PowerCycle

01/16 The plan to leave tomorrow has been abandoned due to the corrosion problem on my frame. I emailed the only US Koga dealer in the United States and they sent back a very helpful email offering some suggestions on places I can go to get the metal refinished. They are also forwarding a copy of my email the manufacturers in The Netherlands.

Since Karin and Marten are from The Netherlands they are going to call the company in the morning and see what else can be done. The corrosion problem seems to be limited to the surface but I’m not really happy with the idea of riding 40 mph down a mountain road on a loaded touring bike showing signs of frame damage. I’m going to see about getting a new frame shipped here since it’ll only be harder to get this resolved the further south I go.

This is so incredibly frustrating to have to deal with this. The bike was very expensive and I expected it to last for many, many years. Now I’m 2 years into my trip and the frame already has signs of corrosion. It’s not even just the frame either. A lot of the metal parts have rust on them. The thin metal tension bars on the brakes look like they are going to rust through and break any day. Most of the bolts have some degree of rust on them as well. To be fair, I’ve done quite a bit of reading on aluminum frame problems and I have yet to find anyone else who’s had this happen to them. Not sure how I got so lucky but at least I’m somewhere where I can deal with this.

Not sure when I’m going to get out of here now.