When I was riding home from work this evening I felt a weird sensation coming from the sole of my right shoe. At first I thought my old timberland shoes were finally falling apart making my foot to slide off the petal, but as I look down to my surprise the pedal was bent. Being that I was approximately 6 miles away from home I really had no choice other than to ride the rest of the way. When I got nearly 3 blocks from my apartment the pedal finally pooped out of the crank arm rendering it useless. I tried to screw it back in the hole but the aluminum was so badly shredded it was totally imposable to fix. Walking that three blocks seemed forever as I was cursing to myself.
From what I can remember I did see a Shamano crank arm at Performance Bikes for about 100 dollars. My question is should I attempt to pull the crank arm off myself or have a mechanic do the job? Pulling and installing it looks pretty harmless and effortless if you have the correct crank puller. I’ll have to see the mechanic’s rates before I decide. Welp, tomorrow it looks like I’ll have to take a taxi home from work, crap!!!
I got a flat yesterday so I decided to patch up the tire with my trusty patch kit. “Lo and behold;” when I flipped the bike over on its handle bars to take the tire off, the mechanism in the gear shifter must of cracked when it hit the kitchen floor. I’ve tried adjusting the front derailleur by pulling the slack out of the cord. I’ve did this process hundreds of times with success, but not this time. Anyway, it appears to be broken. The good news is the bike is still rideable, but only in third gear. I’m just gonna have to use a little more muscle now. Perhaps the Shwinn, AKA “Pacific Cycle Company” will replace the shifter for free since the bike is under one year old. They already replaced a bent tire free of charge! I’ll call them Monday. (OUCH! My fingers are killing me now!!!!)