[deanna]

...on your bike just before a race... but sometimes it just works out that way.

A 9spd cassette i'd purchased came with just 8 rings. Not enough time to return it for new one, so myself and some friendly LBS guys put together a "whole" cassette (was upgrading from 8 to 9spd) with most of the new one w/ a few parts from an older one i had laying around. THANKS GUYS!!

So anyway the day before, new cassette on... installed new rear derailleur, shifter, cable and chain. Made sure it was lined up and would shift properly and went to bed in attempts of a decent night sleep before the race. Didn't fiddle with anything else as it had been working fine. Only test was spinning around the parking lot pre-race.

Unfortunately the race was run by Murphy's law. Camelbak bladder started leaking badly, despite being fine during it's most recent use. OK. Found some waterbottles, borrowed a cage, and talked someone into handups. Hopefully nothing else goes wrong...

There's an expert racer in the sport group since she doesn't wish to pay extra Norba fees. Great, now I'll feel like an even bigger slug.

Fork started squeaking, functional... but noisy. Ugh.

Formerly functional (@ last ride) front derailleur goes... coax it into middle ring and that's where it stays. Now the knee hurts from pushing bigger gears up steep switchbacks, soon the lower back starts panging w/ sympathy pain... And that's just the 1st lap of 2.

Did manage to wobble through my 2nd lap, finished DFL though. Rah. Not a good way to start the season... But hey! All the new parts worked perfectly. Go figure.

 

[Impy]

Did manage to wobble through my 2nd lap, finished DFL though. Rah. Not a good way to start the season... But hey! All the new parts worked perfectly. Go figure.

Way to hang in there! How funny that the new drivetrain parts were ok, and everything else decided to go kaput. Sounds like you had fun nonetheless. Congratulations! DFL ain't so bad, I know

 

[pacman]

"They" were right

too much time spent on the new parts ... less on maintenance.

DFL is OK at the beginning of the season. From here on you can show improvement!

 

[deanna]

too much time spent on the new parts ... less on maintenance.

but alas... the other parts HAD maintenance. cleaned it up before the previous (non-race) ride, worked fine for that ride... wiped the dust off post ride, bike sat for a few weeks b/c of rain and trail flooding so it couldn't be ridden. checked them after new part install, working fine then, worked fine in the parking lot. went straight to heck as soon as the "starter gun" went off.

 

[MallieD]

You've got the right attitude, cuz if you can't make fun of the things that go wrong (while still being fully prepared to ensure they don't happen the next time out), I don't know how we'd all go another round.

The noise is almost the worst part, huh? If the bike's a little sketchy, but quiet, you sort it out or suffer in silence. But when the bike's squealing, squeaking or clunking I know I feel like all the other participants are looking at me and thinking "what the F*%&!"!

Can't wait to hear about your next event.

 

[brownieinSC]

Dumb question

What is DFL? I can fill it in with lots of things and generally the F is one of my words when I am falling.
I don't see how you can avoid doing some upgrades, repairs before races sometimes. Things break, you finally got the part in or the money,etc.
Congratulations on getting through it anyway.

 

[mtbjen]

What is DFL? I can fill it in with lots of things and generally the F is one of my words when I am falling.

Dead ____ Last. You got the F part right.

 

[deanna]

You've got the right attitude, cuz if you can't make fun of the things that go wrong (while still being fully prepared to ensure they don't happen the next time out), I don't know how we'd all go another round.

it was pretty comical... although during the race it was getting to the point of, "what next?!?" i did manage to clip out each time i almost made it to the top of one of those switchbacks without falling over 1st. it was actually more frustrating getting within about 1/2 bike length of where it leveled off and just not quite get it as the legs went, "NO!" than the bike parts not working like they should have! So close, yet so far! I did get to squeak the victory cow once though, cleaned a section on lap #2 that i had issues w/ on pre-rides and lap 1.

hopefully next time it'll be dry, racebike has newer (and more reliable) parts than mudbike does. mudbike has the hand-me-downs. i even have a spare (newer than current) front derailleur if the current one on it is toast! parts-wise the 2 bikes are pretty much interchangeable, it's the frame that makes a huge ride quality difference.

The noise is almost the worst part, huh? If the bike's a little sketchy, but quiet, you sort it out or suffer in silence. But when the bike's squealing, squeaking or clunking I know I feel like all the other participants are looking at me and thinking "what the F*%&!"!

i still don't know what the noise is/was!! It was quiet up until i was standing and watching the other waves go off and was just bouncing on it a little... then squeakysqueakysqueaky. Guess i'll need to take it to the LBS as i'm not so good at dealing w/ fork guts.

this weekend is trailwork + ride, woo hoo! no pressure.

 

[deanna]

Dead ____ Last. You got the F part right.

yep. what she said!