Geezus, Hitchy, you made of money or are you relying on the missus' rich daddy's money to finance your carbon obsession.

Heck, it's just a bike and you only bent the derailleur hanger.

Excuse for a new frame?

You bet!

...what!!!....and you don't think this is an excuse for a new frame?.....s'pecially cos the missus doesn't know what a derailuer hanger is........so I threw in the "& I don't think it can be repaired....I 'll probably have to get a new frame", line....& she said nuffin!....a fiendish plot is hatching....now what colours dos the 585 come in again?

Hitchy

Just thought that while you guys were poncing around and crashing your racer bikes, you should know that I spent the weekend riding around on my "new" fixte, made up of:

$5 tipshop Peugeot frame (lugged steel, reasonably light [under 3kg, IIRC]green, had greenie stickers on it, no fork, nuthin else). Acquired about two years ago with intention of either making it a fixte or a rando bike. First task was getting ride of the greenie stickers.

Fork, bars (cut and inverted), stem, brakes (Shimano 600s) and headset from a Gitanes frame bought for $30 (it had a broken right chainstay, and might just be salvagable with a guy who is learning about frame building)

Wheels (Alex cr@p rims) rebuilt from my rando/tourer (which now sports Velocity rims, OC on the rear, and I really like 'em)

Seat and post from another tipshop bike that will eventually become a seven-speed commuter (single ring up front, seven-speed on rear)

Rear hub from a wreck (guy came to me with cr@p MTB, said can you fix it; car had run into it in garage; I said no, but kept the bent wheel for the steel hub)

17T cog from another old tipshop bike, plus BB lockring from an old MTB bike.

180mm cranks from a tipshop MTB (Mongoose, built up as a separate project for some female who treated it like *****, so I got it back)

Pedals are my Time Atacs off another bike.

38T Biopace cog from a tandem (that also was refurbished, but now doesn't work coz I've taken the good parts off it to put on other things).

Chain came from the timing chain on the tandem, too.

32mm half to 3/4-worn Conti TT2000 tyres from the wall.

BB -- the only new thing in the project. Even the bar tape, cables and outers were recycled.

All up, cost me about $70.

There's toe overlap on the front wheel, thanks to the rake on the Vitus fork, but with the wide Conti TTs on board, the ride is surprisingly good and handling stable. I'll probably swap out the original stem for another longer one that originally was fitted to my Merida. I'd like to go with 160mm cranks, but they aren't quite so easy to find at the tipshops. I haven't grounded the pedals yet.

38 x 17 might seem a bit wimpy, but the hills are good enough around here to be a regular test for around 60 gear-inches, at least until I build up a bit more strength. Then I might go for a 40T.

The Biopace ring, despite the shape, actually doesn't upset chain tension. I like the quietness of the ride. Seat height has to be right, so that transition from seated to standing is smooth (and vice-versa). And you can't just coast and stand to adjust the chamois in the ol' @rse-crack. I'm a high-cadence rider anyway, and I am spinning out around 45km/h which for me is fast enough.

It's a lot of fun to ride. I'm not quite up to a metric century on it, but it's not far away.

Oh yeah, I acquired an old Brooks saddle bag about six months ago. The seat has plastic loops on it, and the bag looks really cool -- really retro. I'll probaby fork out the $$$ with StK Cycles for a new B17 seat to go on.

Better than that carbon stuff that scratches so easily

I reckon if 531 sells all his bikes and parts.....you two could get a good deal on two 585's.......go for it ..

Waaaaaaa. I stacked Ruby.

I used to read the threads of the useless noobs falling over on their treadlies because they could drive their clipless shoes and pedals properly. But as per the idea that all good things come to those that deserve them, I did the same thing today and tipped over on Ruby. She's got a little scuff on her deraileur now. She isn't perfect anymore. Sob.

Bad day for the Aussie boys it seems.

.....I feel for ya mate....(sob)......I've got a scratch 3.5mm x 1.5mm & I'm distraught!....(sob)...even that bloody taswegian apparently thinks its funny! (sob)

Hitchy

At least the frame didn't touch down I guess. But why do they make those deraileurs so they hang out so far? They should put little replaceable pucks on them so you don't have to worry about them getting hacked up and looking ugly with one little spill.

That sucks.

.......so Tiger.......hows the 'war ' wounds?

Thanks for the sympathy Ed.......I'm feeling better & have even managed to stop rocking back & forth in the foetal postion & sucking my thumb!.......have ordered the parts, s'pose the next 'hurt' will be when I find out 'how much?'....you missed a decent 'get together', wattsy is supposed to post a 'ride report' & some piccys...we all look like the 'before' shots in a Jenny craig ad!....except SJP, who has no business hanging around with the 'fat club'!

Hitchy

I'll pm Wattsy for the pics. Sounds like a larf.....until you hit the deck.

The weather was sh*tful, wasn't it? Yesterday was a cracker but Saturday was awful....

.....yeah, the humidity was the worst...about 32-33 the whole ride, the wind coulda been a lot worse I s'pose...was anticipating a tough haul back from 'franga' (we didn't end up going that far cos 'captain spalding' had to work), but it was ok......wattsy was whinging like a girl, but ya get that!. . actually, I thought yesterday was worse, covered up with copius amounts of sunscreen, only to have it run down my bald 'bonce' & get in me eyes.....fark that stings.....miserable 90km with stinging eyes...nice & red this morning!

hitchy

Monday 10:46 AM Damage Report -

1) Small scrapes on left knee.
2) Small scapes on left elbow.
3) Bruise the size of a saucer on left buttock.
4) Ridiculous swelling of the left buttock.
5) Mild concussion and whiplash, neck hurts like a b¡tch.
6) Coccyx from hell.
7) Non-drive side Thylacine sticker has long scratch on it.

Lessions learnt from losing of 'Crash Cherry' -

a) Hitchy is the nicest guy you could ever run into.
b) Hitchy actually gives way to pedestrians.
c) Asphalt is farken hard.
d) Children, wear your helmet AT ALL TIMES. It will save your noggin.
e) Going into mild shock isn't much fun, although the sympathy from a roomful of women watching a Buffy the Vampire Slayer Marathon at your place is.

First prang, huh? Welcome to the club......

First rule of Crash Club is nobody talks about Crash Club

lol.....

Nah man, first crash on this new bike. Actually, I hadn't had an 'off' on the road or MTB for quite a few years, so I figured my number would be up soon.

Bummer.....but then you do feel like a pro with the scratched levers and scars.

Well, um, the thread where I did offer (a smidgeon of) sympathy has been deleted, so there's no evidence for the others to see. But I did try.

We did give it our best shot last night trying to hijack that thread, eh Hitchy? Oh well... I wonder if slvoid did actually get to read it... and whether ultra-g has been banned yet.

Don't worry guys, just trying to take ya's minds off the collective sob session that's been going for the last 12 hours.

Tiger,

here's my invoice:

1x New found 'roadie cred'
1x Reason to get sympathy from roomful of pissed women
1x good sob story to tell

now my normal fee structure doesn't include postage & photocopying either, so If I add that in, less a 'bulk graze' discount, comes to..........hey, because I like you...NO CHARGE

...seriously mate...sorry....guess you'd better stay away from me & Japanese tourists!

Hitchy

Slvoid....wasn't he the bloke who wanted to sniff some girl's saddle after a ride??


Gold.

Ultra-g really vented the spleen didn't he?......haven't seen to many threads like that stay 'on the board' for as long as that.....we did try hard to hijack it....but i don't think he had any sense of humour about his situation...i guess the 'tribunal' has dealt with him!

Hitchy

Oh no!!! Now I really do sympathise. The ol' Japanese tourist trick! Good reason to ban 'em from anywhere but Far North Queensland (which they pretty well own all of anyway). They just don't have any spacial awareness. Must be to do with being packed in like sardines on their commuter trains... unless they are rubbing shoulders with anyone they can't stand up alone and walk a straight line.

Aww. How did I miss it? What was the thread title?

Hey slvoid... Read This!

I think