EvilV

Actually - that's really important. A friend of mine who is a bit of an optimist, refused my advice that loading his laptop, lunch, and other work related paraphernalia into the front luggage system and then pounding down potholed roads was a bad idea. I said he should put at least the laptop into a backpack so it was protected from the trauma of road bumps since the front is completely unsuspended. Anyway, after a short while of commuting he managed to wrench out one of the bolts that secure the luggage mounting block onto the steerer tube. This broke the block and caused him to have to return the bike to Anita. I thought that he'd abused it myself, but anyhow, she had to get the steerer tube repaired somehow (probably a 'helicoil' as we call them here - you drill the damaged hole a little larger and tap it, then screw in a threaded tube with the original sized thread on the inside). Anyhow - you couldn't have done that so easily across the Atlantic.

I know she'd have supported you fine by posting parts, but a damaged frame? Not so easy. She certainly posted me a new plastic chain tensioner, and then when that broke too at about 1800 miles and eleven months on, she sent me the aluminium one - all gratis.