Every bike mechanic (and significant other, for that matter) has heard it before. Folks in the bike industry even have an acronym: JRA.
For example: “He said he was JRA and the rim cracked in half.” Nine times out of ten this is followed by an eye roll.
What’s your JRA story?
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I was JRA and all the sudden my wheel was rubbing and would roll. Took me 40 minutes to hike out and now I need to stop by the bike shop on the way home to drop bike for repair. Have no idea what is wrong. (turns out the quick release got out of alignment causing will to be canted. Couldn’t figure it out on the trail but didn’t feel bad when bike mech had trouble figuring it out and had to leave bike at shop for fix with what could have been done in less than 5 minutes on trail.)
Login to replyTrue story! I was JRA and my handlebar snapped, dumping me onto the rocky trailside. I had to ride out one-handed and go get 9 stitches in my forearm.
Login to replyNow, here’s the back-story. When I purchased said handlebars, I was advised that they were ultra-lightweight models, suitable only for 1 season of racing and rated for riders weighing less than 175 pounds. At the time, I weighed about 145 and couldn’t imagine being over 175. Ten years later, I was back on the mountain bike again after it collected dust for several years and I weighed in just shy of 190. Those race-only ultralight bars had long since been forgotten—until they snapped.