First cross race of the season, it's raining.
Cat C's @ start line, I scored a nice front row start position, All is ok, just hanging about in the rain waiting for the start.
The whistle blows, power down for 10ft, my starts head traveling towards the floor fast somehow I unclip, then i'm off the front of my bike on the floor. So out of the 120 or so riders behind me, only 3 people ride over my bike.
I grab my bike drag it out of the way, the steerer tube, sheered off right above the headset, yep, Aluminum steerer tube, not the stem, not the stem bolts. The field rides off, i'm really cheesed off, I have a little skin missing from my knees and I don't have a 2nd bike.
if you look close you will see i'm running in the air!So I walk back to Yakima tent shouldering my bike, handlebars off, fork falling off and rear chris king wheel is now garbage, swearing and bitching.
I borrow a 53 cm bike ( I ride a 59), I swap my front wheel on, swap my pedals on, jack the seat up, realize the brakes are reversed to my normal - 10mins later jump in the race and pass a crap load of people.
Where did I come in ?, 63rd out of 131! hell yes thats some good passing.
I now have backache :) from what feels like riding a bmx but turns out my teammate took 1st, good for him
I am glad it happened here though, could have been worse could have happened on a downhill decent at 35mph or in traffic.
shear man power does this
This is how you look when you ride a bike that is way too small for you and the brakes are the opposite way round to what you are used to.So far my race season has been a stream of mechanicals - like this:
June - snapped a carbon fiber seatpost in Short-track, 1st race, 2 laps to go.
July - two idiots crash in front of me on the velodrome, bunnyhoppe one guys bike.
August - destroyed my rear cross wheel (cracked rim) on a big fat curb
September - broke the axel bolt on my mavic Ksyrium road wheels.
October, Snapped aluminium steerer tube on my cross bike.
what next? maybe I should sell my bikes:)
Good news - off to see Sigur Ros tomorrow
Check out www.16tooth.blogspot.com
5 comments:
Man, that could have ended much worse. Perhaps you should just do some proper mountain biking. Those silly cross bikes just weren't really engineered for that kind of abuse. :)
Same thing happened to a buddy's 08 f1x three weeks ago. Felt warranteed it with a pretty quick turnaround.
you all are aware i hope ,, that Consumer Product Safety Commiss. has recalled the fork on FELT F1X.. Years 2007 and 2008. Glad this was not worse.
This was in the time before the recal was anouned to the public. Felt took things very seriously and came through with a new ec 70x fork before my next cross race. Looked after me proper good.
But still no recall on the same model-year sold in the UK. Maybe the export model had a different fork or UK lawyers are not paid as much ? My F1X has got EC70 now.
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