Tookie's New Ass End.

* "I don't think my rear derailleur is shifting right." Gee..ya' think?

The phone rang that evening with a noted sense of urgency. Ever get those calls? Something about the way it rings is different..you know it's some s**t about to go down. On the other end is a noticeably urgent Tookie. "Dude, I was out on a training ride tonight, and I think the rear derailleur is fucked up. I'll be up next week, can we get it fixed?"

Of course.

Then it rings again.

"Dude. The Carbide blew an ass. Colossal frame failure on the swingarm. What do I do?"



* The Tomac Carbide, sans-ass.


A quick phone call and follow-up e-mail to Tomac's Joel Smith, and within three days a brand new and massively updated/upgraded Carbide swingarm arrives. That was fast. With Jeff being solidly inside the top 3 in the OMBC mountain bike series here in Ohio, he's in dire need. The bike has been raced non-stop since that day in Sycamore Canyon four years ago, when the frame arrived for the team Camp-N-Ride in Los Angeles, destined to be Vegas Bob's race-bitch for the next three years. It has spent the past season here in the East/Midwest having the shit kicked out of it by big Jeff Williams...a dude who's legs are the size of giant redwood trees. It's amazing to everyone involved that it lasted this long.



* The Tomac Carbide with a BRAND NEW ASS!


The new ass-end that arrived was markedly different from the old one. Beefier, cleaner looking, and with gussets, she was ready to rock. Jeff and family arrived late Friday night from their new home in Kentucky to hang out and help me empty my six pack of Sierra Nevada. The next morning, however, was to be busy. We had to wake early and race to the shop to pull apart everything...all in enough time to get Jeff to the horse show, then out to set up camp for today's race. The pace was frantic Saturday morning, but in just an hour, we had replaced the swingarm, cables, bearings, cranks, housing...everything...for Sunday's final series showdown.



* Tookie slides in a new derailleur cable to match the new swingarm.


After a few quick and final torque-spec-checks, we set the sag on the rear end and rolled her outside..new ass-end shining like a freshly minted quarter. Behind the store we have a plot of jagged, nasty, unevenly spaced baby-head rocks to showcase what suspension can really do for the unwashed masses. GREAT place to test the Carbide for play. As expected, the bike's new rear end was tighter than a preacher's pants at a choir boy convention. Jeff packed it up, ran back to grab the family, and they headed off for the rest of their very busy day. Surgical strike. Awesome.


* It's all good. She's ready for the front wheel and a test ride.


It's always great to see Jeff and the family. NOT so great sharing my Sierra Nevada (kidding). Best of luck to Tookie, and I hope to hear from at any moment as to how all that last minute work held up!


* What better way to test the new rear end install? The rock-garden test facility behind roll: is great for checking lateral play.