DQRider 

(File this one under: "Well, You Asked For It".)

Yeah, I pushed that over to the "Where'd You Ride Today" thread. Here's a link: Where'd You Ride Today? (New & Improved) - Page 790 - Bike Forums

Posts # 19733&4.

I didn't talk much there about how she rode. I'm not used to lightweights, having only built one other: a Viner SpecialTouring. Since I don't wear lycra and pretty much ride like a kid, I've never really had a use for them. So Sophia was a special treat, and she felt almost magical in the way she just glides along on smooth pavement. Until you hit a bump <BANG!> But other than that, I really enjoyed the experience.

The rest of this is painful to write. Now, you'll notice that I'm writing most of this in the past tense. That is because she is currently laid-up in the back of my van with a taco'd rear wheel and what looks like an unrecoverable injury to her RD hanger. You'll also notice, in the photo below, how loose the RD was when I transferred the drivetrain from Celeste to Sophia.



The chainstays on the Squadra are about 6 or 7cm shorter than those on the Sport SX. After this photo was taken, I pulled 4 links from the chain and put it back together. I've done this in the past with other chains without any problems, but this one didn't go back together as easily as I expected. Still, I did finally manage to get it done; it was moving nice and consistent with the other links when I put everything back together.



Then, while climbing a hill near my house the next day, out-of-the-saddle like a pro, I shifted down a cog and got a bit of stutter in the driveline. I should have STOPPED IMMEDIATELY, but didn't. One full pedal stroke later and the bike stopped me. I looked down and found the RD entangled in the rear spokes, and the hanger bent back almost double, like this:


Sorry about the crap-quality photo - I just went outside and grabbed this, and I see that the auto-focus picked up on the adjuster screw instead of the hanger. And THAT is why I usually don't use auto-focus.

I'm sure the chain-link that I rejoined after removing those links failed here. So now what? I've no idea, no answers, I mean, the infamous "Drew Procedure" comes to mind immediately, but I don't think I want or need another single-speed, and I damned sure don't want a fixie. Remove and replace the whole dropout? That's beyond my skillset, and would end up Item # 3,456,789,012 on my To-Do List.

I stand 5-feet eight-inches, weigh 205 lbs, and I ride like a kid. I definitely qualify as a Clydesdale, and have no business playing around with these pretty, expen$ive, lightweight roadbikes. I guess I should be glad I've gotten them out of my system.

Eventually, this frameset and wheels, plus the Shimano 105 derailleurs that came with the bike, will go up for sale. But right now I've got to concentrate on my job search - winter is here and it's time to go back to work.
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