Guess who just paid £200 to get their bike repaired!
My otherwise fantastic bike came with a Truvatic Powerspline bottom bracket. 6 months of actually being ridden later, and the bottom bracket feels like it's full of gravel. It's also making making an odd creaking noise which freaked me the hell out the first time I heard it - First day out in too long and right after I land a 2 foot drop I get a creaking noise from around the pedals. I thought the downtube was coming away from the seat tube.
After hunting around and reading some reviews I discover that 6 months is actually quite a good lifespan for this particular bracket.
Phoned up my bike shop and, in my excitement decide to get something that should last just a tad longer. "Put a Shimano XT crakset on there."
...
"And while you're at it, can you replace the rear tyre? And give the brakes and cables a look too. Oh, it'll need a longer chain for the larger chainring? Sure..."
£200...It's amazing how quickly you can spend that much.
It was worth it though, my bike works again.
It feels so much better than it did, and I should be all set for summer.