So... about a month ago I was on my way to work, and I went to start rolling at a light, and the idler on my bicycle disintegrated. I, in my haste, neglected to recall that the frame on this bike is aluminum, where my other bikes are steel. The chain, however, is steel. In my attempt to limp it to work I did some major damage to the idler mount.
Some research revealed that I really should not have the frame welded on without re-tempering (and re-painting) the entire thing.
Replacing the frame really was not an option, since it is about 80% of the cost of the bike.(list price on the frame was $2200.00)
There is a company in Portland, OR called Terra Cycle that makes idlers and all sorts of kits for them (amongst other things)
Several phone calls and pictures later, we came up with a solution:
Cut off the old mount and fabricate a new one:
It's a little early to tell, but so far I think it works better than the original. The quality is certainly better.
Made in USA, 100%.
The new idler has a titanium cog and ceramic bearings, the entire fix was $202.00, including shipping. which made the Mrs a whole lot happier than the original solution.
