My Cannondale Broke . . . Again

So as I was saying elsewhere, I was taking a lot of heat from my
riding companions for having a bike that made more noise than a one
man band, so last night I started the process of noise remediation and
routine maintenance. I took off the replaceable derailleur hanger and
found that my drop-out was broken through at the bridge between the
chain stay and seat stay. That explains the clicking and creaking from
the rear dropouts, which I thought was fretting between the axle lock
nuts and drop-out faces. Live and learn.

This was a CAAD 4 frame that was a replacement for a 2.8 frame which
was a replacement for another 2.8 frame I bought 20 years ago. The
bummer is that I have a ride over Mt. Hood scheduled for this weekend
and have no other light bike to ride. The good part is that I have an
excuse to get a new bike, hopefully on warranty. Or maybe just drop
the cash and get a Super Six. I'm smelling plastic in my future.

-- Jay Beattie.

On Jul 17, 8:19*am, Jay Beattie wrote:
So as I was saying elsewhere, I was taking a lot of heat from my
riding companions for having a bike that made more noise than a one
man band, so last night I started the process of noise remediation and
routine maintenance. I took off the replaceable derailleur hanger and
found that my drop-out was broken through at the bridge between the
chain stay and seat stay. That explains the clicking and creaking from
the rear dropouts, which I thought was fretting between the axle lock
nuts and drop-out faces. *Live and learn.

*This was a CAAD 4 frame that was a replacement for a 2.8 frame which
was a replacement for another 2.8 frame I bought 20 years ago. The
bummer is that I have a ride over Mt. Hood scheduled for this weekend
and have no other light bike to ride. The good part is that I have an
excuse to get a new bike, hopefully on warranty. Or maybe just drop
the cash and get a Super Six. I'm smelling plastic in my future.

-- Jay Beattie.

Bummer. Hope the lining of the cloud is silver.
In the interim you can probably compensate for lack of a light bike
by switching to a pair of Rockports.
DR

how'd ya break a dropout hanger ?

On 7/17/2012 7:19 AM, Jay Beattie wrote:

This was a CAAD 4 frame that was a replacement for a 2.8 frame which
was a replacement for another 2.8 frame I bought 20 years ago. The
bummer is that I have a ride over Mt. Hood scheduled for this weekend
and have no other light bike to ride. The good part is that I have an
excuse to get a new bike, hopefully on warranty. Or maybe just drop
the cash and get a Super Six. I'm smelling plastic in my future.

This reminds me of "lifetime warranty" auto parts. They'll replace the
part for free, but it can be a big hassle, as well as costing money for
the other parts and labor needed.

Yet you're thinking of going from aluminum to plastic, that's going from
bad to worse if you're the type that expects to keep a bicycle for 20+
years. Why not go from aluminum to titanium?

On Sunday I rode my 30+ year old CroMo Specialized Road Bike over the
Golden Gate Bridge and up into the Marin headlands, up Conzelman Road,
which is a steep climb and a steeper descent down the other side. I
think that in 30 years I've replaced tires/tubes/rim tape, brake pads,
handlebar tape, and the seat, but everything else is original. It's
light enough. If I want to reduce the weight I can lose 10 pounds of
body weight, rather than buying a disposable framed bicycle. They must
have increased the grade of that road because it seems to be harder to
climb every year.

One thing that would be really nice in mountainous areas would be a road
bike with disc brakes (which I was wishing for as a careened down the
10-18% grade on Sunday). Something like the Redline Conquest Classic
http://www.redlinebicycles.com/archives/2011-conquest-classic
(discontinued) or the Salsa Vaya Ti Complete
http://salsacycles.com/bikes/vaya_ti/.

As an aside, the Golden Gate Bridge has become very un-fun to ride
across because of the explosion in the number of bicycle rental places
in San Francisco touting "Bike the Bridge." So the bike path on the west
side is crammed with nervous, clueless tourists trying to navigate
around the towers and through the narrow sections of sidewalk, stopping
in bad places to take pictures, weaving back and forth, and being
buffeted by high winds.

On Jul 17, 10:44*am, SMS wrote:
On 7/17/2012 7:19 AM, Jay Beattie wrote:

* This was a CAAD 4 frame that was a replacement for a 2.8 frame which
was a replacement for another 2.8 frame I bought 20 years ago. The
bummer is that I have a ride over Mt. Hood scheduled for this weekend
and have no other light bike to ride. The good part is that I have an
excuse to get a new bike, hopefully on warranty. Or maybe just drop
the cash and get a Super Six. I'm smelling plastic in my future.

This reminds me of "lifetime warranty" auto parts. They'll replace the
part for free, but it can be a big hassle, as well as costing money for
the other parts and labor needed.

Yet you're thinking of going from aluminum to plastic, that's going from
bad to worse if you're the type that expects to keep a bicycle for 20+
years. Why not go from aluminum to titanium?

On Sunday I rode my 30+ year old CroMo Specialized Road Bike over the
Golden Gate Bridge and up into the Marin headlands, up Conzelman Road,
which is a steep climb and a steeper descent down the other side. I
think that in 30 years I've replaced tires/tubes/rim tape, brake pads,
handlebar tape, and the seat, but everything else is original. It's
light enough. If I want to reduce the weight I can lose 10 pounds of
body weight, rather than buying a disposable framed bicycle. They must
have increased the grade of that road because it seems to be harder to
climb every year.

One thing that would be really nice in mountainous areas would be a road
bike with disc brakes (which I was wishing for as a careened down the
10-18% grade on Sunday). Something like the Redline Conquest Classic
http://www.redlinebicycles.com/archives/2011-conquest-classic
(discontinued) or the Salsa Vaya Ti Complete
http://salsacycles.com/bikes/vaya_ti/.

As an aside, the Golden Gate Bridge has become very un-fun to ride
across because of the explosion in the number of bicycle rental places
in San Francisco touting "Bike the Bridge." So the bike path on the west
side is crammed with nervous, clueless tourists trying to navigate
around the towers and through the narrow sections of sidewalk, stopping
in bad places to take pictures, weaving back and forth, and being
buffeted by high winds.

Road bikes with disc brakes are beginning to appear, and Shimano has
indicated that it intends to market a hydraulic road disk, apparently
compatible with STI or Di2 -- one of those. I ride a disc cross bike
to work that weighs a ton, but with Rockports, it may ride as fast as
my racing bike.

As for the poor Cannondale, I had an early Black Lightning that lasted
for 20 years, longer than my custom steel. I broke three steel
frames, one several times (I brazed it up and then abandoned it
because, ultimately, I did not like the fit. It is hanging in my
garden). The newer frame broke at a pretty beefy part -- the drop out.
Weird, because the axle is O.K. and the frame was in good alignment.

So, update: I went over to River City this morning and left off the
frame. It is an awesome shop, and the service manager offered a demo/
loaner -- a 16-17lb carbon uber-bike that the manufacturer is trying
to get them to sell. So, I'm going back tonight with my pedals for a
fitting. It may be too small, but its worth a whirl. I don't want to
do a long climb on an ill-fitting bike, and if worse comes to worst, I
will ride my cross bike and just get used to being passed as I creep
up the hill. However, I will commit seppuku with my frame pump before
allowing someone with rubber-soled shoes to beat me.

P.S. about all those people on the Bridge . . . I hate slow moving
cyclists. I would go crazy in Holland.

-- Jay Beattie.

On 7/17/2012 11:40 AM, Jay Beattie wrote:

P.S. about all those people on the Bridge . . . I hate slow moving
cyclists. I would go crazy in Holland.

It's not just that they're slow, it's that they are all over the place.
At least in Holland, and China, the slow riders ride in a predictable
manner.

On Jul 17, 12:40*pm, Jay Beattie wrote:
On Jul 17, 10:44*am, SMS wrote:









On 7/17/2012 7:19 AM, Jay Beattie wrote:

* This was a CAAD 4 frame that was a replacement for a 2.8 frame which
was a replacement for another 2.8 frame I bought 20 years ago. The
bummer is that I have a ride over Mt. Hood scheduled for this weekend
and have no other light bike to ride. The good part is that I have an
excuse to get a new bike, hopefully on warranty. Or maybe just drop
the cash and get a Super Six. I'm smelling plastic in my future.

This reminds me of "lifetime warranty" auto parts. They'll replace the
part for free, but it can be a big hassle, as well as costing money for
the other parts and labor needed.

Yet you're thinking of going from aluminum to plastic, that's going from
bad to worse if you're the type that expects to keep a bicycle for 20+
years. Why not go from aluminum to titanium?

On Sunday I rode my 30+ year old CroMo Specialized Road Bike over the
Golden Gate Bridge and up into the Marin headlands, up Conzelman Road,
which is a steep climb and a steeper descent down the other side. I
think that in 30 years I've replaced tires/tubes/rim tape, brake pads,
handlebar tape, and the seat, but everything else is original. It's
light enough. If I want to reduce the weight I can lose 10 pounds of
body weight, rather than buying a disposable framed bicycle. They must
have increased the grade of that road because it seems to be harder to
climb every year.

One thing that would be really nice in mountainous areas would be a road
bike with disc brakes (which I was wishing for as a careened down the
10-18% grade on Sunday). Something like the Redline Conquest Classic
http://www.redlinebicycles.com/archives/2011-conquest-classic
(discontinued) or the Salsa Vaya Ti Complete
http://salsacycles.com/bikes/vaya_ti/.

As an aside, the Golden Gate Bridge has become very un-fun to ride
across because of the explosion in the number of bicycle rental places
in San Francisco touting "Bike the Bridge." So the bike path on the west
side is crammed with nervous, clueless tourists trying to navigate
around the towers and through the narrow sections of sidewalk, stopping
in bad places to take pictures, weaving back and forth, and being
buffeted by high winds.

Road bikes with disc brakes are beginning to appear, and Shimano has
indicated that it intends to market a hydraulic road disk, apparently
compatible with STI or Di2 -- one of those. *I ride a disc cross bike
to work that weighs a ton, but with Rockports, it may ride as fast as
my racing bike.

Be sure to use the Rockport "Equipe." Despite its name, the "Pro" is
really only suitable for tourists. Damn marketeers!
DR

On 07/17/2012 03:39 PM, SMS wrote:
On 7/17/2012 11:40 AM, Jay Beattie wrote:

P.S. about all those people on the Bridge . . . I hate slow moving
cyclists. I would go crazy in Holland.

It's not just that they're slow, it's that they are all over the place.
At least in Holland, and China, the slow riders ride in a predictable
manner.

One of the best things about the bike paths in Montreal is that they
keep the slow
riders off the road.

On 17-7-2012 20:40, Jay Beattie wrote:

P.S. about all those people on the Bridge . . . I hate slow moving
cyclists. I would go crazy in Holland.

Nah, you'll be fine: those american tourists on their rental bikes
hardly ever make it outside central Amsterdam


--
/Marten

info(apestaartje)m-gineering(punt)nl

Jay Beattie wrote:
So as I was saying elsewhere, I was taking a lot of heat from my
riding companions for having a bike that made more noise than a one
man band, so last night I started the process of noise remediation and
routine maintenance. I took off the replaceable derailleur hanger and
found that my drop-out was broken through at the bridge between the
chain stay and seat stay. That explains the clicking and creaking from
the rear dropouts, which I thought was fretting between the axle lock
nuts and drop-out faces. Live and learn.

This was a CAAD 4 frame that was a replacement for a 2.8 frame which
was a replacement for another 2.8 frame I bought 20 years ago. The
bummer is that I have a ride over Mt. Hood scheduled for this weekend
and have no other light bike to ride. The good part is that I have an
excuse to get a new bike, hopefully on warranty. Or maybe just drop
the cash and get a Super Six. I'm smelling plastic in my future.

I'd be curious to see a photo of the failure. Seems like an unusual
place for a crack.


--
- Frank Krygowski