At times when running is not going so well, whether from injury, stress, or boredom, I usually turn to my bikes for exercise. Neither is a professional-level bike, but they are not Wal-mart junk either. The road bike, a Motobecane Vent Noir, was bought around 2003 and has worked fairly well despite a few issues. The biggest problem was the original wheels; however, Motobecane finally got tired of my nagging and replaced them with a better set. Over the past few years, it has been very reliable. It is aluminum with 105 derailleurs and a carbon fork.
Unfortunately, it has spent the past few months hanging in the garage since I found a crack in the head tube. Motobecane will inspect it to see if it was a manufacturer defect and replace the frame if they find no evidence the bike has been wrecked or abused. All I have to do is send them the entire bike and $40 to ship it back when they are finished. Having already mailed them wheels several years ago, I know this is not going to be smooth. Even if they do agree to send me a new frame, that is all I get, a frame. I still have to have my components moved over to it. For me, that probably means hiring professional help in addition to the shipping I will have already paid. I would love to just get a new bike, but those are quite expensive. My solution to the issue, ride the mountain bike instead.
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| Crack in top tube of the Kona Kikapu |
The mountain bike has been bomb proof. I bough it in 2005 to allow me to keep on the trails despite having to cut back on the running. It is a 2004 Kona Kikapu. Components are not the greatest, but I love the comfort of the full suspension. It has held up to some nasty abuse including a few wrecks and one unfortunate crash into a cactus. Most of the miles on the bike have been on Brush Creek Regional Trail which is almost more suited for a road bike with all the concrete and crushed granite. Still, I have gotten it out to the Barton Creek Green Belt, Rocky Hill Ranch, Walnut Creek, and Lake Georgetown for trails more suited to this type of bike. On Saturday, I had spent a couple of hours out at Walnut Creek riding pretty hard. Sunday I was cleaning it up for an easy ride down the sissy trail when I noticed that I had cracked this frame as well. I even scraped off a bit of paint just to make sure, but it is clearly a crack in the top tube near the seat post.
Right now, I'm not sure what my plan is going to be. Finding an inexpensive used frame is probably the best option. Buying one new bike seemed to be expensive. Two new bikes? I don't think so.
I guess I'll go for a run.
