Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Motobecane Fantom 29 steps in

Today I used the Fantom 29 for my morning ride and did 6.5 miles at Springton Manor Farm. I usually ride my Raleigh Grand Prix road bike during the week for my morning rides but the Raleigh is out of commission, so the Fantom 29 stepped in nicely.

The Fantom 29 again performed flawlessly-- smooth shifting and good climbing. I did have to rush it this morning because I need to keep my fitness ride to about 50 minutes so I can get to work on time. My Sunday Fantom 29 ride can be longer. The 6.5 mile ride was still a good workout.

So why is the Raleigh out of commission? On Monday when I was doing my morning ride a rear wheel spoke broke as I was climbing the "Glenmoore Wall" i.e. Pumpkin Hill Road. The spoke was on the rear wheel on the cassette side. This is the second spoke that broke and it was on the same wheel, same side, just 2 spokes down.

The first spoke went in February and since I did not have any bike tools at that point, I had the LBS fix it. When I picked up the wheel I paid $25 and the LBS guy said "You know these rear wheel spokes have the tendency to go one after the other. When another spoke breaks we will probably need to change a number of them at once" I thought to myself, "aren't spokes 35 cents each. So if you did all 14 on the cassette side it would be an extra $4.90. So why didn't you replace them and charge me $30 rather than again when I come back?"

Guess what I am going to do--- I am going to replace all of the spokes on the cassette side. I am also going to put fresh tires on since my rear tire is worn (the rubber has flattened, the next step is the threads wearing through). But enough of that. This is the motobanefantom29 blogspot not the raleighgrandprix blogspot.

So until I get the parts and complete the repairs, the Fantom 29 will be my ride.

2 comments:

29erRider said...

Mike - I don't know how many others read your blog, but as a fellow Fantom owner I check it at least twice a week. I've had mine since mid-May 2008 and have logged about 100 miles on it. I've replaced the headset, the stem - with adjustable like yours ;) , the rear tube (a locust thorn), and added a set of fenders to keep the mud and gravel spray down. Like you I haven't had any major problems and love the fitness benefits of cycling. My knees couldn't take running any more. Keep up the good work and thanks. Mark

Mike said...

Mark
Thanks for the kind words.
I also really enjoy biking and am completely satisfied with my Fantom 29.
Let me know how your Fantom performs from time to time.
Mike