August 30, 2022
Second postscript: Green Gear / Bike Friday response
They are standing by their product and providing good customer service
I heard back from Green Gear (the company that makes Bike Friday bikes) today. I had sent them an email last week with the photos of the failed part, asking whether it might be covered under warranty.
It turns out it is a warranty thing, or at least they will fabricate an entirely new rear end section for the bike and ship it to me, all at no charge to me. So, kudos to them for standing behind their product. All I have to do is perform the transplant.
The new back end will not be ready until sometime between late November and mid December, so there won't be any autumn touring for me this year unless it's on my mountain bike (towing the B.O.B trailer). But I'm finding that the calendar is rapidly filling in with other things to do so carving out a time to go touring may be difficult anyhow.
Update 11 October 2022
I was surprised today when I got a shipping notification from Bike Friday. Evidently they were able to clear their repair backlog much faster than originally anticipated, or maybe my repair got moved up in the queue. Whatever the case, the result is that I should have the new back end in hand several weeks earlier than expected. Perhaps I can manage one final short end-of-season tour after all.
While waiting, I've taken advantage of circumstances to get a replacement Selle Italia Turbo saddle from the early 1990s, as I have worn through the perforated leather on the nose of my current one. This make and model is one I've ridden for tens of thousands of miles in the last three decades and find to be very comfortable, so I'm glad to have a replacement.
I've also gotten hold of a nearly new ("used for one month" according to the eBay listing) Brooks Professional model all leather saddle, which is currently mounted on my spin bike to facilitate the break in process while I wait. This is my first tentative foray into the Brooks (or any other leather) saddle subculture so I have no idea whether I'll become a convert or remain a heretic, but my stock of leather treatment materials has increased fivefold in the meantime.
Assuming I like the Brooks, one of these two saddles will likely end up on the NWT, the other on the Rodriguez when it arrives in a month or so. I'm unfamiliar with the default saddle that will be supplied with the Rodriguez so I don't yet know what its ultimate fate may be, but it's pleasant to have options and alternatives.
Update 19 October 2022
The new back end arrived today. Tomorrow's project will be to do the transplant.
Update 20 October 2022
The rear-end-ectomy has been completed. I thought about taking photos of the process, if only to add a little visual spice, but the mess in my workshop's an embarrassment and honestly, the photos wouldn't have been all that interesting anyhow.
There was the tiniest bit of drama, when I got temporarily stuck when faced with this situation:
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I was temporarily stymied by that inner tube / pin. It wasn't clear to me how (or even if) I could remove it to be reinstalled in the new frame member, but it was clear that it needed to be there.
Fortunately, the "Yak list" (a Bike Friday discussion forum on Google Groups) includes people who could point me in the direction of the solution. Entirely NOT to my surprise, the estimable SheldonBrown.com has a page all about the pivot points on Bike Fridays, including step-by-step instructions on how to service and maintain them.
With that article as my guide, it was easy enough to plunge ahead and drive the inner pin out of its home in the old frame. After burnishing it with steel wool I greased both the pin and the inside of the sleeve in the new frame and presto! the pin slipped in easily, under pressure from just my fingers. A couple light taps with a plastic-faced mallet got it into correct position and all was well.
The rest of the reassembly process could have been any bike: reinstall the crank and rear derailleur, mount and adjust the brakes, install the chain... easy-peasy stuff that goes with maintaining any bike.
It speaks well to Bike Friday's precision in fabrication and good record-keeping that they could build a new back end that installed and fit absolutely perfectly with the rest of my frame, without any tweaking or drama, and without them ever having to take possession of my bike to test or tweak the fit of the replacement assembly.
The hardest part by far of the entire job had nothing to do with the repair. When I suffered my last flat (on my next-to-last day of riding), I put the spare tire on the rear wheel. It's a 1.375" width where the front had a 1.5".
It offended my sensibilities to have the narrower tire on the wheel that bears the greater load, so today I swapped them around. The combination of Schwalbe Marathon tires and these particular rims always results in a serious wrestling match to get the tires mounted and the beads fully seated. Even getting one side of the rear bead mounted took a monumental struggle and a heroic effort to accomplish. But it's done.
Tomorrow will see a test ride and any final adjustments that are needed. Then it's done and I can list the bike for sale with a clear conscience that it's fully roadworthy once again.
There is one thing missing, though: the trailer hitch. When the bike was built, Bike Friday included an "integrated" trailer hitch that's welded onto the left side chain stay just forward of the dropout.
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In the 15 years that have passed since Odysseus was built, Bike Friday have changed their hitch design and no longer do it this way. They now have a "universal" hitch but it wasn't supplied with the replacement rear end and I can't see anywhere on their website about how to get one. So, there's an email waiting for a response to that question. But other than that minor detail, Odysseus is back in business and ready to roll.
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Bike Friday had me ship them the bike and they did the repair. It took a few months.
Makes me wonder if this hasn’t been a common problem for Green Gear.
2 years ago
2 years ago
2 years ago
Have you narrowed down your choices on a replacement bike? That could be a page or two for the journal? Documenting the process.
2 years ago
2 years ago
I've started a journal draft, at your suggestion, chronicling the history, decision-making process, and so forth. It needs a little more editing and review before it's ready to be made visible to the world at large but you can look for it in the coming days or weeks.
2 years ago
It helped to have the tool that makes separating the "master link" on the chain a literal snap, and some small screwdrivers to adjust the neutral position of the brakes.
Perhaps the tool that provided the greatest benefit, though, was my computer. It gave me access to the "Yak List" (Bike Friday's online discussion group) so that I could ask a question about a specific step that had me stymied as described in this post, and then go consult the web page to which someone helpfully provided the link.
But seriously, if you can operate a wrench, screwdriver, and hammer you can do this job.
2 years ago