BLOG#11: SCORE!!!
LIFE SHITE: Still painting a house and will be this coming week as I decided to take Thursday and Friday off to get some other things done. I have most of it done so I WILL be done this week! I have to be done with it this week....ugh! I have bikes to build!
WEATHER REPORT: It was an unusually warm week. Usually at this time in this state it's getting noticeably and consistently colder. But last week I was boiling a bit while painting the south side of a house. I was also going partially blind as I am painting white on white. Also the trees hit the fall color fast forward button and are changing very quickly. This doesn't usually happen this early but it is and it's time to enjoy it!!!
THE RIDE: The Thursday night ride ensued and was awesome! I rode my Chinese carbon, "charbon" Pink Panther for the first time with the Magura sus fork and Racing Ralph tires and it was the bomb! I don't know if it's the geo of the PP but it handles much better than the Giant with the Magura on it. Also coming in at 22lbs means it's just on another level. It accelerates, climbs, and bobs and weaves like a champ! Also of mention was the route. Route Jockey, "Smokin Joe V" planned yet another great route that took us through Fredrick Park and then to Jail Trail. I've been to Fredrick Park but not enough to be familiar with it. The route also lead me to the first of two scores this week:
A Cohiba cigar!
We entered the park through a public works area. It's a wide open area with a big facility that houses the salt we use here to make roads clear and chains rust during winter. While making our way through the lot I saw the cigar on the ground but passed it by. I thought it would be some cheapo, "it's a boy" or Swisher cigar or whatever but then I had the notion to turn around, so I did and "oh boy" was I surprised! Now, I am not cigar aficionado but I do smoke them or a pipe from time to time (I quit smoking cigarettes twenty years ago) so I know what a Cohiba is. I have yet to smoke it but I'll let you know if it is good or laced with strychnine!
Now on to the second score, the really big score! Yesterday I hopped on the Giant and went out for a solo luxury fall tour. I took the same route as mentioned before. I went through Fredrick and got some cool pics, the graffiti artists have been busy. No Cuban finds but I did come across a suit case?! I continued on to Jail Trail then took my usual route back home. On my way back I came across a garage sale. The sale happened to be at the place where I bought the lot of bikes and bike parts that included the Schwinn Trailway. The guy I bought from wasn't there as he was actually at the Jail Trail with his dog (he does maintenance on the trail). Upon getting to the sale I didn't notice any bike stuff until my eyes finished sweeping from left to right where I then noticed the rear part of a frame leaned up against the tree. After another second or two I could tell it was an old steel frame, no wheels but everything else and canti brakes which meant it was some kind of touring bike! Now I was really curious! I moved closer and asked if it was for sale. I got an exuberant yes followed by make an offer. I said $20? Sold! During that quick conversation I learned that two people had called dibs on it but didn't show up! However there was still time for that to happen and I was on my bike and without cash meaning I had to high tail it home get the money and drive back! Aero bars and 110 cadence home! "Babe I have to go...I bought a bike at a garage sale...and I'm out of rum...yep I can grab you wine..." I got back to the sale handed over $20 and took it home! See what I got below!
And now finally here is the big one! What my eyes panned to at the sale was this early eighties Trek 720! I thought this was a touring bike and to a large extent it is but from what I learned after posting it in the Facebook group "Bicycle Touring and Bike Packing" it is kind of a hybrid. It was intended to be a dual purpose. Trek called it the "Multi Track." Of course they continued that name up until recently blurring it's objective to actual hybrid status (boooh) but this one was made back in the day (a Wednesday) when Trek was still making their bikes in the my neighbor state, Wisconsin. It is regarded as a kind of Holy Grail of vintage Touring bikes. I personally get a big wood over old touring bikes. Not only do I love the cantilever brakes (borrowed from tandems for their increased stopping power, a necessary ability when riding a loaded bike) and triple front ring cranksets but I also love the overall quality of these bikes. In some respects they were overbuilt (I'm talking about you, Miyata with your triple butted tubes) but nevertheless they weren't skimped on. Of course they weren't cheap either and commanded some pretty good chingy (about $800 for the 720!). Good examples still do now as well or better. This example is far from mint as it show signs of wear and is missing a few things like the wheels (not to worry though as I have a set) and right side bar con shifter but it is mostly complete and it wont take much to bring it back to life! Stay tuned!
NUTS AND BOLTS: I didn't get much time in this week on my builds but I did work a little bit on Puchy Bear and unfortunately the hybrid 9-speed drivetrain still isn't playing well together. I tried a couple different things including switching out the rear derailleur but so far nothing seems to work. It basically isn't shifting right. The problem may be that I am using a Shimano road cassette and the Sunrace shifter is spaced for a mtb cassette. I didn't plan on using the 11-28 cassette permanently so I may try swapping the 11-34 cassette currently on the Schwinn over to see if that works. On other thing to note is that the Sunrace shifter doesn't have a friction option. Or maybe it does if I remove some of it's guts but I want to try and avoid that if possible. Friction shifting is great when you have less gears or a bent derailleur hanger!
I'LL SHOW YOU MINE: The Pink Panther.
A couple blogs back I talked about my quest for the "one does all" bike, which, is now a more realistic quest for the "one does almost all" bike. Although very capable my gravel bike isn't the one. I wanted more capability (see tire clearance) and focused on the 29er world. There was one other reason that caused my interest in 29er's but it's late and I'm tired so I'll get into that some other time. Having recently built a Chinese carbon fat bike I was interested using Chinese carbon frameset. A build list ensued and with an NX drivetrain and some craptastic wheels the total came in in the $1100-$1200 neighborhood. Then I went to Market Place (which was kind of new back then) typed in 29er or something of the sort and found what you see below minus the sus fork for about $1000. As you can see it is a bit of a piece meal affair and used but it came better equipped than what I had planned for less. Oh and I could get it now vs the 3-4 weeks it would have taken to get everything and put it together.
When I first rode it I couldn't believe it. In rigid form it's 19lbs and change. As I have mentioned before I am not a true weight weenie (maybe just a weenie) but I have, in one way or another, come to consider and appreciate a lighter bike. In simple terms a light bike is better (and so is a lighter human but that costs more....). One thing I want to quickly note about this bike and and light bikes in general is that they require less gear changes. For example, when I'm in the trails I don't have to shift as much. This is especially true for climbs as a higher gear will work.
Moving on.
As you can see it is pink.
One thing I like about generic, open mold, Charbon bikes is that they are a clean slate ready to be artistically vanquished by eccentric (egocentric) cycling bastards like me. I got the bike this way: rattle can pink and initially I was going to repaint it but being the eccentric (egocentric) cycling bastard as well as an androgynous, fully secure in my bastardly manhood that I am I decided to rock the pink. Also the color pink has a personal meaning and relationship for me (see dedication top tube). My visual intent with the bike is to "tatt" it. I initially do the the outline in pencil then ink it with permanent marker. What you see is some initial progress from a year or two ago but I got stalled out. With my renewed interest in custom frame art I hope to resume tatting this frame up over the winter. A lot of it is random but there is also some life stuff. One point of interest is the dragon on the down tube.
I love skateboarding.
When I was around nine or ten I ended up with this cheapo, Chinese made, Dragon graphic skateboard. It was horrible. It was junk. But my love and lust for skating not only more than made up for it but also overwhelmed it's quality. And eventually I ended up with what you see in the pic below.
Chinese buffet.
Ya know those funny paper place mats they have at the Chinese restaurants? The ones that tell you what your Chinese sign is as well as the fact that you're not compatible with your date? This was how I learned that I am a Dragon. I'm not a big astrology person but I am a Libra and both signs and their definitions fit me.
Weird.
French weird I dunno but weird for sure. (Multi Pass.) Creative process: Dragon sign. Dragon on1st skateboard. Chinese bike. Downtube.
Done.
Well far from done but I have the next seven months of mostly indoor time coming.
I am also considering converting the cockpit to what I have on the Giant. It would be like an Evo version of that bike. And now that I know this bike works so well with the sus fork it's very tempting. I would also consider a 2x setup like the one on my Schwinn. Weight would be 23-24lbs but that is what the Giant weighs without the fork and 2x. Also the frame has a nice big triangle....DECISIONS!!!
This ain't your Dad's Gripshift.
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