Another beautiful morning to get out early and go for a spin before getting on with the day.
You may have noticed the state fixed my favorite bridge to kep us safe this summer, kind of a bummer.
After taking the Roadeo out in the morning yesterday, I headed out in the afternoon on the Trek to get some groceries. I opted that way as I knew that the load was going to be a bit bulky, diapers. By the time all stops were made I had about 40 lbs of juice, milk, food and god knows what loaded on the front. Even with a bit of sloppiness in the panniers the handling was fine. Actually better than fine with stop and go traffic, slogging up hills into a 15 mp headwind and bombing down the other side.
Most bikes I have owned would handle like crap with that much up front, or anywhere for that matter. My xtracycle setup does ok with loads like that, but just ok, and is a bit more like a clunky old station wagon. The Trek with the 650b conversion is cushy, but sporty. The handling is a bit light with nothing at all up front, but a 5lb u-lock in a bag fixes that. With loads weighing in between the lock and, well yesterday's 40 lbs, the handling is still smooth through fast turns, holds a line grinding up hills and no wobble or drift at slow speeds.
For those not familiar with the geometric trail of the front end, the subject can be daunting. For those interested in the physics of the whole thing, Wikipedia has a decent
article. The subject has spurred religion/politic like arguments on the web forum over the recent years. I remained fairly neutral until this. Previously I had only ridden the low trail bikes I had built up for my wife, both handled great with a basket, but were way too small for me. This project bike has really opened up my eyes. I still love my Roadeo, just differently, and keep the load in the back. I prefer having the stuff up front, as long as the bike is designed to handle the load, it makes it much easier to keep an eye on the load.
I rode the Trek on the longest trip yet today. 22 Miles round trip to the farmers market. The wind was hitting pretty good off of all four corners as I worked through the ride. While not quite as fast as I am on the Roadeo, I made quite respectable speed, still averaging between 12 and 15 mph on the open road. The front loading, low trail geometry, sitting upright of this bike build really has me smitten. I am really looking forward to installing the basket I have on order.
I have not had the Roadeo out in the last couple of weeks, and am feeling like I should put it to use this week, but the Trek is jus so much fun to ride.
Usual run around town this morning. First longish ride on the Trek. As the initial impression is taking shape all I can say is that this bike gives a really nice ride with the 650b conversion. The handling is shockingly precise and smooth for an old beat up bike like this, with heavy frame tubes too. Big thoughts are forming...
I took some pictures this morning of the bike I threw together over the weekend from parts in the garage. The Frame is an older Trek 400 sport bike converted to 650b. By using the smaller rim I could run a fatter cushier tire, and also bring the front end geometry into a range that will handle well with front biased loads.
I have a few Trek frames in my garage that I bought off of Craig's List and they have been hanging from the ceiling for almost 2 years now. All three have their dents, scratches and other marks of age. I decided it was high time to do something about it. The fringe benefit is the fun in building a bike up instead of stripping one down to sell. With a little planning and 30 minutes here and there I was able to put this together from parts in my bins of spares.
About a month ago I picked up a pair of NOS Weinmann 750 brakes, and they pushed me to get this done. The 750 calipers have just enough reach to get to the 650b rims. There is plenty of room for the 584x37 Col De La Vie tires, and fenders are in the works. The wheels are decidedly not S&S, Phils laced to Velocity Dyads, but they belong to my wife and i am "borrowing" them. I used an old MTB stem, bars and levers that span 20 years of age. The shifting is handled by a Shimano Deore DX in the rear, Suntour XC high normal front and NOS 105 clamp on DT shifters. The front rack is the Bruce Gordon (made in Oregon) rack that used to live on my Rawland. The saddle is an Avocet Touring in pretty good shape. All of the cables and housings are from my recycle bin.
Initial rides have been unloaded and it handles fantastic. This will become my around town bike for errands and such. There are only a few things I hope to change. The handlebars will be switched out with some Wald 867 bars that are on the way. I may do something about the saddle, but i tis OK for shortish trips. I have some newer brake shoes to put on, but the old black blocks have been slowing things down acceptably. As for fenders, I have an older set of the VO zeppelins that were bought on clearance 3 years ago, and will be re-shaped to work here.
Yes, new bikes are fun, but sometimes the best bike is what you have. At least for the moment.
Remember - Reduce - Reuse - Recycle
This has been an interesting week, and for some therapy I went through te garage to help a phoenix rise from the ashes. You may have heard of the Bridgstone Urban Bike or even Jan Hine's much more refined GBUB (Grand Bois Urban Bike), I now have my very own S&SUB:
As in Sanford and Son Urban Bike, finally bringing a beater Trek 400 back to life a sa 650B conversion with a fantastic spread of parts from all corners of my garage. With the Rawland on its way out the door soon as well as a couple of others it was time to press some of the lonely frames back into action.
Initial impressions are pretty good too, this is going to be a fun bike in the stable.
It is amazing how even the "simple things" like installing a basket can become a challenge with little bikes:
You do not really want to see how bad it was if I used the front struts from the factory. The factory mounting straps are obviously going to take a bit of work to fit appropriately.
My wife's bike is almost off to its new home now that she has fallen for the Sequoia. This bike has served her well and has many miles left in her. Originally a 700c bike that would barely fit 26mm tires, the conversion to 650b was transformational. It now fits 37mm panaracers with room for 45mm fenders. This being the smallest size it also sports a low trail front end geometry and handles like a dream with the load up front.
Last night I put 4 coats of garnet shellac on the yellow tape grips and the results are even better than I had expected. This weekend I will be running the new chain, cables and a few finishing touches.
Projects like this really are a lot of fun. A full write-up on the final build is soon to come.
Soliciting reader opinions on the pedal color, are the gold pedals too much or do they mesh well with the shades of brown throughout the bike? I like them, but am on the fence with a switch out to silver. Let me know what you think.
Signing off to get ready for our weekend in carmegedon as we head south into L.A. for our friends wedding. Have fun and get outside!!
Most bikes I have owned would handle like crap with that much up front, or anywhere for that matter. My xtracycle setup does ok with loads like that, but just ok, and is a bit more like a clunky old station wagon. The Trek with the 650b conversion is cushy, but sporty. The handling is a bit light with nothing at all up front, but a 5lb u-lock in a bag fixes that. With loads weighing in between the lock and, well yesterday's 40 lbs, the handling is still smooth through fast turns, holds a line grinding up hills and no wobble or drift at slow speeds.
For those not familiar with the geometric trail of the front end, the subject can be daunting. For those interested in the physics of the whole thing, Wikipedia has a decent 
I have a few Trek frames in my garage that I bought off of Craig's List and they have been hanging from the ceiling for almost 2 years now. All three have their dents, scratches and other marks of age. I decided it was high time to do something about it. The fringe benefit is the fun in building a bike up instead of stripping one down to sell. With a little planning and 30 minutes here and there I was able to put this together from parts in my bins of spares.
About a month ago I picked up a pair of NOS Weinmann 750 brakes, and they pushed me to get this done. The 750 calipers have just enough reach to get to the 650b rims. There is plenty of room for the 584x37 Col De La Vie tires, and fenders are in the works. The wheels are decidedly not S&S, Phils laced to Velocity Dyads, but they belong to my wife and i am "borrowing" them. I used an old MTB stem, bars and levers that span 20 years of age. The shifting is handled by a Shimano Deore DX in the rear, Suntour XC high normal front and NOS 105 clamp on DT shifters. The front rack is the Bruce Gordon (made in Oregon) rack that used to live on my Rawland. The saddle is an Avocet Touring in pretty good shape. All of the cables and housings are from my recycle bin.
Initial rides have been unloaded and it handles fantastic. This will become my around town bike for errands and such. There are only a few things I hope to change. The handlebars will be switched out with some Wald 867 bars that are on the way. I may do something about the saddle, but i tis OK for shortish trips. I have some newer brake shoes to put on, but the old black blocks have been slowing things down acceptably. As for fenders, I have an older set of the VO zeppelins that were bought on clearance 3 years ago, and will be re-shaped to work here.
Yes, new bikes are fun, but sometimes the best bike is what you have. At least for the moment.
Remember - Reduce - Reuse - Recycle
You do not really want to see how bad it was if I used the front struts from the factory. The factory mounting straps are obviously going to take a bit of work to fit appropriately.
Last night I put 4 coats of garnet shellac on the yellow tape grips and the results are even better than I had expected. This weekend I will be running the new chain, cables and a few finishing touches.
Projects like this really are a lot of fun. A full write-up on the final build is soon to come.
Soliciting reader opinions on the pedal color, are the gold pedals too much or do they mesh well with the shades of brown throughout the bike? I like them, but am on the fence with a switch out to silver. Let me know what you think.
Signing off to get ready for our weekend in carmegedon as we head south into L.A. for our friends wedding. Have fun and get outside!!