There are moments in life that seem more vivid than others. The day I rode my first true road bike is still crystal clear. I recall looking down at the front tire and feeling like I was going to be kicked off right over the front. It felt fast and responsive. Up to this day I had been racing mountain bikes. Road racing and even riding on the road was foreign to me. I was going to college in Annapolis Maryland after growing up and living in Santa Fe. The lack of mountains in Maryland left a void so I often found myself hanging around this one bike shop looking a bit lost. I had become a regular but was a poor student. One of the workers called me one day and said he had a bike for me. A man had brought this 1983 Pearl white with chrome Raleigh Competition (The current year was about 93). The guy at the shop threw some SPD road pedals on it and sold it to me for 100 bucks. The bike was practically free.
Today over 15 years later that bike may have breathed it’s last breath. The wheel was making an odd wiggle that I couldn’t figure out. I put it on the rack and took off the back wheel to inspect what was going on. What came off was part of the rear triangle (I’m sure there is a name for it). Basically where the triangle meets to hold on the wheel had cracked and broke off top and bottom. I was dumbfounded. I raced through all my capabilities as a mechanic and this was completely out of my hands. There is some hope that it could be welded back on by a professional, but I have my doubts. In silence I began to remove all the components like a jockey taking off an old horse’s saddle. I then gingerly cleaned the frame but so much chipped paint and scratches it’s hard to get it perfect. Now naked and beautiful I stand for a moment before walking away. To give you an idea of why I’m sad, I’ll highlight some moments below. The key thing though is this. I raced that bike for 12 years. I went from Cat 5 to 3 on that bike. Last year was my first new bike since getting my Raleigh 15 years ago. It had become part of me. I have never been more comfortable on a bike than I was on my Raleigh.
Important moments
Within the first couple of weeks riding on the road I was hit by a car turning left into a gas station. Over the hood I went and my wheels were trashed. The guy gave me a ride home and I ended up spending more money on a new set of wheels than I had for the bike.
Cat 5 New Mexico Race Series Champion (96)
Cat 4 New Mexico Race Series Champion (97)
Raleigh gets upgraded groupo (Ultegra with STI no less)
Cat 4 Tour de Gila 2nd place. (For me it’s not the second place that I recall most but the epic climb at the end where I went solo and gained 2 minutes on the chasing peloton, it was a glorious race)
Bike flies off the roof of a car at 60 MPH I watch through the rear view mirror in horror as it bounces down the highway. Chrome front fork is cracked so a buddy replaces it with a used, purple, Trek fork. Gads!
Life in Portland begins (99). Not much racing but lots of rides. The rain is hard on the Raleigh.
Bike Central helps me breath new life into the Raleigh, they convince me into taking the classic approach out or respect for it’s age. New chrome fork specially ordered, down tube shifters, bike looks sweet.
I start racing again, I continue to get the same reaction from folks that I always got back in Santa Fe – “Classic bike dude!”. But it’s age is showing.
I go through my third pair of fenders. Jeff Tedder installs his custom steel fenders. Portland cool factor x 30. They were still in good condition after two winters.
I get a new bike but the Raleigh still sees daily commutes to work and many weekend rides until today.
Hey, Derwyn. The dropout can likely be replaced by brazing in a new one. The one thing i notice is that if the chainstay or seat stay is chromed, the framebuilder who does the repair will likely need to sand off all the chrome, do the repair & then you’ll need a frame repaint. But, those sorts of repairs are not uncommon, so you should try to contact Tony Pereira, Ira Ryan or another PDX framebuilder to give you an idea on the cost. From a practical point of view, it’s not going to be worth it. However, if you love the bike as much as you do, perhaps it’s worth it to you? This is, I think, the most common repair for steel frames; well, it’s really only possible w/ steel frames, as w/ aluminum or carbon fiber, no one would repair it for you. Just ask around on how much it would be to re-braze the drop out, but be sure to mention that the CSs or SSs are chromed.
Thanks for the info, I was thinking of asking around but as you said the bigger question is how deep is your love. (To quote a Bee Gees song)