You’ll forgive me for this unusual thread, I know you will. You will be compassionate to your RivSister who is yearning for spring after a Michigan winter, and if she can’t ride the bikes she will talk about the bikes.
I love my Rivendells. I used to hate changing anything about them - if I wore something out like brake pads or tires - I would sometimes weep about it in the parking lot of the bike shop. “It will never be the SAME!” I’d think. These poor coping skills came after wearing my Betty Foy tires to threads. The mechanic told me he’d have to get me something else for tires because he didn’t have that kind. Then he called me and told my I’d actually need a whole new WHEEL because my rim was cracked. He explained he would have to build one. After a week in that shop, my Betty was returned to me. I got a flat on my first ride. I went howling back to the shop - it was something about rim tape and it was an easy fix. But I had developed a distrust and a distaste for messing with essentials on my bikes. I’ve mostly gotten over this. Especially now that I know about upgrades and how happy they can make you. But some things just shouldn’t need to be upgraded. Some things are so familiar that when they go missing or get replaced it’s intolerable. Kickstands. My Greenfield kickstand on the raspberry Platy inexplicably snapped in the back of my van en route to the Philly Bike Expo. A local shop replaced that kickstand with the same model (joy and rapture!) but cut it a hair too short. Was it going to tip over? No. BUT IT WASN’T THE SAME, I wailed in my head. I didn’t like the new lean it gave the bike. I wanted things the way they used to be. I decided I would spring for yet another kickstand and hope it would be right. I took my Platy to my local shop and explained about the kickstand. I also brought them one of Rivendell’s new shiny rear racks to be fit to my bike. I may take that bike on a RivSister Tour this summer and needed a heavy-duty rack (not the saddlebag support I have presently). The mechanic thought he knew what I wanted and ordered me a new kickstand that he thought would be EVEN BETTER. He said this in email, so I did not get a vote. I picked up the bike today. The rear rack was expertly fitted. The kickstand…I know he meant well, but… But it wasn’t the SAME. It’s this foreign thing on my bike. Chunky and stout. It’s a Portland Design Works stand; this one, I think: https://ridepdw.com/products/power-stance-kickstand I haven’t gotten used to it. It’s been 4 hours. I don’t know if I can get used to it. This is my club ride bike and that kickstand is…a lot. The rack will get switched back - I just wanted the new one ready for plug and play for a summer tour. But what should I do about that kickstand? I could buy the one that is on my mermaid Platy. I think I want to be done with the kickstands that you have to cut to size. I’m liking that this one is adjustable. Is it as horrible as I think? I think it’s worse in real life than the photos show. Also, it’s dark and I had to alter these photos a lot so you could see well enough. Colors will be distorted. Anyway, I’m sending pics in the following post… Who will help their RivSister? Who can understand her peculiar brand of angst? Who has words of wisdom, or even constructive criticism? Who else is nutty about small things that barely matter? Who has been crying in bike shop parking lots and hand-wringing in the garage, staring at these foreign, new, transplanted parts? Pics forthcoming… Leah -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/43d2871b-a482-4ece-8a89-453f2dbd48d9n%40googlegroups.com.
