[DBR X6 RIDER]

...but now she's moving on to a better place. The weld on the head/top-tube is failing miserably, so I had to strip her down and send it in for a warranty.
Thanks for the memories!

It sounds like I'll be getting a Team Cross (Raleigh) frame/fork. Works for me, as I'm going to be using the bike for mostly commuting. I'll be able to hook up FULL fenders - a must for the PacNW.
As far as a regular road bike goes, I'll be keeping my eyes open at work for an older lugged steel frame. Until then, my roomie has been kind enough to let me ride his Team Cross bike and his Raleigh Prestige as well. I'd get a Prestige, but that would mean that I'd have to race.
Maybe next year...

 

[Mr Tiles]

I used to work at a shop that sold raleighs. the older one with standard headtubes we never had any problems with. When they went to the new integrated headtubes, we had all kinds of warranty claims. But those claims sound a little different than what happened to yours. Ours were all cracks actually running up the head tube in front from what looked like misforming for the integrated bearing races. Nevertheless, they were great "looking" frames...

 

[jimbo_the_biker]

For a moment, I thought you were going to say that you already broke the ram!
Couldn't you just commute on the Ram? Ha! That sucks that it broke, but its good that they will be replacing it. I've thought about getting a road bike, but I might've just had some bad pizza or something.
Got my bone-scan on my wrist today, it is in fact broken. The spot where the doctor said "oh, don't worry thats just a tendon/ligament thats sprained/strained." showed up as a big white dot on the scan. Thats supposed to be not good. I'll find out what this actually means on friday. Hopefully no cast, as I've just been wearing a brace since friday and the pain isn't too bad. I've had to lock my bikes up in my spare room, otherwise I'll be too tempted to ride them. My bmx only has about 4 hours on it!

If I do get into road... any recommendations? Are the raleighs pretty good?

-james.

 

[DBR X6 RIDER]

James - Hahaha - no, the Ram is scratched up like it's been ridden well - which is has so far - but it's still ready to rock. I don't have to "baby" it anymore for fear of blemishing it!
Raleigh makes good stuff for sure. They're a far cry from being the only game in town. We carry Raleigh at Recycled...next time you're in the area, I'll set you up on a test-ride.
You may also want to consider a cyclocross (aka - 'cross) bike. Similar to road bikes in frame design, except a higher bb height and most only accomodate canti/v-brakes...some even have disc brake tabs!
I would stray away from an aluminum frame for a road bike - especially in light of your wrist.

Mr Tiles - I never really warmed-up to the integrated headset thing...especially since it involved ditching the Chris King headset I could have swapped from my old bike when I built it. I got a killer deal on the frame so I caved in. It served me well for nearly two years, I can't complain too much.

I just hope the warranty process moves swiftly. I'm actually going to commute on my dually tomorrow (10 miles each way). I work next to the UW campus so I think I'll go play around there after work.neaky:

 

[DBR X6 RIDER]

At some point this week, I will have my hands - and eventually parts - on one of these...

'05 Team Cross
It will pacify my need for speed and efficiency for sure. I'm still going to keep an eye out for a sweet lugged-steel frame at my shop. There have been some nice ones passing thru, but they're all the wrong size.:mumble:

 

[Arsbars]

The team cross from raleigh is super nice.. i won't be suprised of i see some "real" racers on them this year

 

[DBR X6 RIDER]

The team cross from raleigh is super nice.. i won't be suprised of i see some "real" racers on them this year

It helps that Tim Rutledge was involved in the designing of the frame - I think he knows a thing or two about 'cross.

So........it's built and rolling smooth. Lovin' it fo sho!! I'd post pics but my PC is fried (using a friend's comp to post this) so I'm not able to post a pic of the build. That's cool, it just means I'll have more "free time" to ride it!!
It's essentially the frame shown above and I swapped everything (road brakes aside) over from my International. I'm going w/ XT v-brakes. It helps to work at a place that deals with new AND used parts, so I scored the set for $30. They're in mint shape. The only thing I'm going to change on it is the chainrings. Losing the 53X39 in favor of 50X36.
OK, two things. I popped an FSA Pig headset in for now, but am keeping my eyes peeled for a Chris King.

Tom - let me know when you're ready to ride. I'll try to check here when I can, but it may be easier to either call me or just stop by my work and let me know if you have any ambitions.