R.I.P.

It’s a day of mourning here in the BugMan household, as we’ve had a second death in the family.  It was almost six months ago that my LOOK 486KG met her untimely end at the Missouri State Time Trial.  Still not quite over her loss, I just learned that her younger sister, my beloved LOOK 585, has made her final ascent to that great bike rack in the sky.

LOOK 585 Team
Born September 25, 2005
Died December 31, 2008
Rest in peace!

I had just put on a new chain and installed new shift cables.  While the chain was off I took the chance to scrub her down real good (just can’t install new parts on a dirty bike).  After adjusting the cable tension, I put on the finishing touch – red cable end caps that I had scored from TK.  Even though she was now over 3 years old, she still looked brand new everytime I cleaned her up.  I loved that bike!  After everything was just so, I took her out for a ride to make sure things were working properly, and for the most part it all seemed to be dialed in good.  I sure enjoyed that nice, crisp shifting – it always amazes me what a difference new cables can make after just a few thousand miles.  I noticed, however, some lateral movement in the crankset – hmm, I guess something needs tightening.  I went ahead and finished my ride, and when I got home I checked the chainring bolts – everything seemed fine, so I figured it was a bottom bracket issue.  I like to do most of the work on my bikes, but there are three things I figure it’s best to leave to the professionals – hubs, headset, and bottom bracket.  So the next day – the last day of the year – I took the bike in and had TK take a look at it.  He reached down to see if he could hand-tighten the left bottom bracket cup, and I saw a look of horror come over his face as he watched the right cup spin freely.  I knew it was bad before he even said anything.  Apparently a warranty issue, I took the bike on down to the Shark to have Mike take a look, and without hesitation he said, “We’ll get you a new frame.”  I asked if there was any way to repair it, and he repeated, “We’ll just get you a new frame.”  It seems the bottom bracket shell had detached from the frame, and trying to fix something like that just isn’t worth it.  It must have been all the climbing!

I guess it’s kind of exciting to be getting a new frame (thank goodness for LOOK’s 5-year frame warranty), but I’m still sad – I loved that frame!  Even though I never won a race with it, I had some amazing journeys on it.  Obviously l’Etape du Tour 2007 was the most memorable of these, but I also took it to Florida the year before, eventually making my way halfway down the Keys.  I loved the looks of it and I loved the way it rode.  I loved the fact that it was a limited Team edition from the first model year – one of only 100 such frames shipped to the U.S.  It was my baby! I know I can’t complain – I’m sure the new frame will be just as incredible and I’ll probably eventually come to call it my baby, also.  Moreover, it’s not everyday you get a new frame as a warranty replacement for a frame with ~18,000 miles.  Fortunately, LOOK is still making a white Team edition for the 2009 model year, so I won’t have to go through withdrawal from my sick, euro-fag addiction to all things white.  But I’ll always have a special place in my heart for the original LOOK 585 Team.