New bike thoughts...

So on my last post, I talked a bit about dissembling my HaroX cargo bike, and moving the parts to a new frame. What frame you might ask? This guy:

Surly Troll

That's right, a Surly Troll. If you have read this blog before, you know that I am a big fan of Surly's products. As for the Troll, this is no exception. I was contemplating the Troll when it came out over a year ago, check here and here. It is an amazing frame with lots of options, and most of all, versatility. I will still be able to haul my daughter around, using the free trailer that I picked up this summer. So here is the plan:

Once the new frame is in I plan on taking it over to my father's motorcycle shop to make some changes. First, the rim brake bosses are going to be cut off. I never plan on using them, it will make the bike look cleaner, and it will slightly increase my tire clearance. After that is done, it will be powdercoated. Not going to reveal the color choice just yet, I will keep that a surprise. Once I get the frame back, it will be parts swap time, and time to add some recently acquired purchases. Parts will look something like this:

-Sun Singletrack wheelset
-SRAM X7 shifters
-SRAM X9 rear derailleur
-Shimano LX front
-Avid BB5 disc brakes
-Avid FR5 levers
-On One Mary handlebars
-Salsa stem
-Truvativ FireX crankset and BB
-Shimano XTR pedals

And the new purchases:

Chris King headset

Brooks B17 narrow

Maxxis Ardent 26x2.6 x2

That should round it out. I am really pumped to be building this up. But the question now is: Should I order the frame now, or wait til March when the newer frame starts hitting the shops, with an extra bottle mount on the downtube and the extra mounts on the fork legs? What's a couple more months?

Coming soon...

Troll picture from Surly's site
Other three pics from Google Images

Raleigh Furley...

Yesterday I picked up the latest edition of Bicycle Times and one ad in particular caught my eye. Inside the front cover was a picture of this:

Raleigh Furley

Beautiful disc brake only, single speed, steel frame cyclocross bicycle from Raleigh Bicycles. This bike is amazing. The bike has a decent set of components, some of the highlights:

-Shimano Alfine crank set.
-Eccentric bottom bracket for easy chain tension.
-Double wall rims.
-Kenda 'cross tires.

I love a single speed bike, but it is almost like this bike was built for an Alfine internal gear hub in mind. That would be an amazing upgrade to an already fantastic bike. 'Cross bikes are used now a days for more than just cyclocross. I would venture to guess that most end up in the streets for commuting duties, due to more comfortable geometry compared to a road bike. This bike with an Alfine IGH would be a perfect commuter.

Looks like this bike is in the $800 range, not too bad. Nicely done Raleigh!

Photo from Raleigh's website.

Ramble on...

Cannondale T500... part 2...

After putting this project off for quite some time, today, with the nice weather, I decided that the Cannondale should finally be finished. The weather was just too nice to be inside so my daughter and I spent all day running around in it. First it was a long walk for me, and a wagon ride for her through the neighborhood. Next, it was off on the HaroX to hang out at the new playground. Once home from those adventures, it was time to finish up this long overdue project. So, without further ado, I give you the T500:

This bike has come a long way from when I first acquired it. (You can read about that here.) The big change is the riding position. Drop bars are gone, and replaced with a nice mountain riser bar. This gives you a nice upright stance, so you can take in your surroundings, and not stare at your front wheel or the road. These bars make you slow down a bit and enjoy your ride a little more.

Also gone with the drop bars are the road style shifter/brake levers, which were replaced with Avid FR-5's and an old Shimano friction shifter. I am completely excited with the shifter set up, having never used friction shifting before. All I can say is smooth. Still needs a little tweaking, but overall a very nice shifting feel. No front derailleur, only 8 cogs on the cassette. I have always liked the simplicity of a single speed, so this is a logical step in the direction of gears. Speaking of gears, they are being managed by an older Shimano Deore rear derailleur that I have had laying in my parts bin patiently waiting for action once again. Eventually this will probably be switched to a short cage derailleur, but for now, this is the bees' knees.

Other parts rounding out the bike are my well worn set of Shimano XTR pedals. These guys are rock solid and in my opinion, you can not find a better pedal. An oldie but goodie Blackburn rear rack, and an equally old Selle San Marco saddle make this budget bike stand out from the rest.

This bike came together better than I ever expected. And to top it off, it came together very cheaply. The only parts that I needed to purchase were the brake levers, a couple tubes, and a new chain. Not too bad in my opinion. This bike will serve my wife (and me!) for quite the years to come.

Now if only I could lock down my next bike purchase...

Ramble on.

Cannondale T500...

Earlier this year I picked up an older Cannondale touring bike for my wife, thinking she might want to ride a bit. Normally I do not go out looking for bikes for her, but I ended up getting an amazing deal on this one. This bike has an interesting story though: My friend has had it in her basement for years, holding it for her friend who needed a place to put it while in college. But this bike was not just some recreational toy, it was ridden completely across the country! My friend's friend, bought it only to ride across the nation, and when she came back home, she stashed it in my friend's basement. Wow. Great history on this bike. So what am I going to do with it?

My plan from the beginning was to turn in into more of an "errands" bike. Sure I have my cargo bike, but sometimes it is just too much. This bike would fill that gap. Also I figured that my wife would like a road bike in this setup, but maybe later in life, as for the moment, no. Luckily, my wife and I share similar size bikes!

Road bars are gone, in their place is an old set of mountain riser bars. Since it was an older bike, it came equipped with a threaded fork. A stem adapter was installed to enable me to use the mountain bars and stem. New Avid FR5 brake levers, and an old Shimano friction shifter round out the bars. The friction shifter will move the Deore rear derailleur across the 8 cogs on the rear wheel. Hopefully this setup works, I do like a single chainring up front. Still more to do, so here are only teaser photos:

Free bike!

Since I am the official bicycle geek at my workplace, I get to do random maintenance projects on friends' bikes. This latest project, has made me extremely happy:

This is a 70s or 80s Sears and Roebuck Ted Williams edition road bike. A friend of mine actually found it on the side of the road in someone's garbage. He decided to pick it up and see if I could do anything with it. Fifteen dollars later, he has a road worthy single speed! Granted, I did not do anything too fancy with it, for example, I left the cassette on the freewheel, and also I left both chain rings on the crank. But for this build, it does not matter. What matters is that it is ride-able, for extremely low money. All you need is a new chain, semi horizontal dropouts, and some new tubes, and BOOM! You are riding! The weirdest thing about this bike is that it has Dura Ace brake levers and brakes on it, which I did not expect. A little bling for a free bicycle. Too much fun on two wheels. Here are some glamor shots...