Well That Sucks

My beautiful wife's beautiful bike has a crack in the frame.




Shortly after we started dating my (now) wife bought a lovely titanium 29er from a fantastic, small local shop.

While putzing around in the garage the other night I noticed a small crack in the weld where the seat tube meets the seat stay.

Crack, right along the weld

To make things better neither the shop that she bought it from nor the company that built the bike actually exists anymore.

I emailed the guy that used to run the shop and asked him for his insight.
Being that the frame is titanium it looks like we just need to find a framebuilder who is willing to and has time to do the repair.

That's what the weld should look like

It's a bummer, but it could be worse . . . it could be aluminum or crabon fibre . . .  or it could have failed in the middle of a big ride.

As it stands she has had many happy miles aboard the bike, and the issue appears to be fixable for a few dollars.

Sad, but fixable . . . I think

In all honesty I am a bit proud of my wife.  She cracked a Ti frame.  I don't personally know anyone else who can say that.  . . .  and it's not the first frame she's cracked.
 She busted welds on a steel frame shortly after we married.

An understated bad-ass, that's my wife.

Why?

Why is it that bike I least care about having the brakes perfectly adjusted is the bike on which the brakes end up perfectly adjusted without me even trying?


Why BB7s?  .   .    .    .   Why?

29er 1x9er

Put together something different for the winter.



Still doing dishes by hand.



Yes, there is a new frame in the garage. A headset for Christmas this year.


Camera is broken or I'd have pictures for you.

That is all.

It's How I Keep Away the Crazy

10:35-11:08 pm. Wagon wheels. Icy and fast.

Reaping the Rewards of Impulsivity

I'm visiting the in-laws at the moment, which isn't as bad as it sounds. They have a cozy little house in a beautiful part of the country. Late in the evening I pulled my wife's rigid 29er off the roof rack. Figured I'd take a quick spin up the road at the end of a long day of driving. About 100yards up from the house the road crosses a lovely little creek.

I looked at the rocky creek bed and realized the rocky cobbles of the stream bed would be perfect for a little 29er exploration. I took off upstream rolling and crawling over the rocks, hopping off and wading through shallow braids of the creek when necessary. It was a lovely ride through previously glaciated terrain, with mountain wilderness as a back drop.

I rode as far as I could before oncoming darkness required that I turn around. It wasn't a long ride, and it wasn't a fast ride (I'm pretty sure I topped out around 3mph), but it was a great ride. Crawling along a nontraditional bike route with in shorts and sandals on a warm summer evening was about the best way I can think of to unwind after too many long weeks of hectic packing and moving. The creek bed ride wasn't my plan, but I'm glad I indulged my impulsivity.