My New Whip
It’s a FORT. Not the coolest name, but things could be worse; it could be called a FART.
My Longhaul Trucker has been relegated to the scrap heap. I’ll never again be able to call out “10-4 Lil’ Buddy. We’ve got some smokey up ahead!” to Sarah when we see a police car up the road.
The bike is not bad looking. It is an aluminum frame that claims to be handmade in the Czech Republic and its got a cool looking headbadge.
It also has a Suntour oil-suspension fork. I thought I was going to have to get a new front rack, but the mechanic at the bike shop was able to get my Surly rack on with a little bending of the attachment plates.
All the components were pulled from my bike except for the headset, crankset, and front derailleur. My crankset and front derailleur where also mangled during the accident, so now I’ve got a new crankset with 28 cogs on my little chainring. Nothing smaller was available so hopefully my legs and knees will be able to handle it!
The FORT felt comfortable on a short test ride; the biggest difference is that I am in a more aggressive position. I was expecting my Brooks saddle to be unridable in this new position, but it doesn’t feel too bad. We’ll see how it feels after several hours in the saddle though.
Sarah got her rear wheel trued and some new pedals. The total cost for everything including the minor repairs to Sarah’s bike was 9545 crowns (~US$477.25).
Tomorrow we hit the road again.
August 16th, 2007 at 4:49 am
These are amazing stories. I think when you return you should professionally bind all of your adventures in a book and distribute it to friends and family. You guys are moving to sf?!
August 16th, 2007 at 5:00 pm
This is a great adventure, no question!
Have you contacted Surly to see if they could repair the Longhaul? The new frame looks a wee bit small for you. If Surly can repair it you could swap the parts back when you return to the US.
August 18th, 2007 at 1:38 am
Aggressive – hehe, The frame is very small for you. For triathlon it will be good (size) 😉
With your adventure, I think Surly will be more then happy to give you new frame for free or with a discount. Its a good advertising for them.
I have a smaller frame in my Trek 1200 and it really not working for me. I have a back neck pain all the time, because of the aggressive position, and I don’t feel good on the bike for long distances. I hope you will have a better experience with this frame.
One more thing, what happened to your Giro Atmos Helmet? I saw you replaced it.
And this is for Uma, hehmm, sorry, Sara 😉 Maybe I’m the 1000 to tell you that you look like Uma Turman. When you come back home, you should try to wear a yellow motorcycle suit and pick up a sword, then let James take some pictures 😉
Oh, and my girlfriend sends hi, and say that she loves you both. I do too 😉
Good luck
August 18th, 2007 at 1:42 am
Oh, and I forgot. When reading this post, before I read about the crank I see the picture of it, and the first thing that came to mind was to ask you: “How do you keep your crank rings so clean?” LOL