SquatchBiker

On the advice from this board, I purchased a bike from my LBS. Got to go on two rides and had an accident. 8 stitches later and two weeks after buying the bike I get in two more rides. This time I did something while shifting (went from high gear to low gear or something) and my derailer stuck in the spokes on my back wheel. Took the bike back to the shop. Busy shop and it was ten days before I could get the bike back. Now it's raining. I'm woefully out of shape so the rides can be a chore (and an ego bruise) but its all I think about.

On a side note me and my oldest son are both over weight but I think I actually have some positive influence now. He has been saving his money for almost a year to buy a gaming computer, well he finally purchased the parts. He had some money left over and instead of buying a couple of games he went and bought a bike. Granted he purchased a cheap fixie from Walmart but he really loves the bike. He's doing a summer bridge for his advanced math class next year so he's been riding the bike to school daily and wants to go on rides with me.

Hopefully I can keep him, me, my bike and his bike in one piece for a little while and enjoy some riding. It's all I think about.

indyfabz

What did they tell you? I am wondering if you bent the RD hanger in the accident. I once bent my hanger on my touring/commuter bike one winter. Was too lazy to get it fixed and forgot about it. One spring day I was out training for a tour and decided to shift into the lowest gear to see how it felt going up a steep hill. KABOOM! As soon I heard the noise I knew what I had done. The RD cage had gone into the spokes. The thing asploded into a bunch of parts and the hanger got twisted. Amazingly, the wheel suffered only a minor tweaking. And fortunately, the hanger was not so twisted that it needed to be replaced. I was only about 3 miles from home. Skateboarded where I could then walked the rest of the way.

Vexxer

Welcome to the addiction... Its crazy how much we will torture ourselves when we first start this from being out of shape, yet can't get enough of it. Bummer about your bike though, I would go nuts at this point if I didn't have my bike for ten days.

eja_ bottecchia

OP, I know how you feel--hang in there!

You have started a journey towards good health for you and your family.

Kudos to you. Ride a lot, ride safely!

SquatchBiker

Yeah the shop told me that I bent the hanger and they just straightened it out. Said my wheel was out of true and they fixed that too. (Free!). I thought I might need a new derailer but they said they could just bend back the hanger (but if it happens again I might need a new one).

Cycle Babble

Obsessed about riding? Yes....and then some. My 1,000 mile goal is close to being busted. Perhaps I should shoot for 2,000?

Keep it up...soon you will be in a happy place.


John S

nthnynvk

I've been excited for 9 days to get on my bike, but the lbs is taking forever to get my new tires in and it will take another 7 before I can feel the breeze in my lack of hair (damn you premature baldness) the only reason I went to a shop is because I haven't worked on a bike since I was a kid and my dad was able to help out. I'm going stir crazy.

TrojanHorse

YOU did not bend the hanger... their inept mechanic set it up incorrectly. You should have NO possibility of shifting into the rear spokes (caveat: if you bent the hanger a bit in your previous crash, you can discount this entire rant) under normal circumstances.

Keep it sane though, no need to attempt the Tour de France on your first outing.

bbeasley

Looks like you've caught the bug, at least it's a good one. Many of us come here for health and fitness but end up falling in love with cycling.

Obsessed? I haven't driven my car in 36 days

SammyJ 

I darn cranky the 3 day without a ride!

spdracr39

I feel you. I always thought people riding bikes in the rain were nuts. We had a spell of two weeks it rained almost everyday. I lasted till day three and started getting wet. Now I don't even look at the weather unless they are talking about storms.

ill.clyde

Haven't ridden all week ... the only day I could have was Monday, since then nothing but storms.

Hoping I can tomorrow ... I'm cranky

BIGDCYCLES

Now I know why I have multiple bikes. One goes down and I can grab a backup and go.

indyfabz

Ignore the rant above. That's what I thought happened as a result of the crash. I bent mine when I came home from a rainy errand ride with a lot of weight in my messenger bag. Dripped water on my hard wood floors, my feet slipped and I fell forward, landing softy on the bike. If you bend the hanger too often the bolt hole can become ovalized, necessitating a replacement.

Cyril 

+1
see rule #9

ill.clyde

Finally! Didn't storm overnight, and I woke up to a dry driveway, so I set out.

Got downtown and it started raining a bit, plus there was a bit of fog/mist in the air.

Didn't matter, I was riding.