my (bike's) 10 seconds of fame: Mercer Cup
The day belonged to this dude...
...and this gal...
...while I didn't make it two complete laps before this:
Consolation prize? My bike featured in a VeloNews photo gallery:
...
It was a tough day to be an amateur cyclocross racer without a pit bike or crew. Most of the pros were making bike changes every half lap. I made it nearly two laps (yes...only! two laps) and then this--one cleanly sheared derailleur hanger. (I wasn't the only one, btw. Kabush had to run half a lap and consequently lost any chance at the podium due to an identical problem. And there were others...)
The crew from Specialized was there with their team and demo bikes, which was cool, but they didn't have any hangers. The SRAM support dudes were there, but they didn't have a hanger that fit (but, to their credit, they tried for a good 15 minutes to find something that would work), and Knapp's (sp?) Cycling was there (one of the title sponsors)...well, they were supposed to be there, but it turns out they weren't anywhere to be found--at least in a capacity to do anything about my mechanical.
So that was that.
...
Reuben had an MRI in Philly on Friday so we decided to head to the coast and make a weekend of it. Coincidentally, the US Grand Prix of Cyclocross was making a stop in Jersey the same weekend. How lucky. But less than two laps around the stickiest, muddiest course I've ever ridden and that was it for the racing.
3 comments:
So can you explain the physics a bit more? I assume the mud collects in the cogs making it hard for the chain to go thru, essentially locking up the derailleur, but then is it the force still being exerted through the chain by your pedaling that shears the derailleur off the hanger?
SD
Well, here's more of the story:
During one of the many sections of the course that was unridable, I noticed that my bottom bracket / chain stay area was so gummed up with mud and grass that the rear wheel was no longer turning freely as I ran beside my bike. I figured it'd be worth it to stop for five seconds and clean it out a bit with my hand. I did this, hopped back on, and immediately the derailleur hanger gave way.
I assume it is as you say--the derailleur area was so gummed up with mud and debris that the chain could no longer pass through it cleanly. As I applied pressure to the pedals it pulled the chain, turned the wheel, but not the pulleys in the derailleur. So, yes, it was the force from pedaling that broke the hanger.
It might be worth noting that it wasn't just the mud that was the problem, it was the mud mixed with grass. Had there been no grass in the mud it probably wouldn't have been such a problem.
...
Incidentally, this is the second hanger I've broken, but the first on this bike. The first time was a couple of years ago on my Fetish road bike. In that instance I wasn't doing anything more demanding that pedaling at a normal cadence and an unremarkable power output.
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