An Unexpected Change

Remember when I worked to try to stop the creaking on the Falcon and its pesky EBB?

Well, it did stop, but only for about five minutes.  I went through all the recommended steps to keep that thing from making noise, and no matter what I did it just sounded horrible.  During a ride early Saturday morning, I almost quit early because I couldn’t stand the noise.  I’d had enough, so I decided to pay a visit to Mark at The Cycle Path to see if he had any tricks up his sleeve.

We took it apart to see what was going on.

After taking some careful measurements and even trying a brand new EBB to check the fit, it was decided that the old style bottom bracket had ovalized the shell.

There was nothing I could do.

I was told that it should be a warranty issue, so word was sent to Niner to see what could be done.  I found out yesterday that they will indeed warranty the frame, so a new one is on the way.  I really like my raw One9 and how not fancy it is, so when I had to pick a new frame I went with the least flashy one.

My other choices included the most hideous color ever, orange (sorry TomTom), so picking the “licorice” color was a no-brainer.  For once, I’m not really that excited about getting a new bike, but at least I can be excited that it will be quiet when I ride it.  I am really happy that Niner is taking care of me though.  It's a far better experience than the last bike brand I represented for sure.

So yeah, I guess that means there will be a post about a new bike build in the near future.  Don’t worry, I’m sure it won’t be that exciting.


You know what else isn’t that exciting?  I’m probably gonna race tomorrow.

Cross country.  With gears.

Oh joy.

Race report Monday if I do.

I Should Be Happy

Remember when I broke my geared frame a while back?

Well, I ended up getting a warranty replacement.  Normally I would’ve mentioned that by now, but I really didn’t feel like talking about it.  I’m not really that excited, and I’ll tell you why.

The company (I won’t mention any names because you can figure out who I’m talking about) has a lifetime warranty on their frames, and since I’ve gone through the warranty process before I knew they would take care of me.  Well, they sorta did, and I got a new bike out of it.

The frame is the same size, make, model, and color, but it is from 2008 (the first year they produced that model.)  Normally it wouldn’t be a big deal, but something was missing when they made the frame that year.

Notice anything?

Or should I say lack of anything?

Although it is an extra large (22”) frame, there isn’t a place to mount a water bottle cage on the seat tube.  Every model from 2009 to the present has two bottle cage mounts, including the 2011 model I was riding.  Normally it wouldn’t be a big deal, but I kinda need two water bottles when I ride.  Plus, since the frame I broke had two, I wanted at least an equal replacement.  So yeah, I think it kinda sucks.

That 2008 must be all they had in stock in my size, and normally I should be happy to have received a replacement at all.  However, the new model years are already showing up on the scene (with two bottle cage mounts like any other bike in that size.)  Also, it looks like they’ve finally addressed the issue of cracking frames at the seat tube/top tube junction.

I’ve broken three of their frames in the same place, and I’m guessing I’m not the only one.  So, I’m thinking that maybe they should’ve sent me the newer model, you know, with its reinforced frame and two bottle cage mounts.  That would’ve made me happy, but it’s too little too late.

I didn’t plan on keeping it anyway.

I’m switching my geared ride to another brand soon, so the plan was to get the cracked frame warrantied and give it to Lunchbox.  He’s a growing boy, and at 6’3” and 220 pounds he needs to move up from a large frame.  He’s pretty happy to be getting a new bike, even if it only has one bottle cage mount.  We can take care of that with a little aftermarket fix anyway.

This post wasn’t supposed to be a bash-fest, because I did have something good to say about the shop I went through for the warranty replacement.  They were helpful, had a quick turnaround time, and charged me a great price for labor.  It wasn’t all good though, because I noticed something when I started to take apart the bike to build it up for my kid.  I had trouble getting one of the bottom bracket cups off, and I couldn’t figure out why. 

When I looked inside, I found the problem.

Somehow, the “shop” bent the cup and it wouldn’t turn.  I’m really not even sure how the hell they got it in there.  So, since I couldn’t get the cup off, it looks like Lunchbox will inherit my crankset too.  I’ll have to get a new one.  Bastards.

So, this whole breaking my frame thing has been shitty.  Couple that with other things I’ve experienced over the last few years and it’s easy to see why I’m jumping ship.

At least my kid is happy, and that’s all that counts.

Maybe tomorrow I'll get some build pics up of his "new" bike.

I Couldn’t Wait

So I bought some new pedals. Despite the fact that I broke a pedal at my last race, I’m still sticking with crankbrothers. I’ve been riding them for years, so I can’t change now.


But, why did I buy new pedals? Well, I sent my broken ones out for warranty service, and I heard back from the folks at crankbrothers and they will indeed honor the warranty. The problem is, the pedals won’t be back in time for this weekend’s race. So, I picked up another set to use in the meantime. I guess it won’t hurt to have an extra set hanging around just in case.



Installing new pedals is pretty easy, so I won’t waste your time showing you how I did it. They are the same style I’ve been riding (eggbeaters), so there won’t be an adjustment period at all. I’ve said it before, I don’t like change.


In other news, I guess you can say I’ve been training. Lugging a 65 pound Rottweiler up and down the stairs every day is helping me with my strength training, but it’s also wearing me out. Yes, my dog is getting better, but I still don’t trust her walking up and down the stairs. She may never be able to walk those stairs again, so I don’t mind carrying her around. She walks pretty well now around the rest of the house and the yard, but I don’t want her to get injured any further.


I’ve been riding a little bit too. The single speed has been my weapon of choice when I’m not racing, and I think it may be helping out. I’m able to sprint up steep climbs, and my recovery time from hard efforts is getting shorter. I’m nowhere near “in-season” shape yet, but I’m getting there. I’m guessing that by the time summer gets here, I’ll be good to go.


I think I’ll cut it off here for the day. With the race season in full swing I should have more to talk about, but I guess that isn’t the case. You really shouldn’t expect that much outta me anyway.


What the hell do you want, a picture of Dicky dressed as a unicorn?




Yeah, you can’t unsee that shit either.

Do I Need A New Wingman?

I didn’t mean to leave y’all hanging yesterday, but I had to cut it short. If your attention span is anything like mine, a big wordy blog post can cause you to lose interest. Okay, I did mean to leave you hanging, but that was only so you would keep coming back here to read my nonsense. I write, you read. It’s simple. When I left off yesterday, I had taken my bike to a local shop, which was suggested to me by the Dirty Party Cycle and the fine folks at Diamondback. The Dirty Party Cycle is a stickler for good customer service, so how could I go wrong?


I headed over to the quaint little town of Lincolnton, North Carolina with my broken bicycle, and hoped for the best. I was prepared for the worst though, when I arrived at Ride-A-Bike Bicycle Shoppe. I had never been there before, so I didn’t expect them to jump all over the chance to help me with my warranty issue. Even though the shop was highly recommended by the DPC, I still thought that there was a chance that I would never ride another full squishy Diamondback again. I reminisced for a moment about my poor little Goose (in it's non-broken form of course.)




The shop was actually pretty cool, and it had that nice home town feeling to it. I was greeted immediately by the owner, Chafin, and he asked what he could do for me. I told him about my bike issue, and that my former shop had closed down. He said to bring my broken bike around to the service entrance, and he would take a look.


I was still pretty nervous at this point, but Chafin made me feel better with his assessment of the broken frame. He said the seatpost height looked fine, and this it was most likely a manufacturer defect. Whew, I thought. He parked the bike in the back and headed over to the phone to call Diamondback. Since they are located in the Seattle area (think about the time difference), the warranty guy wasn’t in the office yet. Chafin left a message, and now I would play the waiting game.


He took down all of my information, the serial number of the bike, and told me not to worry. These things take a little time, so I had to wait. I told him I was heading to Florida for vacation, and that I would call in a few days to see what they would do about my frame. I left the next morning for The Sunshine State, still with the wounded Goose on my mind. Would he be okay in his temporary home?




A few days later, I called up Ride-A-Bike to find out the verdict. Chafin told me that they would indeed do a warranty replacement on the frame, and that it will take a few days for the new one to get there. I told him to proceed, and I would await the next call.


The day after I got back from Florida (last Tuesday), I got a message on my phone that my new bike was ready. I called them back and said I would be right there to pick it up. After a short drive, I arrived at the shop to see my new ride. The fine folks at Diamondback Bicycles had sent me a shiny new 2009 Sortie 3 to replace my 2008 model.



I was so happy to have a new frame, especially since it was nearly identical to my last one. Even though it’s not even close to my favorite color, I really like it. The color is called Metallic Deep Dark Sea Cave Green (WTF?), but it looks really dark so I don’t mind. Since I have an affinity for red, I had to do something about the whole color scheme for this new and improved version of Goose. All of my red accessories had to go, and I replaced everything with black (what I had in the shop.) Lizard Skins chainstay protectors and grips are on every bike here at B-43, so I was happy to have some black components readily available. The red Crank Brothers Candy pedals are still on there though, but the Big Brown Truck should be delivering some new ones any day now.



Everything else was easily replaced, although my headset spacers are not ideal. I had some of the black composite Cane Creek Interlok spacers to put on, but I have requested some shiny black anodized ones from my friends over there in Fletcher, NC. I hope they have heard my pleas for fashion conformity. Luckily, my Awesome Strap has a hint of green, so it compliments the whole “green bike” thing. That color must be a favorite of people in Seattle, or at least one could assume.


So, even though Diamondback Bicycles took care of my warranty issue, I have to give a huge thanks to my new shop, Ride-A-Bike in Lincolnton, NC. The customer service was great, and I was pleased with my new bike build. I’m throwing my support at them from now on, since I was really impressed with the service. I hope you, my legions of followers, will do the same. They’ve been in business since 1981, so I don’t think that they will be closing their doors anytime soon. I’m not easily impressed (unless it involves shiny new bike parts), so it means a lot to me that I found such a great shop. Now it’s time to plan a ride with the new and improved Goose, my Wingman in the Woods.