So I touchdown in England and spend the first two weeks cooling my heels waiting for my bike to arrive so I can get back to riding. Although a little apprehensive about narrow roads and the speed at which some people drive, I haul my butt out of bed at O’Dark-30 to get in my first ride. I must admit I was pleasantly surprised by the vast majority of drivers who game me plenty of space and (generally) slowed down to go around me.
So I’m 24 miles into the ride and feeling good when my bottom bracket decides to explode half way up a hill on a country lane in the middle of nowhere. 6 miles to go and I have no idea what to do as I’m now dealing with pedals that rock from side to side and angle off by 15 degrees each way. Note that this also means the chain/front ring impacts the front derailleur on every pedal stroke. I’ve had issues with the bottom bracket before. The idiot in my LBS cross threaded the bottom bracket which stripped the thread when he tried to fix it. My bike is fairly old and the price he offered me as compensation doesn’t really buy me much these days. Instead, they fitted a bottom bracket that screws into itself without the need to seat in the frame. However, this is the one that I broke this morning.
Is it time to bite the bullet and buy a new frame? Or does anyone know a good way to deal with this issue. Any recommendations on parts or ideas for how to fix this problem? Note that the thread is well and truly stripped and will not hold a normal bottom bracket in place.