Hi again everyone,
Your wide eyed cyclist again here. As you know would know from reading Carbonize my Ride!!! that I’ve started a project to basically, well, carbonize my ride. I’m essentially putting my previously damaged (by CY) carbon Trek frame on my Merida bike. Then again, maybe it’s considered transferring my Merida’s components over to my carbon frame. Either way, I’ll end up with a sweet assed carbon bike, and a Merida alu frame with carbon forks to sell!! 
Got a couple of things done to my bikes since the last post. Most notably, I’ve managed to straighten the bent dropout (considered impossible by a reputable bike shop in the Jurong area. God knows why…) AND I’ve fused the crack with an aluminium weld. Nice workmanship on the dropout by my welder I must say, considering the proximity of the crack to the derailleur mounting threads. Total job cost me coffee $$ of 10 bucks. Good deal considering that some mechanic told me that it was impossible to bend the dropout and save the frame. Here are some pics of the finished job.
I must admit that it’s not exactly elegant, but it serves its purpose, while preserving your piggy bank, and seriously, who actually looks behind and under your rear derailleur? (If you want the contact of the aluminium worker/company, drop me a comment/message with your contact info)
So now that the carbon frame has been fixed, I’ve gone shopping at bike shops for the cost of transferring components and parts from 1 bike to another. So here’s a mini report on prices in the Katong region and slightly beyond…
- JOFI (Roxy square) $60 for swap. $40 for tune up with new cables.
- Hong Soon Seng (Joo Chiat Rd) $60 for swap and tune up. $32 for 4 new cables.
- Rodalink (East side) $55 for swap and tune up. $32+ for 4 new cables.
- T3 (Siglap rd) $80 for swap and tune up.
Looks like I’ll be sending the bike in to a bike shop soon enough, so stay tuned for the before/after pictures!!
