Mr. Front Derailleur, from the famous Shimano Ultegra family known for their quick and precise shifting throughout the cycling community, died Tuesday evening in Oakland. He was 9 months old. and lived in Berkeley. The cause was a cracked chain guide, his owner Seth said.
Okay, enough obituary writing for now, eventhough it always has been a dream job of mine. My Shimano Ultegra FD-6700 Front Derailleur (layman terms, the thing that shifts your chain up front from one ring to another) crapped out on me on my way home last night. My chain kept falling off when I would shift up and when shifting down, well, it wouldn't really do that easily.
Good thing I got a great LBS (Local Bike Shop, remember that term as I will use it often and not explain again!), Mikes Bikes of Berkeley, and shop manager, Kevin Woulfe. He discovered the fatal crack and was able to take the "dead" weight off my bike (ha ha! slap your knee funny, not really...) and put on a loaner derailleur till I get a replacement.
Replacement huh? How can I replace something so quickly? Shouldn't I be griefing? I mourned for about 30 minutes, but grief therapy (a.k.a. Shimano's 2 year warranty) helped me get over this difficult time. Shimano took care of the emotional and potential financial burden this may have caused. Did I tell you it costs $80 for a new one of these damn things? So off to Southern California it goes to be melted down and made into something that hopefully LAST LONGER?! I could go into a fit of rage but I'm not that mad about it, unless Shimano denies my warranty claim, but that's another blog entry. So in the end, I will be back to normal probably next week, till then I will have to settle for Shimano 105, it's inferior cousin, and hopefully it holds up for my first road race this Sunday down in Fremont
Okay, enough obituary writing for now, eventhough it always has been a dream job of mine. My Shimano Ultegra FD-6700 Front Derailleur (layman terms, the thing that shifts your chain up front from one ring to another) crapped out on me on my way home last night. My chain kept falling off when I would shift up and when shifting down, well, it wouldn't really do that easily.
Good thing I got a great LBS (Local Bike Shop, remember that term as I will use it often and not explain again!), Mikes Bikes of Berkeley, and shop manager, Kevin Woulfe. He discovered the fatal crack and was able to take the "dead" weight off my bike (ha ha! slap your knee funny, not really...) and put on a loaner derailleur till I get a replacement.
Replacement huh? How can I replace something so quickly? Shouldn't I be griefing? I mourned for about 30 minutes, but grief therapy (a.k.a. Shimano's 2 year warranty) helped me get over this difficult time. Shimano took care of the emotional and potential financial burden this may have caused. Did I tell you it costs $80 for a new one of these damn things? So off to Southern California it goes to be melted down and made into something that hopefully LAST LONGER?! I could go into a fit of rage but I'm not that mad about it, unless Shimano denies my warranty claim, but that's another blog entry. So in the end, I will be back to normal probably next week, till then I will have to settle for Shimano 105, it's inferior cousin, and hopefully it holds up for my first road race this Sunday down in Fremont
P.S. I hope you enjoyed the macro shots, my lovely assistant Natalie and Mr. Gorilla Pod helped greatly! Thanks!
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