My Dog Ate My Homework
In February, I earned a fundraising incentive from the AIDS/LifeCycle office for raising $250 in online donations within a week. The prize was a cool commemorative AIDS/LifeCycle cycling cap. The cap finally arrived in the mail this week and I was excited to try it out on a ride. Sadly, the cap did not even last 24 hours. Somehow, by the next day, the dog found the cap and made it her new chew toy. She ate the cap…literally! Bad dog!!
Elfa Bike Rack
Sam and I purchased a brand new Elfa shelving system for the garage where we can now hang up our bikes. We had wanted to get some kind of a bike rack and took advantage of the Elfa sale at the Container Store. Actually, we had been thinking of adding shelving in the garage for a while, so this just killed two birds with one stone.
100-Mile Tune Up
I took my Cannondale in for its first tune up. Because it is a new bike, Cameron (the very helpful I.Martin sales representative who helped me wade through all of my choices in bikes) asked me to bring the bike in after I had ridden it about 100 miles in order to make sure everything on the bike was working properly. I’m glad he presented that as an option, because over the last few rides I’ve noticed a few things I wanted to check. For example, I’ve noticed a discrepancy between my odometer mileage and the odometer mileage of other riders, so I asked the service team at I.Martin to test the odometer to make sure it’s recording the mileage accurately. I also asked them to check out the gears as I’ve noticed that when I change into certain gears the chain sounds like it’s not catching the new gear smoothly. It was hard to describe the sound when I dropped off the bike, but Ryan adjusted the derailleurs and now my bike is good as new. Thanks, Ryan!
Bike Clinic
After the Urban Ride, Matt conducted a bike clinic at I.Martin. He started off by teaching us how to clean the bike chain. I learned that it is best to clean your bike after every ride or least once a week. Cleaning involves using a rag to first wipe down the chain, then add lube to the chain and wipe it down one more time. Matt said a lot of riders tend to clean/lube their chain before going on a ride, however, he highly recommended that you clean/lube after the ride. The reason is because the chain is still pretty wet from the lube after cleaning, so if you take your bike out right away, the chain will pick up dirt and debris very easily which isn’t good. For this reason, he said it’s best to clean/lube after a ride, so that the chain has time to dry a little bit before you go out on your next ride. Good tip indeed!
Afterward, Matt showed us how to change a flat tire. Inevitably, every rider will get a flat tire and it is very important to know how to change a flat. Matt said that he went on a ride the week before with a group of folks and one of the riders got three flats on that ride. Three flats! Yikes!! I had learned how to change a flat before, but it’s been many years and I’d forgotten how to do it. And yes, I’ve gotten my share of flats myself. The bike clinic was very informative and it was definitely a good refresher course for me. When the time comes and I have to change a flat, I sure hope everything I learned will all come back to me.
Bike Fitting
I took my bike into I.Martin for a bike fitting. Since I’ve already had some minor pain and soreness, I thought it would be best to get the bike checked out now to see what adjustments it needed. Jaime, the awesome manager at I.Martin, did the fitting himself. I’ve known Jaime since I bought my first bike from I.Martin in 2002. Jaime, I.Martin and it’s affiliate, Helen’s Cycles, have always been super supportive of the AIDS/LifeCycle riders and training groups. I’ve always had a good experience and received top-notch service from them.
Jaime spent some time with me to measure me to the bike. He found out that my handlebar was too wide for my body. My shoulder width is about 40” but I’m riding a 44” handlebar, so I’m stretching out my arms too far. He replaced my handlebar with a 40” bar that should be more comfortable for me. He also tilted the handlebar up a little bit, so I’m not reaching down too much. He also measured my “butt size” to find a seat that’s a better fit for me, size 146. He also readjusted the seat height so I’m not over-stretching my legs. Of course, aesthetics are important, so we found a seat that matches the color of my bike and he gave me brand new red handlebar tape. Awesome!!
I can’t wait to take the bike out for a test ride. Thank you Jaime!
New Crank Arm
It was confirmed that my bike has one of the Gossamer crank arms that is being recalled by FSA (Full Speed Ahead.) Fortunately, I.Martin had a new crank arm in my bike’s size and said they could get it replaced relatively quickly. Ryan at I.Martin was awesome. He replaced the crank arm in under 15 minutes and my bike was good as new.
Ryan said that when FSA contacted them about this issue, they immediately replaced all the bad crank arms on the affected bikes in the store. But so far, I’m only the second customer who brought in a bike to I.Martin for the replacement part. I hope others out there with the faulty crank arm know to bring in their bike before something bad happens while they’re riding.
FSA Gossamer BB30 Recall
I got an e-mail today from Helen’s Cycles (which owns I.Martin, where I bought my bike) about a recall of the left crank arm on some Cannondale bikes. It says that FSA has reported that some of their left crank arms can fall off. Ahh…WTF?!?
Crank arms with serial numbers beginning with “10B, 10C or 10C” are subject to recall. The notice repeats 10C twice, so I’m not sure what the third serial number is supposed to be. We just checked my bike and it has a 10D serial number. So if 10D is meant to be the third serial number, then I’m screwed!
Seriously?!? I JUST bought the bike!!
Here’s the notice:
There maybe a problem with the left crank arm on the Cannondale road bike you purchased from Helen’s Cycles.
FSA has reported the left crank arm (non-drive side) on some of their BB30 Gossamer cranks can fall off. The shoulder of the bolt can crack or break.
Only cranks with serial numbers beginning with…..
10B, 10C, or 10C are involved in this recall. Serial numbers are located on the crank side of the left crank arm by the pedal threads.
FSA BB30 drive side crank arms, Mega EXO, and BB30 Gossamer triple cranksets are not affected.
THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE. If your left crank arm begins with one of the three listed serial numbers, stop riding the bicycle until a replacement non-drive crank arm has been installed by one of the Helen’s Cycles Service departments. This is a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recall.
These crank arms are a one for one exchange from FSA, by serial number. Turn around time is currently one to two weeks. To help expedite the cranks arm exchange and installation process please make an appointment by contacting Helen’s Cycles. Or you can contact any Cannondale dealer.
Cannondale
When I did AIDS/LifeCycle 2 in 2003, my friend Nick took me to I.Martin to buy my first bike. I was a total bike novice at the time and I was so nervous to test ride the bikes. I ended up buying a Bianchi Brava, which ended up working great for me. Fast forward to now, Sam and I went back to I.Martin to test ride some new bikes. I was sad to learn that they no longer sell Bianchi bikes. But after test riding some pretty nice Cannondale bikes, I ended up buying a Cannondale CAAD9. It was a bit expensive, but I have to tell myself that it’s a good investment. Sam will ride my trusty Bianchi Brava, so I’m glad that it’ll still be with me for the journey.
Clayton on a Bike 