Saturday, February 19, 2011

The Tail of Two Hangers (and $12.99)

You know that old saying "Never talk about something you don't want to happen because it will?"  Well I believe it (at least a little bit).  A few weeks ago during the climb on a regular Saturday morning ride the subject of what to keep in your saddle pack came up.  As some of you know, I'm the "boy scout" of mountain biking.  I carry everything because I always want to be prepared.  And through the years I've used just about everything in my pack (I am no weight weenie).  I mentioned to the ride group while climbing, that one thing I didn't carry was a spare hanger, we talked about that for awhile then moved on to a new topic. On the way down, just as we finished "Stair Step," right as I was popping back onto the road, I caught a stick or something in the derailleur and with a loud snap, my hanger did its job and broke in half.  I then zip tied my derailleur to the frame and coasted down the road to cars at the Sulfur Springs bridge.

Peak Sports had a replacement for $12.99 and I got to experience replacing it. Not as easy as I thought, but now I think I could do it on the trail.  Moral of the story, don't talk about bad things happening and if you do, make sure you are prepared to fix the results!  Now go ride.
Before

After