Frankenbike

Most bicycle hobbyists accrue a lot of spare parts over time. Sometimes this amounts to an entire spare bike, or near to that. So there was this cosmic intersection between deciding I didn't much like my TT bike and wanting a cyclocross bike. The TT bike is really just a roadbike with a TT bar setup. So the seat, post and barends were scavenged. The box of old stuff contained some classic bend, shallow drop bars, an FSA Energy compact crankset and stem. My wife had recently sidelined her Mavic Open Pro 32s (click, click click...) which still have some life and of course there were three or four stems to choose from.

I came upon a bargain in the shape of Performance Bike's house brand cross frame/fork combo. Even got to buy it on a "double points" (Team Performance members understand) weekend at half the MSRP. By the way, I'd like to here about Performance ever selling any house brand item at MSRP - ever. I had the BB faced by a local bike shop (ie, the guy I've purchased three roadbikes from) who doesn't really carry cyclocross stuff unless special ordered.

So I ordered cantelevers from Nashbar, noting that there was a difference between front and rear. The diff - "R" stamped on the front is "L" on the rear. Think about it. They got it wrong, by the way, on the "rear" brake. After much effort (mostly by the wife, my favorite mechanic) we couldn't get the front brake to seat. There's a pin which must sit in a blind hole and a small collar was making keeping the brake from nestling on the cantilever post. Turns out, there is no "collar". While putting the frame together, someone neglected to screw the post all the way in. Then they painted the fork.

It seems funny in a way to be as pissed off as I was at the time. They had gotten almost everything right. The frame was straight, the facing revealed good quality workmanship (possibly by a machine), the paint and integrated headset were both nicely done. I was initially amazed at having paid less than $300 for what I was holding when I pulled it out of the box. But now it was 4:30 on Saturday afternoon and the bike which might have been rideable.

When I brought it to the Performance shop in Pasadena, I was immediately referred to the senior mechanic on site. I had time to think about things on the way, so I knew it wasn't his fault and acted accordingly. He was a real pro about it (ask for Sam if you go there) and now the shop will get a new fork, cut it and install the star nut (all things my wife and I had already done). I guess nothing more could be expected.

When this monster comes together I'll post a pic and take it on a ride involving at least one fireroad.