speedvegan

The Kilo, originally uploaded by speedvegan.

This is the bike I was able to buy with the money I got from the insurance company after my accident. It was meant to replace The Tequilo (a better bike, IMHO) but you take what you can and make the best of it.

I had seen The Kilo before when I was in the market for a triathlon bike. I never liked it even though I am a HUGE Quintana Roo fan. If you do a bit of research, you will find that the man who invented the triathlon bike was not only a triathlete, but the founder of Quintana Roo. He sold out a few years ago and the quality of the bikes has gone downhill since. This is only my opinion, of course, but if possible, ride any 2001 or 2002 Quintana Roo and then hop on one of these ’05 or ’06 Kilos and you will see what I mean.

I settled for The Kilo because I didn’t expect to find something exactly like my old bike. Hindsight is always 20/20. I should have waited. My first ride on The Kilo was disastrous. The bike was not in good shape. You can tell this bike was thrown together, put on a shelf somewhere and then handed to me as if triathlon bikes are smart enough to adjust themselves.

I took The Kilo back to the shop because it was skipping gears. The rear derailleur needed to be adjusted. Also, I wanted the aero bars closer together. When I walked into the store, the sales girl, who had heard how disappointed I was with the bike, totally ignored me. I didn’t think that was very nice, especially after a percentage of the almost $3k I had spent went to her check that week. When I was finally able to get someone’s attention, I explained what I wanted and he took my bike away. He came back minutes later and said the derailleur was fine and the bars couldn’t be adjusted.

I won’t pretend to be a bike-know-it-all because, well, I’m not. But I do know more about bikes than the average person and enough to know this guy was bullshitting me. Sometimes, it sucks to be a woman because we get taken for a ride (or so they think). I was furious, but I’m not one to make a scene so I walked out quietly.

I took the bike out for another ride and it was clearly not fixed. I wanted to return it. The shop said “no way.” A friend of mine suggested I take it back, inform the credit card company and let them deal with the dispute. It sounded like a good plan, but the Buddhist in me couldn’t go through with it. It was then that I decided I would NEVER ever set foot in that bike shop again and I would warn others to stay away.

I took The Kilo to my local bike mechanic. This man is a bike wizard. I don’t know what he did or how he did it, but gears skip no more, bars are perfect and the bike actually feels like something worth keeping. Unfortunately, my hunt for an old Tequilo had not ended and with the help of Jose, I recently found an ’01 frame in pretty good condition. I got some new wheels and will have the components on The Kilo transferred to the “new” Tequilo very soon. I will post pictures and let you know how the new ride is as soon as it’s ready.