Replaceable parts

My Lemond Zurich is approximately 270 miles shy of 10,000 miles. In that time, it has had 2 chains, a rear hub overhaul, and tires and tubes. That's it.

I was starting to wonder a bit about the integrity of the rims. A few folks took a look; recommendations were varied. (Wheelsets are Not Cheap).

As it also needed a new seatpost bolt and a bar-end plug, I rode it over to Bike Gallery in Beaverton for those little bits, and to get an expert reading on the wheels.

We started out with the easy stuff - a bolt for my seatpost clamp and Buzz Kills to replace the bar-end plugs, along with a conversation with Marc M, fellow aqua-cyclist from Portland Velo.

Then Mark P (my go-to bike mechanic at BG) took a look at the rims. Marc M was "you got 10,000 miles on your wheels?" Mark P - "these are pretty worn", plus comments about catastrophic failures on a ride (one in a year is plenty, thank you!), etc, etc. Plus the chain was worn, and a new cassette (also original) would probably not be a bad idea.

They had some Bontrager Race specials - complete wheels with tires and tubes, for a very good price. We figured my original Bontrager Race Lites were now the Bontrager Race :-) The wheels looked identical, so if anything, it was a slightly different rim.

As I rode over, the work would have to be done there, or I'd have to bring the bike back. Mark had time, so I sat and adjusted my helmet straps, and he swapped everything out. I did have my Conti GP 4 Season tires put on the new rims - no need to use the new tires until I'd worn out the old ones.

Then I got the standard lecture on "you need new brake pads", which I promised to put on this afternoon :-), and your shift cable is fraying (ok, new one of those, too).

Off to swap the brake pads for Kool-Stop dual compound ones...