Thanks Orleans Cycle and its two mechanics Doug and Devin! You saved my butt!
Took my bike in for some minor surgery (new chain, new rear derailleur) and it ended up in intensive care! In addition to the above, I also had to replace the cassette, front chain ring and all the bearings in the bottom bracket. (Ed note: to be honestly I had been expecting the worst; but had been hoping for the best).
Not only did Doug do a great job replacing the parts and tuning the bike; but by Devin doing some great footwork, he found a solution to my rear derailleur problem.
If your on Cape Cod in Orleans you have to check them out. Plus the shop has free parking right on the Cape Cod Rail Trail (got some good Trek rentals as well if you don't want to slump your bike over the bridge for the weekend).
The Solution....
In a previous posting, I noted that my bike is an all-carbon Specialized S-Works with Shimano 7800 Dura Ace components. The bomb has got 13,000 miles on it. The Dura Ace components worked like a charm - but I wanted to upgrade my cassette to a 32T cassette and Shimano rear derailleurs do not support beyond 28T. I need the extra teeth to make life easier in the mountain climbs that I will encounter in my Ride Across America.
Again not to bore you (see my previous post on the subject) Sram could solve the problem but I would have had to replace every component on the bike (shifters, brakes, derailleurs, etc). Big Bucks Expensive!
The Bike Forums recommended I use a Shimano mountain bike derailleur and I went into the Orleans' shop loaded with all my facts and figures on how to do the conversion. Even printed out the conversations I had with some of the Bike Forum members (another Ed note: you have got to understand I know absolutely nothing about bike components and here I am telling the mechanics how to do their job).
Thank god Doug and Devin talked me out of this course of action (actually I think they sort of shook their heads in agreement when I was explaining what to do to make me feel good - but I think they knew they were going to figure out the right solution on their own - regardless of my "expert technical guidance".
And lo and behold.... They did some research and found out that Shimano had announced and was shipping a 105 level, 5701 rear derailleur. And best this RD supports up to a 32T cassette. Exactly what I wanted! The RD 5701 is so new you can't even find it on the Shimano web site.
So I got the bike back this morning and immediately took it out for a 60 milers. Sun was shinning and the bike was glistening (bike was spotless - like when I bring my Lexus in for an oil change and it comes back waxed). The 105 performs as Doug and Devin said it would. Smooth like silk. Can't even tell that it's not Dura Ace.
And Doug put some black Specialized S-wrap tape on the bars and my bike looks like it belongs in New Zealand as part of the All Black Rugby team. Not a piece of chrome on the bike (other than the nuts that hold my tire tube stems in place - might paint them). It's like a stealth bike - black everything. Plus the S-wrap tape has some kind of vibration damping quality to it and damn if it does not work!
The gear ratios on my 12-32 cassette (Sram) is exactly what I wanted. I can't believe it took me 13,000 miles to find a gearing that works for me. You could count on your hand the number of times I used my large front chainring (50T) in the last four years. Today, on the 60 miler I never left the big front! Love it!!!
So now I have no excuses. Got 30-40 days more to rack up the miles and then head out to Oregon to try to check one more adventure off my bucket list. Stay tuned.
P.S. Doug and Devin - hope you enjoy the Cape Cod Beer Growlers!
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