As you may recall, not too long ago I was on a quest to obtain a pair of Spinergy Rev X wheels:
Further to that post, a reader reached out and informed me that he did in fact live in the vicinity of the apparent seller, and what’s more also planned to be in town for the Five Boro Bike Tour, which meant he could not only purchase the wheels on my behalf but also deliver them to me personally.
Finally, I had the white whale in my sights, and satisfaction was just a harpoon’s throw away.
Unfortunately, while like many Craigslist sellers the Spinergy purveyor was clearly an asshole, I’d failed to take into account another possibility, which was that he might also be a scammer. Sadly, the reader found this out the hard way when he agreed to pay the seller a deposit in order for him to ship the wheels, which as you can probably guess were ultimately not forthcoming. Naturally the first rule of the Internet is that one should never send money to a stranger, but I suppose this unfortunate reader was caught up in the thrill of the chase, and for stoking that furnace I blame myself–though not entirely, since had he told me beforehand the guy wanted money to ship him the wheels I would have played the Starbuck to his Ahab and told him to abandon the pursuit and return to port.
But ultimately that’s little more than craven rationalization on my part. There’s no denying that I’m the Ahab in this sad debacle, and this well-meaning reader was just a loyal crewmember.
Meanwhile, as all this was unfolding, in a twist of irony apparently another reader traded in not one but two pairs of Spinergys (Spinergae?) to Classic Cycle, and on Friday I received a sizeable parcel:
There they were, their Blades of Death wrapped for safety:
It’s a good thing, too, because even when not spinning they can be incredibly dangerous to wild rodents and household pets alike:
Paul also included what I assumed was an automotive brake rotor until I finally figured out it was the wheel’s formidable pie plate:
Holding the rear wheel aloft, I inspected it:
Here’s the last thing a squirrel sees before it’s severed in half:
There was a nick in one of the machete blades:
But I’m not at all worried about it because Spinergy Rev X wheels are renowned for their structural integrity:
I’m sure it’ll be fine.
In addition to the two flying crabon guillotines the package contained another deadly weapon with which to replace the wobbly crank on the LeMond:
I installed it and took the bike for a ride the following day–though I wasn’t quite ready to Unleash the Spinergys. But perhaps I should have armed myself after all, for heading over the George Washington Bridge I discovered they were setting up for the Gran Fondo New York, which I always forget about, and which would be taking place the following day:
Route 9W was teeming with even more roadies than usual in anticipation, so I headed deeper into the New Jersey interior:
Where I had an opportunity to contemplate equestrian cyclocross:
Even here there were plenty of riders:
And even though I was alone I nevertheless felt part of the vast brotherhood of middle-aged men with beer bellies and mildly irritated people waiting for them at home that is the roadie culture.
Soon I passed back into New York State:
Where once again I found myself in the very thick of it:
Until I crossed over the Tappan Zee and back to my side of the river, where I was finally free from Fondo-Mania:
As for the LeMond, it’s running beautifully:
I no longer have the Litespeed to compare it to, but it feels every bit as nice as that bike felt, and maybe even nicer:
And the only thing I’d change about it if it were mine are the bars:
By no means do they ruin the bike for me or anything, and I can certainly live with them, but the problem I have with bars that are too sculpted is that my hands don’t quite find their natural position because the bar wants me to put them in very specific places and at very specific angles. I’m sure if those places happen to work perfectly for you then the whole fighter pilot feeling is great, but for me I find regular bars with more gradual bends and a consistent diameter much more comfortable on longer rides:
Some people are soft mattress people, and some people are hard mattress people; I guess I’m a hard mattress person.
But the bars do perfectly match the cranks, and both match the bike:
You can’t discount the importance of that.
