Thursday, July 20, 2006

I'm all Nanotech and sh**


I just had Andrew Crooks, the talented owner of the NYC Velo bike shop in the East Village install a new fork on my aging 'ICE' racing bike. I had a feeling 5 years was way to long to beat the hell out of a carbon fiber product, and I was right. I propped the old Profile BRC on the floor and pushed against the blade a little (which had a small hairline crack). With little force, it started to come apart. Two weeks earlier I was bombing down hills on training rides at 45 mph. Scary huh? These are the perils of trying to save money on bike equipment. The lesson is: CHECK YOUR STUFF. Things like bars, stems, forks and even seatposts don't last forever.

The new fork, an Easton EC90 aero, is by far the fanciest fork I've ever ridden. It's the aero version of the Floyd Landis/Phonak fork. Easton claims the nanotubes make it twice as strong as any lightweight fork on the market. I hope so Easton, because although I'm neither obese, a sloppy rider, or a pro who races a hundred times a year, I do beat the crap out of my bikes. Riding and racing in New York city takes its toll on bike parts. I'm only 165 pounds and I've broken a Super Record seatpost, a Mavic bottom bracket, a Team Fuji, and now a Profile fork. Granted, all had many miles on them.

Tomorrow I'll show you how I created bottle openers from the Profile fork tips! DIY ahoy!

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