Peter P.
04-04-2007, 07:37 PM
I have a pair of Kreitler Alloy rollers. The rails were in serious need of a repaint, so I decided to do the project myself. I even ordered new decals from Kreitler for eight bucks.
I had the rails sandblasted, then washed, primed, painted, and clearcoated them a "hammered gold" color, by Rustoleum:
http://www.rustoleum.com/images/color/hammer7210.jpg
Well, I followed the paint application instructions on the can and the paint cracked wildly. I discovered what I did wrong and decided to strip and repaint them AGAIN.
Problem is, I had already applied the decals and had to remove them. I contacted Kreitler about ordering some more. Here's the response I got from Hayley Tennant at Kreitler:
"I am sorry to hear that you are having such a difficult time with your
frame. I will send you out new stickers free of charge today in the mail
seeing as you already paid for them once. Good luck!"
So in addition to legendary quality, Kreitler has legendary customer service. Thanks, Hayley and Kreitler!
And speaking of Kreitler's legendary quality, check this out, reprinted from the June 1990 issue of Cycling Science:
24 Hour Roller Record.
On March 3- 4, 1990, Rick Gunther, 39. a truck mechanic for the fire department in Toledo Ohio, rode 853.46 miles in 24 hours to surpass the old roller record of 838.6 miles, set by Gunther six years earlier. He used the same stock Kreitler rollers that he had used for his previous record. Off the bike only 1.1 hours in 24, Gunther sprinted at the end, and with only seven minutes to go, his bike slipped off the side of the rollers and destroyed the counting device, chopping the record attempt short. He could have done perhaps 5 more miles during the seven minutes remaining. Rolf Dietrich. of Plymouth Michigan, inventor of the Artesian water bottle, set up Gunther's record bike. He used new Phil Wood hubs plus bottom bracket, with the bearings spun in for 1 hour at 12,000 RPM. It is necessary to wear in sealed bearings to achieve minimum friction. The bike used a fixed 80x15 gear, a worn Sedis-Sport chain with 1000 training miles on it. A 12 through 16, five speed Suntour cluster, was installed in case a change in the fixed gear was required, but Gunther rode the whole way in the 80x15. Dietrich pored poly-urethane over the tread of the 160 gram Vittoria sewups, and turned the tires on a lathe for an absolutely smooth and round contact surface. They used 220 psi in the tires, however the latex tubes bled the pressure down to 150 psi after 12 hours, making a wheel change necessary. A 12 bladed spoked wheel was used on the front, and a disk on the rear. The disk was replaced after 12 hours with a spare wheel laced with 20 bladed Wheelsmith spokes. The Kreitler roller bearings were lubricated with stock grease thinned with a few drops of Triflon Teflon lubricant. The roller, calibrated with a micrometer and with electronic counting, spun 3,871,838 times during the record ride.
I had the rails sandblasted, then washed, primed, painted, and clearcoated them a "hammered gold" color, by Rustoleum:
http://www.rustoleum.com/images/color/hammer7210.jpg
Well, I followed the paint application instructions on the can and the paint cracked wildly. I discovered what I did wrong and decided to strip and repaint them AGAIN.
Problem is, I had already applied the decals and had to remove them. I contacted Kreitler about ordering some more. Here's the response I got from Hayley Tennant at Kreitler:
"I am sorry to hear that you are having such a difficult time with your
frame. I will send you out new stickers free of charge today in the mail
seeing as you already paid for them once. Good luck!"
So in addition to legendary quality, Kreitler has legendary customer service. Thanks, Hayley and Kreitler!
And speaking of Kreitler's legendary quality, check this out, reprinted from the June 1990 issue of Cycling Science:
24 Hour Roller Record.
On March 3- 4, 1990, Rick Gunther, 39. a truck mechanic for the fire department in Toledo Ohio, rode 853.46 miles in 24 hours to surpass the old roller record of 838.6 miles, set by Gunther six years earlier. He used the same stock Kreitler rollers that he had used for his previous record. Off the bike only 1.1 hours in 24, Gunther sprinted at the end, and with only seven minutes to go, his bike slipped off the side of the rollers and destroyed the counting device, chopping the record attempt short. He could have done perhaps 5 more miles during the seven minutes remaining. Rolf Dietrich. of Plymouth Michigan, inventor of the Artesian water bottle, set up Gunther's record bike. He used new Phil Wood hubs plus bottom bracket, with the bearings spun in for 1 hour at 12,000 RPM. It is necessary to wear in sealed bearings to achieve minimum friction. The bike used a fixed 80x15 gear, a worn Sedis-Sport chain with 1000 training miles on it. A 12 through 16, five speed Suntour cluster, was installed in case a change in the fixed gear was required, but Gunther rode the whole way in the 80x15. Dietrich pored poly-urethane over the tread of the 160 gram Vittoria sewups, and turned the tires on a lathe for an absolutely smooth and round contact surface. They used 220 psi in the tires, however the latex tubes bled the pressure down to 150 psi after 12 hours, making a wheel change necessary. A 12 bladed spoked wheel was used on the front, and a disk on the rear. The disk was replaced after 12 hours with a spare wheel laced with 20 bladed Wheelsmith spokes. The Kreitler roller bearings were lubricated with stock grease thinned with a few drops of Triflon Teflon lubricant. The roller, calibrated with a micrometer and with electronic counting, spun 3,871,838 times during the record ride.