Revved Up To Hit a Brick Wall.
My Lynskey Urbano frameset arrived a couple weeks ago, but I didn't open the box. The other boxes of components were all stacked neatly, the various pieces out of the parts piles set aside for the that most rare of commodities- actual time to wrench.
When the glorious weekend morning arrived, I removed the frameset from the box, happy to discover it was well-packed and intact. I installed the headset, inserted the fork, and locked it temporarily in place with the stem. The seatpost was inserted. I took out the wheelset and installed the thru-axle end caps, cassette, tubes, and tires. Tacking the bike together was going well. I was making progress.
Then I wasn't.
Lynskey forgot to include the thru axle for the front wheel. I checked the invoice, and it indicated it was part of the transaction. I checked the box, carefully searching each piece of foam and wrapping material for the missing part. Nope. Not there.
The momentum faded right at the moment my wife lost her considerable patience with the kids and told me it was my turn to deal with them. Life interfered, and wrenching time was over. The project would have to wait.
I got to see it in a rough form, so it is real now. That's encouraging. I'll bolt on a piece here or there, fleshing it out as time permits, making small adjustments and modifications as I go. I realized the road tires I chose for it look like pizza cutters between the seat stays, so something wider is in order.
The ice is retreating from the roads rapidly now, even if the temperatures haven't been above freezing much. The direct spring sun and dirt erodes it more every day. I could be out riding now if I used studded tires for the icy patches. There's no hurry to get out there, but the clock is ticking to get this project on the road. Once the roads are completely free of ice and snow, and the street sweepers have removed the piles of sand they spread this winter, I probably will rather ride one of my road bikes. The dirt trails will be too wet for a while. The window for this bike to really shine is finite, and I don't want to miss it.
I'll get there, no matter what roadblocks I encounter along the way.
When the glorious weekend morning arrived, I removed the frameset from the box, happy to discover it was well-packed and intact. I installed the headset, inserted the fork, and locked it temporarily in place with the stem. The seatpost was inserted. I took out the wheelset and installed the thru-axle end caps, cassette, tubes, and tires. Tacking the bike together was going well. I was making progress.
Then I wasn't.
Lynskey forgot to include the thru axle for the front wheel. I checked the invoice, and it indicated it was part of the transaction. I checked the box, carefully searching each piece of foam and wrapping material for the missing part. Nope. Not there.
The momentum faded right at the moment my wife lost her considerable patience with the kids and told me it was my turn to deal with them. Life interfered, and wrenching time was over. The project would have to wait.
I got to see it in a rough form, so it is real now. That's encouraging. I'll bolt on a piece here or there, fleshing it out as time permits, making small adjustments and modifications as I go. I realized the road tires I chose for it look like pizza cutters between the seat stays, so something wider is in order.
The ice is retreating from the roads rapidly now, even if the temperatures haven't been above freezing much. The direct spring sun and dirt erodes it more every day. I could be out riding now if I used studded tires for the icy patches. There's no hurry to get out there, but the clock is ticking to get this project on the road. Once the roads are completely free of ice and snow, and the street sweepers have removed the piles of sand they spread this winter, I probably will rather ride one of my road bikes. The dirt trails will be too wet for a while. The window for this bike to really shine is finite, and I don't want to miss it.
I'll get there, no matter what roadblocks I encounter along the way.
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