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:

Road bike in my future?

Since the overnight bike camping trip, I have been putting in quite a few miles on the HaroX on all of the local roads here in the Cincy area, and I am starting to think that a road bike would fit the bill a whole lot better than the cargo bike for these type excursions. No way, am I talking about selling the HaroX. I am just starting to realize that putting in a bunch of miles on the cargo bike takes a lot out of you. It is amazing though, climbing on the HaroX, but I feel that I would have fresher legs for more miles at a time on a standard road bike. I guess I should not say a "standard" road bike, I have always fancied a Rivendell. Too bad they are WAY out of my price range. Some of the other bikes that I think would be pretty solid are:

Salsa Casseroll
Trek 520
Surly Pacer/Long Haul Trucker
Older Kona Honky Tonk (1st version if I remember right, powder blue w/down tube shifters)

See a common theme here? Steel. Clearance for wider tires. Mounts for racks and fenders. More upright riding stance. In no way am I looking for a racer type bike on skinny skinny tires. That is not how I get down.

Anyway, just thinking...
And here is a short video I did the other day of my cargo bike:
Link.