I went over to REI today to visit the world's best mechanic (Alan Smith)about my chain length for the 16 tooth freewheel on my single speed. This is what followed:

1. Hey, your sealed bearings are coming out of your bottom bracket. Let's take a look.
2. A broken plastic crank cap, let's take it out.
3. You've got some stripped threads on your crank arm let's try and get it off by re-tapping. Um, no go, OK we will put it into the vise and you hack saw it so the threads come loose. Meanwhile, I will get you a new crank arm to use.
4. Well, you cut through your axle a bit with the saw but it should be OK. Hey, I have some brand new sealed bearings right here. Your axle is a bit worn but I have about 10 tricks we can use to make it work.
5. Now that the bottom bracket is back together, what was that about chain length?

Alan drops what he is doing, devotes time to me, then asks me to show him something (the ENO eccentric hub). I won't even tell you how generous he was besides his time. I swear if I am able to get another state championship this fall he is getting my jersey. If I ever need open heart surgery I just might let him do it! He and Max are the best mechanics around.

Basically, my MTB is 18 years old. The bottom bracket bearings were 12 years old. The cranks are original. I need a new bike because this one is falling apart. But, I have seen this devotion before in old farmers fixing their tractors and drillers in the field rigging their old drill rigs to make them work again. I love my Klein Pinnacle. The only thing to do is get another one. I am going to ride this one until it fails and then figure out how I can still ride it. Alan?