(ABOVE: This small piece of metal broke off of my bicycle frame. It's kind of important...it holds the wheel and rear shifter/derailer)
I broke my bicycle!
As you might have read on earlier blog articles, I've taken up cycling during the last two years.
Years ago I was a typical kid as I would ride my bike everywhere before I learned to drive. During college I pedaled my way to class on the huge Texas A&M campus. I looked like quite a doofus too when I had a sports injury, and instead of using crutches I pedaled with one leg!
Back then I rode a pull-off-the-shelf cheap bike from a big chain store. As far as care and maintenance, there wasn't any-- I might have aired up the tires twice! Who spends $$$ on bike repairs?! The junker bike was rained on for years, hailed on, even briefly stolen once. The tires had cracks and were half-filled with "Fix-a-Flat" to stay afloat. The 10 speed became a one speed as the shifters stopped working. Paint pealed away exposing rust spots. I was upset when the chain snapped and I had to pay $20 to have new one installed-- the bike shop was embarassed to have a nasty bike seen by customers, so they hid it upstairs away until I picked it up!
Channel 2 Chief Meteorologist Dan Threlkeld reintroduced me to cycling years later, and I learned what a difference a good bicycle makes. After he let me borrow his Cannondale bicycle I bought an old one just like it. That was just over two years ago.
Since then I've pedaled all over the Tulsa River Trails, some city streets with the Tulsa Bicycle Club, and to work-- it's fun! But after riding exactly 4,572 miles in two years my bike died. I killed it.
Here's what happened...I was riding with a group of guys in the Bixby area when my rear derailer (the small rotating cogs where the chain goes) started giving me issues. The bike wouldn't shift as normal.
I thought I had the problem fixed until I heard the derailer rubbing against the rear wheel spokes. I shifted, trying to get the derailer away from the wheel when the back of my bike exploded. The derailer jammed in the spokes!
What happened next wouldn't be good. Normally a broken/bent derailer or broken/bent spoke is the result. Instead the aluminum frame broke apart near where the rear wheel attaches. It snapped, and the rear wheel fell off! Bicycle frame = totaled. Bike = dead.
(ABOVE: That small piece broke off here. As you might guess, bike frames are more useful when they can actually hold wheels...)
A broken frame can't or shouldn't be repaired, especially as the break occurred in a critical area. I thought about having the pieces welded, but I might be killed or worse if it broke apart while I was racing Lance down a bumpy mountain hill. My old, second-hand used bike had died, but it lived a good life. Plus it gave me an excuse to upgrade!
I went to www.trek.com to check out the latest and greatest of the famed Madone road bicycles. Even a low-end new bike rivaled the cost of a used car. I can't afford that, nor would my wife be pleased if I thought about it, ("Hey honey, can we sell your shiny SUV so that I can make payments on a new bike instead?") That probably wouldn't go over too well...
Next stop...eBay and Craig's List. What can I get used for cheap? I first looked at upgrading to an aluminum frame with carbon fiber forks. (The fork is the part of the bike connecting the frame to the wheels) Then I looked at all-carbon frames. (Carbon frames look like metal, but almost feel like a thick plastic. Carbons are raced by the pros and are lighter and smoother.)
From experience I've learned it's cheaper to "spend big" up front on bicycle parts as it's more expensive to upgrade later, and I found myself wanting a carbon frame with trigger shifters. This contrasted to my rough-riding aluminum Cannondale with downtube shifters. (Downtube shifters are located on the lower bike frame instead of the handlebars.)
On eBay I found exactly the frame I wanted, and as a huge bonus it came equipped with brake upgrades and components I needed: a low-mileage 1994 Trek OCLV carbon frame and Ultegra trigger shifters. The seller claimed the bike had only 5,000 miles of use and a tune-up, and it looked almost brand new in the pictures. I exchanged several questions with the seller.
Feeling confident in the deal I put in my winning bid (with about 20 seconds left on the auction) and won it. The total cost? A few hundred bucks. Certainly much less than that $3K new bike I liked from Trek.
(Below: My old bicycle on a better day. It's a 1990 model Cannondale 3.0 Criterium. Notice the shifters on the downtube)
Of course I'm quite sad to part with my Cannondale, but parts of that bike will live on (seat, stem, pedals and some drivetrain) as I'm installing them on the new (used) bike.
My purchase from eBay has arrived, and the bike looks good at a glance. I'm almost done assembling it.
Did I get a great deal or get hosed? For what I paid the deal seems too good to be true.
How's my new ride turning out? Stay tuned! GF
(Below: Here's my new (used) bike as pictured on eBay. Now we'll see if the Green Monster works!)