the cutting guide, then taped the e-post to the frame to confirm the BB-to-Saddle again. Then came the fretting over how many spacers to include to afford myself the maximum flexibility later. Finally took a deep breadth and made the cut last night. Neuroses notwithstanding, the end result was a perfect one. Had to take a moment and laugh at myself, the uber-confident mechanic that sweat over a measurement and cut for two days, despite the fact the measurements never varied. Oh well, the EPS installation will be a piece of quiche after all that.

[chiasticon]

I feel your pain. I was pretty freaked cutting the integrated seat mast for my ritte, and it's not nearly as pricey as your look. first time doing that for me then, too. I didn't measure for two days before chopping it, but I probably measured ten times.

[paredown]

Seems reasonable to me--

I've been working on my own too long, and I have started to forget to do that last check--never a good thing.

I miss working with my dad and older brother--they were always the procedure/quality control guys...

[Dead Man]

Integrated seatpost.... my bad.

Yea... that would be a pucker moment.

[oldpotatoe]

No fun with your own bike, really no fun with customer's bike. Mess it up, shop buys new frame time.

[Gummee]

one of my co-workers bought himself a Boone frame.

Measured

Cut

Seems he forgot to add the stem into his measurements and cut things slightly too short

Whoops!

He won't live that one down for a loooong time

M

[benb]

No fun with your own bike, really no fun with customer's bike. Mess it up, shop buys new frame time.

Really?

This is what will keep me from ever buying another ISP bike if I can help it. I've had one (BH G5) and I hated the seatpost topper & there were none others that could fit in it. I'm not sure the shop could have gotten me another one or even parts for it if it had broke. (We did go through this a little as there were problems with the seatpost clamp.)

If Look is really not making the toppers easily orderable by dealers & stocking a supply for the future that's super terrible.

edit: Ah never mind you guys are talking about cutting the frame down, not the topper, so yes cutting too much off the frame means buying the customer a new frame and hoping someone else with the right fit dimensions comes along. I'm still avoiding these if I can help it though for the above mentioned reasons.

[DRZRM]

Yeah, I almost started a new thread over the weekend titled "very expensive mistakes I almost made today". I also do almost all of my own wrenching these days, and a lot of it for friends, so I rate my competency pretty high, but this nearly happened.

I was setting up the new-in-box fork on my new to me Ibis Ripley and measured top of stem to axle from my old bike as a starting point to set up the Rockshox Revelation fork (old Marzocchi is 100mm travel while Rockshox is 120mm, so I planned to leave some length in order to size things out and cut off later).

Measured, looked, did some calculations for handlebar height. Seemed like I was going to be running a lot of spacers to duplicate my general ride position, and almost nobody is running spacers on this bike on-line. I was stymied, and kept taking the measurement over and over figuring something was wrong. I actually had my cutting guide in place before I figured out what the issue was. I had not inflated the shock in the folk which was empty and totally compressed. I would have cut ~120mm (less sag) short on my fork steerer, making it a very expensive mistake.

Thanks god I followed my gut that something was terribly wrong.

Worth noting that the last time I had a fork installed by a reputable shop in Boston (unnamed, but it was managed by a real "Jerk". Oh never-mind, it was IBC in Brighton, which I just learned shut down. Too bad, they were great shops overall, except for this slip-up, which they handled completely professionally) they made a similar error and cut the steerer too short and had to replace the entire uppers, so I understand that this is not something that only happens to amateurs.

[FlashUNC]

When I had my Lobster built up, I brought it by my local shop and had it built up one day over a couple beers and some BSing with the wrenches. They did ask I leave and walk around the block while they cut the fork down to fit.

Didn't want to add any pressure to themselves on botching the cut while I was standing there. It all worked out fine.