Changes To Carol's Cross/Commuter

Having met with the rear-end of Leigh's car as he backed out of the garage, Carol's commuter bike was in need of a bit of repair.  While there was no apparent damage to the frame, at first glance, the rear wheel was obviously toast.  So, I put it up in the stand to check it out.

The wheel was unfixable, without a new rim to replace the pretzled one, so I got a new pair of 700c commuter-type wheels off the hook.   After they were trued and tensioned, I swapped the tires over and set about checking out the shifting. 

I had noticed that the cage on the derailleur was bent, and I really hoped I could get it straightened out and usable, again.  It's an old-school long-cage Campagnolo derailleur I used on one of my mountain bikes, years ago, and I know that if it has to be replaced it's going to be hard to find (and probably overly expensive).  Luckily, it has a steel cage and I was able to get it back in operating shape.

The derailleur hanger on the rear of the frame was bent in three separate planes.  It bent toward the wheel, and was twisted, corkscrew-like.  Fifteen minutes with the Park-Tool derailleur hanger tool, later, and the bike was shifting again.

I replaced the 700x42c Ritchey CrossMax tires with some Forte 700x35c tires to improve the on-road performance (and to improve the tire clearance in the rear...Tight! with the 42s).

Finally, I took the Cardiff saddle off of my commuter and mounted it on Carol's bike, to replace her aging Gel Flite.  She had asked me to put a Brooks on it, but I told her to try this one.  I think it's as comfy as the B-17, but I'd like a second opinion.  If she doesn't like it as well, I will find her a Brooks.  Otherwise, we'll stick with the Cardiff.  (So far, she likes it, but has only ridden about 10 miles on it.)

I replaced the Cardiff on my bike with the "mutant saddle" which was on the bike, before.  I have a black Cardiff on the way for my bike.  I just think black will look better on the RockCombo.

So, here is Carol's CrossRoads, with all the new parts:

Look closely, and you'll see that I forgot to put the magnet for the cyclometer on the new front wheel.  Ah, well, "Perfection is the realm of Allah."

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