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bicycle STORY
the times they are a changin'January 5, 2002 Cracked a rim last week. Third one in as many years. Strange. I never used to crack rims. In fact, prior to these three rims, I'd never broken a wheel in 30 years and not for lack of trying either. When I was a hyperactive 12-year old with more nerve than sense we rode our bikes well beyond what good sense would dictate. And in the years since, I've raced and ridden over miles of trails that I never would have even thought were rideable. And in all those wheel-crushing miles I'd never broken a rim, not even my real light race rims. When you're blasting down a steep, rocky chute like Baby Head in Downieville at the very edge of control and hitting rocks, roots and ruts that rattle your dental fillings, things like shattered rims creep into your thoughts, but riding on the newly repaved bike trail to work? Nah! When I think about it logically, it's probably my bike rack that's breaking my rims since it unevenly weights my wheel from one side, but still the stress level seems so low. I guess the thing is, when I'm commuting, I subject my bike to constant wear and tear. I run over things in the dark, I ride in the rain, I have a heavy rack filled with my lunch and a change of clothes and usually a book or two, basically, now I just wear things out. Tires, rims, cassettes, chains, chainrings, cables, grips, even seats for goodness sake! I had to replace one of those last year because I wore right through the leather cover with my butt! I used to change parts to "upgrade" them and I still LOVE to do that, but now, for the most part, I just replace parts that I've worn out. About a month ago my front hub started making noise. Not a lot of noise, just a sort of clicking. And upon closer inspection I found that the sealed bearing cartridges had developed considerable play. They'd simply worn out. 20,000 miles will do that. Unfortunately those hubs are no longer made so I can't get new bearings for them. I found myself with two wheels in need of replacement, my worn out front one and my broken rear one. (Actually I'll probably relace the front rim to the good back hub for a backup.) So I went shopping for a new set of wheels. In my dreams I saw mega-dollar magic hoops like Mavic Crossmaxes, Cane Creek Chronos and Spinergy Xyclones carrying me to glorious World Cup victories but in reality I saw stacks of cracked race wheels laying along the bike path. There were lots of gorgeous race wheels selling for astounding amounts of money but when I thought about it, I commute to work about 150 days a year and I race 3-5 days a year so in the end I opted for a set of working man's Shimano XT hubs and bullet-proof Sun Rhyno Lite rims. Sexy? No. Practical? Yes. Light and cool? No. Tough and durable? Absolutely, and a bargain too. So that's what I've come to... practical and durable. In my dream world I'd have a set of ultra-light, magic hoops for every occasion but I've finally realized that shaving 50 or 100 grams off my wheels is not going to put me on any World Cup podium but having solid, bullet-proof wheels will be very convenient day in and day out and I can still race them on the weekends. My high-zoot, top-swing XTR derailleur has given way to my tried and true, old bottomswing LX derailleur with the paint worn off, just because its less finicky. I've quit using fancy, expensive, wax-based chain lubes for good old 3-in-1 Oil because 3-in-1 simply works better in the rain and its cheap. In fact, when its really raining I use plain old grease. As modern bikes get lighter and more high-tech mine gets incrementally heavier and utilitarian. Yep, the times they are a changin'. I still read all the magazines and dream about the latest, greatest bikes and parts but I no longer buy them. Maybe one day I will but for now I buy practical parts that will last a long time and many, many miles. The weird thing is... I still love it. Bikes are the best! – dave © Copyright iriguchi 2001 |
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