Check, Please!

It hardly seems possible, but the Plastic Bullet is definitely getting old. I’ve had it over five years and ridden it more than 16,000 miles.

The past couple years I’ve been a little hesitant to trust the bike, knowing that the wear and tear from all those miles can stress bike parts to the point of failure.

Every spring, I’ve taken the bike in for a free tune-up at my LBS. But that’s really only good for really obvious problems and making simple adjustments.

So this year I brought the bike in for a complete overhaul, where the shop spends a whole day stripping it down to the frame, cleaning and lubing everything, truing the wheels, and replacing all the parts that are prone to wear: brake pads, cables, housing, chain, and cassette.

It’s a damned pricey service, but after five years of use, the bike really needed the attention. And the expense is well worth it for the renewed peace of mind and knowing the bike’s in proper working order.

Of course, like all trips to my LBS, it wasn’t without issues. When I got home, I discovered that they hadn’t bothered tightening the stem bolts, which meant there was absolutely nothing keeping the handlebars and the front wheel pointing in the same direction. Thanks so much, guys!

They also think there might be a hairline crack in the (all carbon fiber) frame where the chainstays meet the bottom bracket. If true, that could worsen or result in a structural failure at some unspecified future date.

That’s not necessarily all bad, tho; Specialized warrantees the Plastic Bullet’s frame for life, so a failure might result in a significant discount on a brandy-new frame. But until then, be assured that I’ll be keeping an extremely watchful eye on it, because that kind of failure could be… traumatic.

The other item I want to note is that just before I brought it in for service, I flipped the stem on the bike. What that basically means is that I took apart the steering mechanism and reassembled it so that the bar is about an inch lower than it used to be. It was the first time I’d done that, and I was happy to get everything back together properly. Not being mechanically inclined, every new repair I complete provides a brief moment of pride.

Lowering the bar does a couple things. First, it makes you more aerodynamic, since you’re hunched down more, rather than sitting upright and catching wind like a sail. So that should increase my speed a tiny bit.

On the other hand, that position also puts a lot more stress on the body, especially the back, neck, hands, and wrists. In the past, I’ve used a more upright position because it’s a lot easier to tolerate for long hours in the saddle and for us older, less flexible athletes.

But my new position isn’t ridiculously aggressive; it’s just more so than I had before. And if it works especially poorly, I can always raise the bar back up… or lower it further if it works well.

The key will be seeing how my body adapts to the alteration, which I plan on monitoring throughout the spring.

Spring… I’m ready! I’m ready!