I have a terrible confession to make.

In 2001 I threw a perfectly good vintage Centurion Cavaletto in a dumpster. The derailleur broke from metal fatigue. I was just out of college, lived in a small apartment with limited storage space, and couldn't see "wasting" it on a bike I wasn't going to be able to afford to repair. Craigslist was just starting to expand, and I was probably dumb enough at the time to think "who'd pay for a broken bike?"

That bike was my trusty steed for 15 years. I'm ashamed of what I did to it. I'd love to see it again All I have left is this sad photo, chain and broken derailleur dangling.

Aug28_19..jpg

If you're calling this an "ode", there should be a song, or at least a poem.

Now if you titled the thread "Lament for my Cavaletto" ...

Shame though. I think many of us have either let a good bike get away, or had one stolen from us.

Pretty impressive cracked RD.

-Kurt

Artistic license.

It was a spectacular failure. I had was about to loan it to a friend, we'd walked it down to a gas station to fill the tires. He hopped on, pedaled one and blammo, chain everywhere. Heartbreaking.

I'm taking a wild guess here, and speculating the chain was too short, and the RD didn't like being in Large/large. Ouch.

Or it was 15 years old, got heavy use, was regularly transported in my car's trunk where it fit most easy with the RD down and the weight of the bike resting on it.

I'd wager that a majority of dumpster bikes get picked before they head to the dump, at least in most semi-urban settings. Your bike may still be out there!

The other good news is that Cavalettos aren't rare. Or you could upgrade to a Le Mans or Ironman!

is that fork......