Damn
 2001 Giant NRS2 |
 2001 Giant NRS2 |
 2001 Giant NRS2 |
 2001 Giant NRS2 |
 1997 Mongoose VRS3 |
 1997 Mongoose VRS3 |
 1994 Giant ATX 760 |
 1994 Giant ATX 760 |
 1994 Giant ATX 760 (note dirt excavated from track) |
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Some years are just bad.
All the above damage occurred in 2005 - the derailleurs in different incidents. I also broke five hangers on the NRS in the first half of the year. ;^(
May 05 - Giant NRS: I'd been braking hangers and twisting derailleurs like they were going out of fashion since Christmas. No real changes to my bike, or my riding, it just started to happen. At first I blamed my parsimonious ways - being tight, I'd only replace the hanger, and rebuild derailleurs from old bits in my parts bin, ending up with straight, but hybrid systems. Maybe they weren't as straight as I thought? So I bit the bullet and bought a brand new LX derailleur and hanger. That's it top right - lasted all of a few weeks. Again, I was just JRA, this time riding down BMX hill on the Oaks firetrail at night. Going slowly because I'd had a bad fall when I front flatted while zooming downhill last time I'd ridden the Oaks, and BMX hill was pretty chopped up - perfect for pinchflats. Hodgie even commented on how slow he thought I was riding. Anyway, JRA, and an awful noise came from the rear end (not mine!). I knew it was either a stick in the spokes, or a derailleur - I'd heard this noise too often recently. Pulled to a halt at the bottom, and prayed. One glance and I could tell that $deitys don't like atheists praying... Picked up the bike and threw it into the bush. Another hanger was gone, another derailleur, another chain, every single outboard spoke on the drive side gone (all eight), wheel badly buckled (surprise, surprise). When the steam stopped coming from my ears, I walked back, carrying the NRS when the wheel rubbing on the swingarm became more than I could bear.
05 - Giant NRS: Snapped this derailleur completely on the Old Coach Rd at Newnes, great ride, but a bad day for Hodgie and I - he tore his derailleur off as well, after crashing heavily earlier. I think I've been dicovering new ways to wreck derailleurs this year - never snapped one like this before! Five hangers this year - in less than six months.
June 05 - Mongoose: I guess something else lead up to the failure, but I was literally JRA (just riding along) when it happened - even worse, I was riding along a concrete path! Good thing it didn't happen as I flew downhill in the bush the night before, or when I was riding down stairs a bit earlier. I actually stopped to check because it felt like the freehub was moving on the hub - like I could pedal but the wheel wouldn't turn. What I found was worse. While I gave the Goose a good workout, I had been riding it more gently than I had ridden the NRS, bearing in mind that everything was older technology, and the suspension and brakes were nowhere near as good.
July 05 - Giant ATX 760: By friggin' $deity - it never stops! I think this must be my annus horribilus - certainly has been a terrible year. More snappage, this time the whole frame - head tube torn clean off. I was very fortunate to be riding stealth (and therefore more slowly) when this happened, and faced a 10 km walk and carry to get home. Had it failed whn I was at speed on the outward trip, I could have been seriously injured (instead of just battered and bruised). Oaks firetrail again.
NOT HAPPY!
