Insightdriver
captain
Reged: 03/07/04
Posts: 472
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I had my new Tetra Pro for a week and got two rides in. Because of a mis-communication the bike needs a minor modification and went back to the bike shop on Friday so that the frame can be shipped back to Calfee. I got a ride in today on my 2004 Giant OCR2. The bike was familiar to me, since I had ridden a couple of thousand miles on it in a year's time. My wife asked me how the ride compared. I told her it was like the difference between driving a sports car and driving the family sedan. As for the motor (me), I told her it was like driving with a motor that needs a tune-up pretty badly.
It has been raining a lot lately and today there was a break in the rain. It was very windy, though. When the headwind was really blowing I had to shift into my granny gear to maintain cadence. It will take me months to get my motor back in shape.
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Umlungu
contributor
Reged: 03/04/05
Posts: 184
Loc: Plano, TX
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So how long are you going to have to wait for the mods? It stinks to have it come in, only to have to run it back around, though it's best to get it right.
I am so out of shape, 2 months off the bike and I feel like a blimp. I need to get motivated.
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Picshooter
new member
Reged: 12/19/03
Posts: 7
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What mods does it need?
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Insightdriver
captain
Reged: 03/07/04
Posts: 472
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My bike was supposed to have ,"braze-ons," for fenders. The one behind the seat tube was off-center quite a bit since it was thought that the bike was being set up as a cyclocross bike. Since I just wanted fender mounts, and that is what was stated on the order, it will be fixed by Craig as he is a great person who treats his customers very well. I'm getting Jitensha Honjo fenders.
As far as turn-around time, all I can do is guess that it would be two weeks or thereabouts.
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Insightdriver
captain
Reged: 03/07/04
Posts: 472
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I happen to have the day off today since the company I work for takes all federal holidays. For me the wait is not so bad. This is my second Calfee, replacing my first one. It's different this time. I've evolved and what I want to do on a bike has changed. I started out as a recreational rider that became motivated to improve my endurance and fitness. Now I'm going to put the bike to more practical purposes as a human powered machine. I'm going to commute to work on my bike. As I've had too much time off the bike I need a lot of work. Yesterday I rode to my workplace and back. I wanted to check out the route on a slow traffic day to see if it was a safe enough ride. I'll be riding across roads clogged with stop and go rush-hour drivers.
Since my commute by car is roughly 16 miles round trip I thought my bike mileage would be similar. On my bike computer however,I logged 31.7 miles for the round trip. I believe there is, at most, a 3% error in mileage in the trip meter. The major difference is in the bike following the bike trail along the river with a lot of turns and a few miles overshoot to get to a bike trail that underpasses the freeway. The car takes a direct route along mostly a straight road and takes the cutoff from the freeway a mile or so before where I would pass under it. I end up making a large S turn, in effect where the car cuts stright through it.
Commuting is a different experience for me. If asked why I ride a bike so many miles back and forth to work I would still tend to answer that it is for my health that I do it. I believe vigorous excercise is a part of staying healthy. Riding my bike to work is killing two birds with one stone, so to speak. I save gas and improve my health. It's a win/win for me.
Edited by Insightdriver (01/16/06 05:12 PM)
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Krash
new member
Reged: 09/04/05
Posts: 17
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Quote:
Insightdriver wrote:
I'm going to commute to work on my bike.
Congratulations. Commuting 22 miles one way in the mountains, mostly uphill in the morning, was my habit 3 days a week for several summers. The ride began at the break of dawn and took me past horses standing in the morning fog and beautiful sunrises. People often suggested I was nuts to ride that many miles but I knew the car commute was the crazy choice. OK, so sometimes the afternoon rains made me wonder but it was wonderful more often than not. Riding 44 miles a day, often 60 with a side trip going home, without my family missing me too much beyond a normal evening return home was perfect.
I moved and live 2 minutes from work now. I still bike commute, year-round now, but it's trivial riding and training is done after work.
It took organizing - a weeks worth of clothes going up in a suitcase by car - and some mornings I didn't feel like doing it until the pedals were turning, but I hope you have as much fun and get as much benefit as I did. Happy commuting!
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flythebike
captain
Reged: 08/26/04
Posts: 272
Loc: N. Virginia, USA
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I'm waiting too. I drove into a parking garage with the Dragonfly on the roof. My 1 year old was screaming in the backseat and I was dog tired, bike had been up there for about an hour and I was focusing on something else.
It ruined one of the fork tips so the fork will be replaced. It was an Alpha Q. Craig told me to get an Easton EC90 SLX. Fortunately this happened right before my birthday so I had some birthday money to set aside for the fork.
The top tube lost some paint. The seat lug took a hit from the rack crossbar after it fell when it was pryed off the rack (no lawyer's lips). So it has a ding. I don't know yet what they will need to do to fix it. It will need some paint, that is for sure. The left seatstay took a minor hit, looks like a scratch only. Hopefully it will just be a minor repair and some paint. If it gets into a seat-cluster re-mold, I'm into some serious money. Rats.
At least I'll get a lighter, slightly zippier fork out of the deal. But the big bummer is that the only bike I can borrow for the interium is a Fuji Fusion with 105. Comparatively, it rides like a pig. I'll just have to ride my tt bike and fixed gear more...
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skuke
captain
Reged: 12/22/03
Posts: 322
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Quote:
flythebike wrote:
I'm waiting too. I drove into a parking garage with the Dragonfly on the roof. My 1 year old was screaming in the backseat and I was dog tired, bike had been up there for about an hour and I was focusing on something else.
Sorry to hear that. What I've always recommended people do is put their garage door remote in the back of the car. That way you have to get out of the car to open the garage door and hopefully the bike sitting on the roof will provide a big hint not to drive in.
You don't say if that was your situation, but it's an idea for others too.
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Skuke
95 Carbonframes Tetra Pro
92 Bridgestone MB-1
90 Moser 51.151
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Insightdriver
captain
Reged: 03/07/04
Posts: 472
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Sorry to hear you broke your bike. One thought I have would be to put a mirror on your garage such that when you pull up you would see the reflection of the bike in the mirror. It's a real shame but cartop mounts make it so easy to forget you have your bike up there. I'm definately absent-minded enough that if I ever have a garage I will never ever get a car top carrier for my bike.
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spted
new member
Reged: 11/03/04
Posts: 11
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What a horrible sensation that must've caused upon hearing the impact.
I used a Yakima roof rack for years and was always terrified of doing the same thing; I used to put the garage door opener in the glove box which forced me to think before opening. That's fine for at home, but not much good going into, say, a hotel parking garage. I finally installed a basic receiver hitch and I now use a rear mount rack from 1upusa:
http://www.1upusa.com/1upusarackhome.htm
I haven't checked, but I believe Yakima, Hollywood, and Thule have similar set-ups.
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cccyclist
journeyman
Reged: 09/27/05
Posts: 80
Loc: Central California
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I have a bright colored piece of paper that has the word "BIKE" in large letters on it. I pull it out and hang it from my visor when I have the bike on the roof. Since I only put it there when I have a bike on the roof (which is very rare), it still catches my attention. My opener is built in (homelink type) so I can't put it in the glove box.
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Lon
sage
Reged: 12/20/03
Posts: 595
Loc: Pittsburgh, PA
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Laugh at the Mini-Van...make fun of it...whatever but...bikes in and out in seconds...dogs love it...kids love it...totally practical...I hope to always have one...if I ever hit the big time I'll have a to die for car but a Min-Van for all the great uses it has. Now it is awesome for taking my son's stuff to college and back once a year...their uses never end. Until my company gave me one I thought you had to be brain dead to have one...after one day (really one day)I knew why they had become so popular so quickly.
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Insightdriver
captain
Reged: 03/07/04
Posts: 472
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Lon, you are so right. I have a mini-van and it's so easy to just park the bike between the middle seats (we have the rear seats removed)and with just using one bungee cord, I have my bike securely stowed and easily removed. It's very rare, though, that I ever have to transport my bikes by vehicle.
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vaxn8r
contributor
Reged: 12/19/03
Posts: 222
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Another proud minivan owner/driver. Perfect bike transport.
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Nev
captain
Reged: 05/03/04
Posts: 373
Loc: Never where I want to be
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Quote:
flythebike wrote:
I drove into a parking garage with the Dragonfly on the roof.
BWAAAAHAHAHAHA!
Sorry.
But I can laugh because I've done this TWICE!
First time was straight into my own garage. Horrible feeling and sound. But...the rack pulled up on the rain gutters a bit -- not good -- and the damage to the bike was covered by my auto insurance! Everything damaged on the bike was 100% replaced or the repairs paid for, fork, brakes...
Second time I drove a bike into the overhang of the drivethrough at the bank. Minimal damage, but there is still a hold in the stucco of the bank roof there where the point of the seat punctured it. Now I'm a nervous wreck whenever I drive with them up on the roof. I'm too afraid to get a hitch rack. Although maybe I should fear myself more than I fear others?
OK,
Nev
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Pintsized
journeyman
Reged: 02/27/05
Posts: 90
Loc: Corvallis OR
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I just caught up with your bad news. Tired, an impatient baby.....oh boy, it's a commmon story. A neighbor of mine did that to his (unfortunately) new, non beater cross bike right before Thanksgiving. Similar scenario.
Our car is a Forester and so it has a kind of high roof for a rooftop carrier anyhow. I use, and like, the hatchback carriers. I think we have a 2 year old Thule. Right, I know that one of these days someone may rear end me. But somehow the convenience and the neatness in the hatch makes me feel like I will take the chance. Is this a screwy tradeoff or what? Somehow it works for me.
My husband bless his heart is fussier than me about this, putting my bike in the hatch often enough, to give it more protection. But I don't want it there, if only because it sometimes drops the chain. I have to throw a tantrum to get him to put it on the rack !! ("Hon-eeeey. I got a rack for the bike, dammit")
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flythebike
captain
Reged: 08/26/04
Posts: 272
Loc: N. Virginia, USA
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Thanks for the sympathy. Got the estimate from Nick yesterday. $1330. Will get it redone nude with Easton EC90 SLX. The bike is a touch small on me should I get a seat tube extension? What about a extra stiff top tube, since they have to replace it?
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flythebike
captain
Reged: 08/26/04
Posts: 272
Loc: N. Virginia, USA
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I called Allstate and they said it wasn't covered unless it was a named peril under the homeowners policy, only the car is covered. What insurance covered it?
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Insightdriver
captain
Reged: 03/07/04
Posts: 472
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Sorry to hear that. I was so fortunate that our aparment-owner's insurance did cover replacement cost for the theft of my bike.
As far as the bike being slightly to small for you, getting a seatpost extension might be helpful. A stiffer top tube I wouldn't know about. I would reccomend you call Calfee and ask. You get an engineer's opinion there. That carries weight with me.
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skuke
captain
Reged: 12/22/03
Posts: 322
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Quote:
flythebike wrote:
I called Allstate and they said it wasn't covered unless it was a named peril under the homeowners policy, only the car is covered. What insurance covered it?
Apropos: Velonews article on roof racks and insurance companies
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Skuke
95 Carbonframes Tetra Pro
92 Bridgestone MB-1
90 Moser 51.151
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Lon
sage
Reged: 12/20/03
Posts: 595
Loc: Pittsburgh, PA
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I felt I was being mistreated by our insurance company and they would not budge. The mention that my state rep's office was going to hand deliver my complaint to the state insurance commission and put it on tht top of the pile had a check sent to me by Fed X the next day. It doesn't hurt to know if they are even legal in their "interpretation." Our company wasn't and really did not care.
Good luck.
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Insightdriver
captain
Reged: 03/07/04
Posts: 472
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Just an update:
The painter is a bit backed up so my bike has not been shipped to my LBS yet. Sometime this week, maybe.
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bikemistress
new member
Reged: 02/10/06
Posts: 1
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Feel lucky that you only trashed your fork, and I assume you had a high end carbon fork. My "dear husband" drove into our garage this past Sunday and mangled my beautiful Calfee Tetra Tri. I am awaiting Craig's diagnosis of whether she is dead or repairable-head tube lug is toast, top tube has a hole the size of a dime in it, downtube is cracked, and there may be more cracks. By the way, on preliminary prognosis, I was told my Reynolds Ouzo Pro Fork is o.k. I rather buy a new fork than a new frame or pay repair costs for my old one (only 2yrs old). I will know tomorrow what the scoop is. I am about ready to market "idiot plackards" so people do not drive in their garages with bikes on top. Several of my friends have done it too. Another story I have heard is driving in a drive-through fast food place (with low clearance) on the way to a bike race. Lucky I do not eat fast food, burgers, etc.
Edited by bikemistress (02/10/06 12:53 AM)
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Dave_Thompson
prophet
Reged: 12/19/03
Posts: 717
Loc: Spokane, Washington
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You could always put your "dear husband" into your 'Indentured Servitude' program. 
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Steel lover, but then I like Ti with carbon too.
Licensed bike geek.
Edited by Dave_Thompson (02/10/06 01:29 AM)
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Pintsized
journeyman
Reged: 02/27/05
Posts: 90
Loc: Corvallis OR
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Hey, bikemistress, welcome aboard. Nice to have another female of the species on the list. And someone else who refers to their Calfee as a "she", god bless.
Sorry about your bike. Hope she's better soon.
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Insightdriver
captain
Reged: 03/07/04
Posts: 472
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Hey Pintsized,
I think most of us males call our bikes, "she," by the way. I may be wrong though. Ships and bikes, always female.
LOL
Cheers.
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Nev
captain
Reged: 05/03/04
Posts: 373
Loc: Never where I want to be
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Quote:
Nev wrote:
But I can laugh because I've done this TWICE!
Guess what Nev did last night...
Anybody? Anybody? Anybody?
RIGHT! Third time!
Had just picked up my (one of) mtb bike after having new frame bearings installed getting ready for a 24hr race next weekend and came home: BASH!
Broke both dropouts off the fork. Yup.* Some severe other scrapage but nothing horrible on an mtb bike.
It was an '05 fork. But look what the freaking cost of an '06 is!
No more. No more bikes ever on top of a car for Nev.
*True story. Factually. Not joking. Third time. Really.
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Insightdriver
captain
Reged: 03/07/04
Posts: 472
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Hmmm..
Three times is a charm, they say. Guess you and car top carriers just aren't made to go together, Nev.
I do feel bad for you, though. Hang in there. I hesitated to mention this, but last weekend two of my bikes were stolen off our balcony. The only saving grace is that my wife's bike wasn't and my bike is still at the factory. Still, this sucks.
I had my previous ride set up with a Brooks saddle and the pedals from my new Calfee. The Brooks was borrowed from my lBS as well. Thieves work this area of the city I live in. I'm getting tired of city life.
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Dave_Thompson
prophet
Reged: 12/19/03
Posts: 717
Loc: Spokane, Washington
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Quote:
Insightdriver wrote:
Hmmm..
Three times is a charm, they say. Guess you and car top carriers just aren't made to go together, Nev.
I do feel bad for you, though. Hang in there. I hesitated to mention this, but last weekend two of my bikes were stolen off our balcony. The only saving grace is that my wife's bike wasn't and my bike is still at the factory. Still, this sucks.
I had my previous ride set up with a Brooks saddle and the pedals from my new Calfee. The Brooks was borrowed from my lBS as well. Thieves work this area of the city I live in. I'm getting tired of city life.
Man, you need a new location!
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Steel lover, but then I like Ti with carbon too.
Licensed bike geek.
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skuke
captain
Reged: 12/22/03
Posts: 322
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Quote:
Insightdriver wrote:
Three times is a charm, they say. Guess you and car top carriers just aren't made to go together, Nev.
...last weekend two of my bikes were stolen off our balcony.
This thread is getting kinda depressing.
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Skuke
95 Carbonframes Tetra Pro
92 Bridgestone MB-1
90 Moser 51.151
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Lon
sage
Reged: 12/20/03
Posts: 595
Loc: Pittsburgh, PA
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Insight where do you live? Is your balcony on the ground floor or higher? I guess you need to use it due to space. I'd try a Kryptonite NY Chain next time or convine your better half that a bike hanging on an oak wall hanger is a work of art.
Nev...you have to get that mini-van. By now you could darn near have 1/4 of it paid for! Believe me they really are nice once you make the move. Everybody else is taking off wheels, stetching up to a roof and such and you are on the way home or sitting on the back deck relaxing with your favorite recovery drink/food watching them suffer.
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BikerDoug
friend
Reged: 12/29/03
Posts: 88
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Quote:
Insightdriver wrote:
Hmmm..
<clip>
Thieves work this area of the city I live in. I'm getting tired of city life.
My wife and I live right on what you would consider the boundry between suburb and rural. We head east into city life and west into country life. Needless to say, you know what direction I go when I'm riding.
And yes... all my bikes are "she". My Tetra... "I call her Vera." (Firefly reference). "See Vera, dress yourself up, and you get taken out somewhere fun!"
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Insightdriver
captain
Reged: 03/07/04
Posts: 472
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Hi Lon,
I live in a cramped apartment filled with antique sewing machines, Civil war reenactor stuff, three adults, 5 computers and it used to be 6 bikes. We live on the second floor in an apartment complex and it faces on an innner courtyard area, not visible from the street. Unfortunately the downstairs patios have 8 foot high wood fencing around them. If you get inside you can easily climb up the two by four horizontal bracing to reach the second floor balcony, which, apparently what the thief or thieves did.
I now have a New York Kryptonite chain lock around my wife's bike, locking it to the balcony railing. I plan to get more locks now, as well.
In three years we have had three of our vehicles broken into. My stepson had a large subwoofer ripped out of his trunk area. My wife had her windows broken and the gas cap taken. I had a CD cartridge for my cd changer stolen out of my locked car. We are not the only people who have had their cars broken into either.
I'll rant no more. This is not a good life, living in conditions like this.
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Lon
sage
Reged: 12/20/03
Posts: 595
Loc: Pittsburgh, PA
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It sure doesn't sound like a nice situation.
You might want to check with Kryptonite. Some of the locks on the NY chains could be Bic Pen opened like the U-Locks. They tell you how to get a new one.
Funny thing is here I ride to the city where I prefer riding. People accept bikes a great deal more.
You have yet to say where you live. Where is it? I sure want to make sure I never move there.
One more thing...3 adults...you wouldn't be Mormon by any chance would you? 
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Insightdriver
captain
Reged: 03/07/04
Posts: 472
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Lon,
Uhhh.. Mormon.. nearly so. The wife is. Her oldest son, 24, moved in with us when his brother moved to Ohio last year. They had been living together.
I live in Sacramento, Ca.
I have the current generation of the Kryptonite locks. They changed that design a few years ago, by the way. Still, the rep hangs on. As it is, the current New York lock is one of the highest-rated locks in independent reviews.
Currently there is a stolen car that sits just outside our apartment complex. Clearly stolen, the windows are open, there is a baby seat on the back seat and the glove box is open. Sad to live in such an environment and as soon as practical I want to get out of here.
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