Well, I feel like a total Nu-bee...

You find the most innnnteresting trivia on the 'net.

You can also embarrass yourself if you don't do your homework.

Over a year ago, my F.I.L. Bob Dallman found a high-end (but trashed) ATB that had been fished out of a ditch in Port Moody. It had a lightweight alloy frame and a black epoxy-coat finish. The frame geometry was unfamiliar to me. It looked a little like a Norco, but not any model Norco I am familiar with. It also had oil-damped Rockshox; which were broken. I fitted a spring-shock fork to it with an adapter, and put my best parts-box assortment on it.

It...Was...A...SWEET...Ride.

But, alas, a long-term relationship was not to be...

About 2 months after I started riding it (during the winter season), my Black Beauty developed shifting problems.

Yes...this was the ORIGINAL Black Beauty. The now-stripped frame is still hanging under our deck. I could not bring myself to get rid of it.

The shifting problem came about becuase the sealed bottom bracket bearings (say that three times fast) had worn considerably, and the chainrings were quite "wobbly" as a result. I took Black Beauty off the road for awhile, and eventually got around to attempting a fix of the problem. I removed the seals on the BB (BB means "bottom bracket" in this instance), only to find...no way to remove the bearings and crankshaft. As far as I could tell, they were "pressed" into place...See the archived entry here:

http://www.brianarcweblog.blogspot.com/2005_02_01_brianarcweblog_archive.html

You want the second entry...the one that begins; "Happy February".

Anyway...I described the problem to the Gentleman at my LBS. He had no idea what I was talking about; I go to him because he is a patient man who doesn't mind that I act like an expert. I was a little disappointed that he couldn't help me with this problem. I did promise to bring the stripped frame to him, but I never did get around to it.

Anyway... moving right along, I found this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/KLEIN-pressed-sealed-bearing-B-B-TOOL-for-bike-bicycle_W0QQitemZ7211246145QQcategoryZ27953QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

On Ebay.

The tool comes with a "proprietary sealed BB"; which just happens to be the exact bottom bracket that is currently fitted to Black Beauty.


It's a Klein.


I posted a couple of "attention Lower Mainland Riders" messages to a couple of newsgroups, asking if anyone could help me find a LBS in the lower mainland that still carried this tool, and could help me fix this frame.

And then...AFTER I posted...

I did a web search for "Klein Bicycle Dealers".

I got pointed to www.kleinbikes.com. The local dealer is Cap's Bicycle South Shore, which is 6 blocks from my house...

Sheesh!

That Cap's location is my other Local Bicycle Shop. Only took me 11MONTHS to figure this one out. I shall be contacting them next week. Further bulletins as events unfold. I may also snag a couple of fenders for the Beauty, once I get her all together again. As much as I enjoy riding my Hybrid Roadie, the Beauty was Bulletproof; especially in the winter season. I may see if I can get Cap's to retrofit a newer model cartridge type BB on the Klein (I wonder what model Klein the Black Beauty is?), so I can do the next BB overhaul myself.