Friday, September 10, 2010

Out of Commission.


What you see here is the left seatstay on my R3.  Yep, cracked.  And no, I do not need to cut back on the Krispy Kreme doughnuts. 

Last night, I was making a left turn at a T-intersection when the car 90 degrees to my left pulled out.  I was mostly sure he was stopped and waiting for me to go by, until he lurched forward as I passed the front of his car.  Thankfully he just tagged the rear end of the bike and I didn't even go down.  He stopped (miraculous, and more on that in a second) to be sure I was okay and that my bike wasn't damaged.  Not only that, he handed over all of his information and asked me to call him if I found anything wrong with the bike. 

I rode home, and then began going over the Cerv.  To my surprise, I noticed the cracks in the seatstay.  There is even a bit of a bow to the stay, letting me know (for sure, I didn't really doubt it) that the structure is compromised.  So I call Steve (the guy who hit me) and let him know.  He literally says "I'm so glad to hear your voice, are you feeling ok?"  I am still stunned at his compassion.  We agree that I'll take the bike to a local shop for their opinion.

I visited Mock Orange, where Charles reminded me that Calfee repairs high-end carbon frames.  Hence, a call to Calfee yields critical info - seatstay repairs are 1/4 the cost of a new R3 frame, and repairs can be completed in as little as two weeks.

Now, the real story here is that Winston is possibly not the death-trap for cyclists that we've all been fearing lately.  While Steve and I were talking, another lady stopped to see if I was okay. My suggestions, having been through a close call here, are these:  Obey the traffic laws, use lights (I was), keep cool, and try not to piss drivers off.  You never know when this kind of thing might happen to you or someone you're with and who's watching or listening.   

A few more pics are below.  By the way, I stripped all the gear off the frame for shipping, and this thing is LIGHT.  Just had not idea as he's not been fully 'naked' since I've had him. 

I'll keep you posted as to the outcome of the Calfee send-off, but as the Cerv is my only set of wheels, I'm out of commission for a few weeks.   

5 comments:

The Clawhammer Cyclist said...

all hail the victorious Cerv!

Erich said...

Sent the frame out to Calfee. Hopefully the Cerv will be back for the CLM100K. Man, I hope so!

Until then I am rocking Barry's cross bike. 21 pounds of pure bliss that will have me in good shape for the 100K, either way.

Anonymous said...

"I ain't anonymous! it's Bicycle Spaniard!"

So... you'll be doing some CX races on Barry's bike?

Curtis said...

Erich, Calfee is super legit. The shop I work at is the biggest Calfee repair account they have. I've probably built up about 10 or so bikes repaired by them in the last two months and every frame comes back looking awesome. Glad you're ok too!

Erich said...

Thanks Curtis! I've heard and read nothing but good things about Calfee, but your endorsement seals the deal. Just scared me a bit, but I had a moment or two to realize it was going to happen, which allowed me to balance and prepare. Many folks are not so lucky. Sorry we couldn't hook up over Labor Day.

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