My bike still isn’t in service, and neither is my spine.
I’m not taking alieve or valerian today, but there’s no way I could do hills or a hard trail.
Final tally of damage on my bike:
* 3 sprockets on my freewheel – DNP is replacing this. Probably will be okay, but I realized I got the 11-32 and wanted the 11-34.
* Busted links on my chain – Amazon replaced this for me, but I think the new chain will fail too. I did pick up some missing link spares so I could reassemble any broken links on the ride. I may have to pick up an SRAM 951 chain. It’s build/design is what I’d expect. KMC and Shimano in the 9-speed sizes are dimpled and when the pin pulls, it just fails permanently. Still, $25 for a chain. ouch.
* Bent axle – second time I’ve noticed this, but the only time it was major. I had to use my brass, machinist hammer to bend it back down before I could remove the freewheel.
* Freewheel thread shoulder – It’s not a flush/flat fit, so the freewheel overtightened to the point of actually rolling back part of the hub shoulder. This could lead to the entire freewheel thread shearing loose from the hub. Though there are enough locknuts to keep the wheel from falling off, I’d have to walk the bike back if that happened. The alternative is to switch to a freehub, which has a better bearing placement, so I wouldn’t be as likely to break things. There are limited options for a 28″ or larger tire, but still using rim brakes. It looks like I can get a replacement wheel for about $60, or both as a set for about $100. The alternative would be upgrading to disc brakes too, which would be more cost still. Also, changing to a freehub means buying a sprocket cassette. My freewheel wouldn’t fit on it.
* My spine… it’s still only about 60%. I may be able to ride Thursday morning, or I may wait until the weekend.
When I visited the local bike shop, they could order the wheel for me for $100, just for the one. I did let them order replacement axles for me… it’s the same price as I can get online, or within a dollar or so. I test-rode a decent 20″ bike with 29″ wheels, front suspension, disc brakes, 3×8 transmission, and it was very smooth, very comfy. The brakes were wire pull, and didn’t grip as tightly as I’d hope. Overall though, the bike was good stuff, and seemed like it, or a 22″ version would be what I would want in an upgrade. BUT, this low-cost version was $600, and I’m still not sure what all I break on bikes. Still, the 3-speed front is nice, because it would keep my chain from jumping. I might basically end up with close to that much in my existing bike. *sigh*