Late last year I was squeezed into an unfortunate encounter with an immovable object on the road with the result that my heavy duty commuter (Airborne Carpe Diem) suffered a bent frame thus:
After much soul searching, I splashed out on the equivalent new Van Nicholas frame and some more finishing kit to resurrect the beast as an Amazon:
A little history....
My "heavy duty commuter" started life as a Cannondale T800. This died about 3 years ago when I broke its steel forks and dented the frame on a nasty little potholed downhill section on my commute home one dark evening. Parts of this bicycle (drivetrain, wheels, handlebars, stem, rack) were then used to build up a Carpe Diem frame. Now, more bits have been replaced and, of the original T800, only the front wheel remains on the current incarnation,
ALL other parts having worn out and been replaced. The front wheel is replaced with a Schmidt Dynohub wheel for the dark winter months....
The brakes are XTR V-Brakes with travel agents which give a nicer feel and less squeak than the cantis I had previously; Many people decry the use of travel agents but I have had no problems - this may be due to using the "best available" parallel action V brakes.
