Tsunayoshi's Journal: Read the labelling

After a particularly less than ideal ride last week, the bike was pretty dirty. Dug out the cleaning brushes and proceeded to get off most of the dried mud, enough to stop interfering with the mechanical operation of various parts. While I was doing this, I came across a manufacturer sticker on the frame that had some rather small print. In this small print it basically states that this model bike is not meant for activities such as jumping, downhill racing, and aggressive off-road riding. (emphasis mine).

I find this ironic that I now find this label after I have had to replace parts broken during my rides. For the last 4-5 months I have been riding well above the style my parts were designed for, as in often and trying things the more experience riders do. This might explain why I have dumped roughly $300 in parts on this bike in that time frame.

So now I have a sub-par bike, with an excellent set of rims, hubs, tires, rear cogs, and pedals. A friend is upgrading his much higher quality bike with an even higher quality crankset (front gears, crankshaft and pedal arms) and letting me have his old one, so I will have a new one of those soon also.

I will be using this bike in a duathlon in July, possibly another in Sept., and maybe a 12-hour team endurance race (most 10 mile-loops in 12 hours), we'll see how this "not meant for...aggressive off-road riding" holds up. The wife had already agreed that I need a better quality bike (she saw the last repair bill) so it is a matter of keeping this one in working condition long enough to save the money for a decent one ($800-$1000).