Almost ready for a lightly loaded 200k
I tweaked the stem (to get the handlebars a little bit lower and about an inch further away from me), swapped the saddle (+seatpost mount)(not shown here; I put the Nago TR that used to be on the project bike here), added a second bottle cage and a pump, then dug up the ripped Confrerie, used tyvek fabric to boot it, then glued the rip shut, replaced the CdlV’s and rode it on a 10 mile loop.
Let’s see if I can do a 200k with nothing but what I can carry in my pocketeses. At least Estacada is at mp ~30 and mp ~90, and the Ripplebrook Guard Station is at mp ~60, so if I run out of fud I’ll be able to restock on 2-hour headways.
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The stresses aren’t so bad on the stay now that it’s been de-xtracycled, so the cracking isn’t getting any worse. I’ve written to Trek asking “so, what exactly did you use to glue the tubes to the lugs?” but haven’t heard anything back; I’ll ride it on a 200k or two to see if that makes the tube completely debond, and if it does then I’ll epoxy (or whatever Trek used, if it’s available to end users) the tube back into place and make it if not as good as new as good as I can get it.
The nice thing about it being the DS chainstay is that if it starts to seriously separate I can simply rechain the bicycle as a singlespeed and have the chain tension hold the tube onto the lug until I get home (needless to say I’m not going to do any rides that take me more than 60 miles away from home on this thing, and gravel is right out) so I can pull the tube completely and either reglue it or build an xtracycle rear end that glues onto the existing lugs.
Must remember that it’s adhesive cracking, not the actual metal.
You’re still way braver than I am about mechanical risks, but hopefully all the parts will continue to fly in close formation.
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What did you do about the cracked stay?
I seem to have missed that in the description of the resurrection.