Further to yesterday’s post, I realize one or two of you might have gotten the impression I wasn’t pleased to receive a Surprise Marinoni:
Nothing could be further from the truth. Nothing is more exciting than a new bike–even if it’s an old bike that needs a lot of work–and this morning I immediately set about preparing it for its maiden voyage (with me anyway):
Since this was just a “getting to know you” ride, and my time was limited, and it was raining out, I did the absolute bare minimum of prep to get it rideable, though I did of course change the saddle. As you can imagine, the arrival of another lugged steel road bike with an Italian name (even if it was built in America’s cardboard Burger King crown) made you-know-who extremely uncomfortable, and I probably shouldn’t store them together because I wouldn’t be surprised if the Marinoni met with an “accident” in the very near future:
By the way, when I wheeled out the Faggin for that photo, I discovered the rear tire was flat; heroically it carried me 70 miles just the other day, and had the decency to wait until I got home to deflate itself.
Meanwhile, after giving the Marinoni its cursory tune-up, I was maybe two or three miles into my rainy ride when this happened:
As I stood there listening to the death rattle I knew exactly who to blame:
I’m not going to name names, but she’s pink, she’s Italian, and she needs to fucking get over it already:
Here’s the murder weapon:
So I set about repairing the flat:
Which afforded me the opportunity to snap a quick crotch shot:
Something, ovalized chainstays, something power transfer, something something.
After fixing the flat I considered just heading back home, but I figured I’d gotten my bad luck out of the way and I should continue rather than being a “woosie.” So what do you learn about riding a bike in the rain for an hour and a half?
Well it certainly feels like it could be a great bike, though I was distracted by the drivetrain:
While I’d taken a little time to adjust it, shifting was still hit or miss, and given the age and condition of the components this could be due to any number of reasons: worn chain, worn cables, worn cassette, or any combination thereof. I also think the derailleur may be a little tweaked:
So obviously that whole situation is going to require attention.
Experiencing the bike in the light of day (relatively speaking given the weather) also gave me a chance to take a better look at the condition of the finish:
There are various scrapes, and also a ding in the top tube:
But overall it’s in better condition aesthetically than you-know-who, which means the vendetta is only going to intensify:
I’m not even going to attempt to parse its ride quality, handling, blah blah blah, because come on:
But it’s absolutely a bike I want to continue riding, and I’m eager to address the drivetrain issues so I can do so free from distraction:
As for what that will entail, I’ll need to check my parts inventory and make component compatibility spreadsheets and hold a bunch of meetings with the board of directors, but in the meantime after an hour and a half in the rain (not to mention getting stabbed in the rear tire) the ‘Noner has officially been baptized:
Spring is indeed the season of rebirth.
