IanSmithCSE
Guru
- Location
- Worcester, Worcestershire
Good afternoon,
To partner my Broken Steel thread
https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/broken-steel-i-guess-i-was-lucky.273776/ I have recently broken my carbon fibre frame.
There is a crack in the downtube a couple of inches down from the headtube whilst it may not be obviously bad in the photos it is large and the frame changes sound with a coin tap around that location and you can feel a rough edge.
I bought the bike used without a mileage statement but its condition suggested almost unused and I have probably added around 20k miles [edit I got confused as I think in km but post in miles].
Surprisingly I am quite pleased that it broke as it has forced a choice, I was using it as a commuter and was starting to resent the running costs, the commute is quite long for 5 days a week 46 weeks a year and it was clearly the wrong bike for the job durability wise.
When I started I thought that I wouldn't mind the costs, but PF30 BBs seem to last 6 months (5k miles), Ultegra rings around £120 a year, quite a lot of wear here;
, chains every other month etc. but I did.
Maybe if I had stocked up with everything at the start of the year and just "sucked it up" it would have been different, but I do still have a set of BB bearings unused along with a spare chain and cassette and a Shimano to BB30 adaptor.
So I am now back onto steel with square taper and 2x8 speed, D/T shifters and its lovely to lose the bone shaking ride of CF and I feel that I am "back home."
In truth when I feel like going fast I am desperately missing the Di2 and the frame flex reminds me of why frames went to CF or large diameter tubes.
When I would rather be in bed I am quite happy to ride in the same gear and letting my cadence go all over the place.
If I could flip a switch and make the Di2 8 speed it would be on the steel bike by now, even with the necessary ugliness that the external battery and cabling would introduce.
In summary, that a bike actually had running costs and a maintenance schedule that was significant to me really surprised me and has made me question my next bike choice. Its no longer a question of okay I don't need 12 speed cassettes but so what they are harmless so let's buy the bike anyway.
Bye
Ian
To partner my Broken Steel thread
https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/broken-steel-i-guess-i-was-lucky.273776/ I have recently broken my carbon fibre frame.
There is a crack in the downtube a couple of inches down from the headtube whilst it may not be obviously bad in the photos it is large and the frame changes sound with a coin tap around that location and you can feel a rough edge.
I bought the bike used without a mileage statement but its condition suggested almost unused and I have probably added around 20k miles [edit I got confused as I think in km but post in miles].
Surprisingly I am quite pleased that it broke as it has forced a choice, I was using it as a commuter and was starting to resent the running costs, the commute is quite long for 5 days a week 46 weeks a year and it was clearly the wrong bike for the job durability wise.
When I started I thought that I wouldn't mind the costs, but PF30 BBs seem to last 6 months (5k miles), Ultegra rings around £120 a year, quite a lot of wear here;
, chains every other month etc. but I did.
Maybe if I had stocked up with everything at the start of the year and just "sucked it up" it would have been different, but I do still have a set of BB bearings unused along with a spare chain and cassette and a Shimano to BB30 adaptor.
So I am now back onto steel with square taper and 2x8 speed, D/T shifters and its lovely to lose the bone shaking ride of CF and I feel that I am "back home."
In truth when I feel like going fast I am desperately missing the Di2 and the frame flex reminds me of why frames went to CF or large diameter tubes.
When I would rather be in bed I am quite happy to ride in the same gear and letting my cadence go all over the place.
If I could flip a switch and make the Di2 8 speed it would be on the steel bike by now, even with the necessary ugliness that the external battery and cabling would introduce.
In summary, that a bike actually had running costs and a maintenance schedule that was significant to me really surprised me and has made me question my next bike choice. Its no longer a question of okay I don't need 12 speed cassettes but so what they are harmless so let's buy the bike anyway.
Bye
Ian
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