Bike Disappeared
 

I completed the Hotter N Hell Hundred yesterday afternoon. I was quite pleased that I completed my first century on my 61st birthday.

I put my bike on the Swagman Rack and latched it. I am sure I latched it because I remember taking the Garmin Forerunner off it after it was on the Swagman. My wife was driving and I wasn't paying any attention during the drive. When we got to Ft Worth, I got out to pump gas and saw there was no bike on the Swagman.

We had only 2 very short stops in Wichita Falls at a stop sign and a light. I really doubt somebody took it off the rack,.

When I got gas the hook that holds the bike was in the same position that would have compressed the bike into the wheel holders. I don't see how the bike could have come out of the Swagman.

Unfortunately the mods on the bike cost more than the bike; so replacement will be quite expensive.

? Did you put the bike on the right car?

bummer. :(

Well, happy birthday I guess. Not a great way to celebrate though. Sorry to hear about that.

Sad.......had a buddy who cooked BBQ lost his cooking rig on wheels on an interstate and never found it but never heard of anyone losing a bike.

Floyd Landis lost a mountain bike that way:

"Last week we shared the story of Greg Estes, a Kentucky man who bought a broken-down $5 bike at a yard sale and eventually discovered it was originally an $8,000 custom-built bicycle for former Tour de France champion Floyd Landis. The bike had been discovered on the side of a highway before it was found and sold for the bargain-basement price.The obvious question at the time was, how did a bike built for Landis end up abandoned on the side of the road with two busted tires?

Consider the mystery solved.

Brad Cobb and Jamey Hurst met Floyd Landis at an endurance mountain-biking event in 2008 and offered to transport his bike between races. They locked the bike on their rack, but when they arrived at their destination, it wasn't there because a gust of wind had blown it off the back of their vehicle. Hours of backtracking their route didn't turn it up, nor did a call to a friend who worked as a Tennessee state trooper. The pair eventually had to tell Landis they lost his bike. They were surprised at how understanding the disgraced champion was.

At first Landis didn't believe them, Cobb says. They had to convince the infamous cyclist that it was true. "He started laughing, and said 'dude, that's awesome,'" Cobb told the New York Daily News. "He said pick up a case of beer, we're going to watch the race together."

Landis eventually called a contact for a new bike to ride at the race.

Cobb was unaware that the bike had been found until Landis emailed him a link of the story last week. He says that the bike's eventual resting place was "right where we were looking."

Estes can expect to get a few thousand dollars for the bike, presuming nobody comes and tries to claim their lost property."

Geez Greg, I was only kidding about the new bike, on the other sub forum. I'm really sorry about that. I wonder if home owners insurance would help you out.

Well congratulations on your first century and also Happy Birthday. Did you consider retracing your route? Your bike might be sitting on a shoulder somewhere.

I can see my bike in the rearview mirror - I have a Saris Bones that gets lashed to the window of my hatchback. I try to keep an eye on it while I'm driving, just out of general paranoia (and affection for the bike, of course), but if it were to fall off on the highway, I"m not sure what difference it would make if I were to see it fall or not.

Wow.. well happy birthday and congrats on the ride... but sorry for your loss.

Keep looking, contact the HHH organization, call the newspaper... the people of WF are good folks, somebody could turn it in.

Also - post a "lost bike" thread in the Texas forum w pix.

Well that pretty much sucks...sorry for your misfortune gtragitt. :(

I saw oodles of cars with bikes on them, and if it fell off on the route, there's a good chance one of those vehicles stopped to pick it up. Get in touch with the HH100 folks, and maybe contact sheriff's dept/ city police/ highway patrol along the way. If an honest person found it, how would they get in touch with you?

Even if the bike was toast, I'd say there's a good chance that some of the components would be salvageable.

congratulations on the century.
Loosing the bike would take the shine out of your day.
Sorry to hear about that.

Was it this rack?
http://www.swagmanbikeracks.com/shop...cat=253&page=1

My Xport from Performance is similar. The upper frame hook on mine will work it's way up a bit if I run into a rough section of road where the bike is bouncing up and down back there. Even with the wheels tied into the hoops, I still hook two bungee cords around the hook to keep it from moving up. Maybe it moved up just enough for your bike to come out.

That is the rack that I have.

Ouch, a mystery, a loss, a bummer all the way around.

I have called the Wichita Falls Police Dept. They said I need to call the Property Room on Monday.

I called and left a voice mail message for the only contact phone number available for the HHH 100. I also sent an email. I have not heard back from them.

I called my homeowners insurance. They indicate that the general deductible is $3000. When I look in my policy it says $1000. I will talk to the claims adjuster in the morning.

I went to the bike shop where I bought the Roubaix. The bikes are on sale. I am trying to decide if I should upgrade to the Roubaix Expert. If I do there is another decision as to whether I buy the 2011 or the 2010. The 2011 has a 10r frame and the 2010 has a 9r frame. I like the Roval wheels on the 2010 better than the fulcrum Racing 4 on the 2011.

I suspect the Rovals are as good or better than the Mavic Kysrium Elites that I had.

I had put a 11-28 cassette on my 2009 compact. I liked it better than the original 12-27. I see the Roubaix Expert has an 11-28 cassette. It also has Shimano Ultegra Flight Deck vs Shimano 105 on the Roubaix.

With my carbon bar, Kysrium elites and titanium Speedplays my Roubaix was 20 lb. The expert had heavy pedals with toe clips. It felt heavier than my 2009 Roubaix. I wish Specialized would post frame weights for each size and model.

I guess this debunks the theory that racks that secure bikes by the wheels are always better than those that secure the top tube. Note to self: do not buy a swagman.

Sorry for your loss.

Overall I have been happy with the Swagman. In the future I will add measures to supplement the means of securing the bike. I still prefer it to a rack that hangs the bike.

Congratulations on your century. I hope you find your bike.
I have gotten into the habit of always locking my bikes on my rack if I am going farther than the seven miles to the local trail. I have a heavy plastic coated cable that I thread through the seat rails and then the bottle cage so it doesn't touch the bike anywhere.
I put it on mainly in case I stop and go into a store, but it also would keep the bike from falling off of the rack.

Hey Greg,you might want to try on a few different bikes for size. I know you've seen my Look, but the Cervelo RS had a pretty nice ride. They do cost more money though. Just a suggestion.

I appreciate the suggestions for getting a new bike. I think your Look is fantastic.

The 58 cm Roubaix fit me so well and has been so comfortable. I suspect getting the Roubaix Expert will give me some additional bottom bracket stiffness and improved power transfer that you have in your Look.

I will try to test ride both the Look and the Cervelo.

I didn't want to ride today because I think it is a good idea to recover.

I can still ride my Hybrid until I get another road bike. Although I dislike the hybrid it is better than not riding.

While driving to work one morning, I found an $1,000 Zipp wheel beside the road. The Cabon rim was trashed, but the hub was is good condition. I tried but couldn't locate the owner. I still wonder how that happened.

If my bike was found they could probably locate me. My bike had a HHH 100 tag on the front with number 2240. If they could communicate with the organizers they should be able to obtain my contact information. I have been unable to obtain a response from an email or a voice message from the phonenumber or email address posted on their web site.

Geroge,

I just went to the Cervelo dealer. They said that Cervelo frames are more aggressive and I would be happier with a Giant. The giant comparable to what I had was more expensive than the Roubaix with no real advantages. I will ride both the Giant and the Cervelo this evening when I have some bike shorts. They were pushing the Defy but I saw a TCR Advanced 2 with Mavic Ksyrium wheels that looked good. They steered me away from that bike as well because it was a more aggressive geometry.