Replacement Frame

I now have my Ti road bike back. I picked it up from the shop on Wednesday. It needed a new chain and bottom bracket, besides the new frame. I will also need to replace the 7th cog. It apparently was my favorite and it's skipping something something fierce under load with the new chain. I have the same cassette on a spare wheel that I'll swap on for now.

Trek basically did the absolute minimum to get the bike here. They slapped a Lemond decal on the downtube, taped a plastic head badge to it, and put it in a box. I also got to pay to swap the components over. Ah well... At least I have something rideable again. I fully expect this one to break in the same way, but I'm hoping for a few more years. Maybe Lemond Cycles will be back up and running by then. I still may write Trek a nasty gram, but I'll let that decision wait for a couple of days.

All of that said, it sure rides nice. I've put about 70 miles on it in the last two days. More is probably happening tomorrow.

Ti Frame Update

I wandering into the Trek Store yesterday to see if they had a replacement part for my Giro helmet. They did and... the replacement frame was there. It's a bit odd. Trek looks to have slapped a Lemond decal on it the downtube and shipped it. I'm not really complaining since I have a replacement frame. When Jim was starting to swap parts, he discovered that the Campy Record bottom bracket was shot. I decided to put another one back on the bike instead of the cheaper Chorus one. The only real difference is that the shell in the Record is carbon fiber instead of aluminum. It's also back to a Record chain. That was because the shop had one and not the Chorus one that I'd have put on it. I will be paying for the swap over. It seems that the labor to move the parts from the bad frame to the replacement isn't covered. But... I'll have the bike back when the parts that need to be ordered show up and get installed.

It's Not Over Till I Say It's Over

Well.. Despite my statements that I would not obsess on the numbers, I find that I'm in complete denial. I now have just 858 more miles to get in this year to get to 10000. I haven't been at 10k miles since my racing days in the BH (Before House), BW (Before Wife), and BC (Before Children) days. It's looking like I can do it without any serious suffering or stupidity. Yesterday, I had to deal with a cut sidewall and a flat on the ride. Oh yeah... and then there was the little bit of snow and the closely related temperature. Nothing really hard. I'm not looking forward to the day I have to put the studs back on. That will make the commuting much, much harder.

In a semi-related note, when I stopped in at the Trek Store yesterday to change out the flat, I asked about the Tete de Course warranty replacement. Mr. Bill, indicated that the Trek road rep was there on Thursday and took more pictures. Trek has still not sent the pickup tag for the fork. I am starting to think that maybe Trek isn't going to make good. I am still optimistic.

Ti Frame Update

I've been pleasantly surprised. The folks at Trek Corporate didn't bat an eye. The local Trek Store folks (Thank you Jeff and Bill) took a couple of pictures, made a couple of calls, and I'll be on a new frame in a couple of weeks. The thing that I find amazing is that there were a pair of bare metal Ti frames in 53cm available. That really has my head spinning since they haven't made these in about five years.

So... the only hard thing about the deal is picking a paint color. I decided to go with the Chi Red. I already have a yellow Lemond and I wasn't really sure about an orange bike. I really liked having the brushed metal frame, but I'm quite happy to have the Ti frame vs "plastic". The only real delay in getting this done is that I want the fork painted to match the frame. All things said, right now, I'm a happy camper.

I Was Just Riding Along - Again

Well... I went out for my normal post Ashtanga led class recovery ride today. I met Jen on the bike path and we headed out to the end of it to loop down to the river. We were just about to turn onto the road for the twisty descent to the river when I heard this noise. I told Jen that I needed to stop and check because that wasn't a good noise. I had changed a flat out on the front wheel the day before and I was thinking that I must not have gotten the front wheel in right, quick release having issues, etc. Didn't see anything wrong there. I rode another 50 feet and heard the noise again and stopped to look really closely. Now I could see the problem. A very nice crack in the down tube that is almost 80% around the tube. I was glad I stopped.

Now comes the fun. Trek and Lemond have severed their business relationship. I may be screwed with respect to the warrantee. Time will tell. I have a friend that had exactly the same issue with his Ti Tete de Course too and it wasn't a problem getting things fixed then. Now might be a different story. I'm hoping that they will still have a Ti 53cm frame in the warehouse. I don't want a plastic, aka carbon fiber frame. But that would be preferable to nothing.

I Was Just Riding Along And...

Well... It was an "interesting" finish to today's ride home from work. I was going up this serious steep little pitch behind the house. I was a bit tired from yesterday's lifting session, yoga, and second night of poor sleep. As a result, I didn't quite have as much speed as I usually carry right there. I was just about stalled and thinking.... clip out? punch it? clip out?? punch it?? clip out??? PUNCH IT!!! So... I yanked super hard on the bars and ~snap~ my left crank arm goes from one piece to two pieces. I wind up checking out the ground up close. No big deal, just scuffed the right knee a bit and walk 200 meters to the house. Went to the spin class and then a stop at the bike shop. I have a used crank back on the bike and it should suffice for awhile. I'm seriously considering steel at this point. Time to surf for alternatives. Any suggestions for my Surly 1x1?