Like riding a brand new bike — 1803 Km
by Steve ~ August 15th, 2007. Filed under: Maintenance & Repairs.As SC1800 OEM parts fail I have been upgrading with slightly better parts to keep the bike running. The pace of upgrades reached a fever pitch during my holiday when I naively brought the Bike of Doom along and it blew up on the hills and trails of Riding Mountain National Park. I expect I crammed a few months of commuting into that week, and it took its toll on the bike. With the upgrades now complete, however, the bike is running nicely, and my faith in it as a commuter beater is somewhat restored.
The new AlexRims DM18 rear wheel is not on my mind, which says a lot. My commuting route should not test it to breaking, at least for awhile, I hope. The new Specialized Crossroad tires have a nice, smooth road tread, which has increased cycling efficiency considerably. The sealed cartridge bottom bracket turns smoothly and quietly. Combined, these replacement parts produce a ride that feels like it belongs on a much more expensive bike. The only thing I’m not happy with is the used freewheel I installed. It doesn’t mesh perfectly with the SC1800 factory chain. Shifting is clunky at the moment, and back-pedaling is sticky. The poor shifting may have been the result of my removal of the front derailer to give myself leverage room as I worked on the bottom bracket — perhaps some cable adjustments are necessary.
Other than that, I am noticing a clicking from the cheap, plastic factory pedals now, and expect they’ll be the next upgrade. Also, while cleaning the bike, I noticed some rust spots on the frame, on the chainstays where they join the seatpost tube, as well as near the rear dropouts. The Dude at Maple Leaf Test Rides reminded me that the frame comes with a lifetime warranty from Canadian Tire, so no worries there. Just have to find the receipt.
Do you think they’d give me a new bike if the frame broke? Be still my beating heart!
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Bike thieves made me the man I am today!
August 15th, 2007 at 8:55 pm
You’d want to take all your new parts off the bike before you tried to scam a new frame from them. Just in case they actually wanted the broken frame. Hmmmm, maybe they take back broken frames and solder them back together, new paint, etc.
August 15th, 2007 at 9:00 pm
Man, I hope they’d have more sense than that. My guess is they’d just replace the bike. It’s $99! I could always throw all the old parts back on before taking it into them. Besides, it wouldn’t be a scam. I’d only take it in if the frame actually broke or rusted itself apart. They’re the ones who offered a lifetime warranty. On steel frames, anyway. Only 5 years on aluminum.
August 23rd, 2007 at 10:01 am
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October 1st, 2007 at 9:18 am
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