Hi friends & family,
I had another wonderful commute today! On the return home after passing Alki, I was riding along the rough road that is Beach Drive. My bicycle was not feeling and sounding well. I stopped and noticed that she had a compound fracture of the seat tube at the bottom bracket. I was happy to have had this last ride with her on such a beautiful day!!! She was a great commute bicycle -- always willing to get me where I wanted to go when I wanted to go, for more than 11,000 kms. I had the pleasure of riding her on several SIR events: a 200km, a couple permanents and this year’s populaire.
Cheers!
Peter
Yowzer!
ReplyDeleteLast commute, hell - that's eminently fixable. I've repaired several such myself, and they can wind up being stronger than new. Talk to David Wilson (David Wilson Industries) or some other reputable frame builder/repairer, and your faithful steed can be up on its tires again after a short interval. Val
ReplyDeleteHi Val,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind suggestion!!! She is a ~35 year old low-end Motobecane with stamped drop outs. I already replace her fork after an encounter with an opening car door. Her frame is deteriorating. The brake bridge is failing. I fitted a piece of hard plastic to secure the brake bolt. She lived a great life!!!
Cheers!
Peter
Sad news indeed to have a trusty friend fall ill. I myself suffered a cracked headtube on my trusty $10.00 Motobecane Grand Touring that I had done numerous tours and 200k's on as well as daily commuting. Whether the bike is repaired or replaced take comfort knowing there will be many more beautiful days enjoyed by bicycle!
ReplyDeleteWonderful post! This is a fellow who knows how to celebrate small moments.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, if you should change your mind about that repair: in Portland we have a great welder near our shop called, believe it or not, ACME Welding (Wile E. Coyote would be thrilled). ACME is not a bike builder, but over the years we've helped aducate them about how to repair bike frames so they're useable again. Several of my co-workers are riding on frames that a framebuilder would have declared DOA. We also refer our customers to them.
ACME charges about 30 to 50 bucks for a basic, stout repair. You have to strip the frame of parts but if you're ever planning a trip to Portland it's definitely an option. I have so much faith in their repairs that should the day come that my Rivendell breaks down I'll take it to ACME first.