For some of us the friction shifter has never lost favor. There was a lean time for a while where you had to keep your old stuff alive, then Rivendell and Dia-Compe brought back the Suntour ratcheting shifter from the ashes. Silky smooth, easy to trim out, and pretty to boot. The only downside I have ever been able to find is the pionty'ish end when they are set up on bar ends. My solution has been to just use my older Suntour barcons. I have seen everything from electrical tape to kickstand end caps employed to blunt the ends. For the most part this can be a non issue, with the exception of trail use, knee caps and aesthetics.
I recently came across a NOS Suntour solution that while not perfect has been pretty far on the plus side of acceptable.
The fit is close to perfect. These were designed to fit the non-ratcheting suntour downtube and stem shifters of long ago. They have some stretch and give to help slide them on. The end is just a little big. I solved this by putting a little squirt of shoe goo in the cap before sliding it on. They stay on fine without the glue, but are just more squishy at the tip. These are easy on the hands and knees, squishy enough to prevent poking problems, and if my older shifters are an indication these should outlive the cockroaches.
I have a decent supply of these to offer for sale. $3 will get you a pair, plus $2 flat rate shipping and handling in the continental US. Overseas shipping will be at cost, contact me before you buy.
Pay pal works best for me, but if you want these and are paypal adverse feel free to contact me and we can work something out.
Thanks for taking a look!
First order of business was getting the new old Fuji to its new owner for some weekend fun prior to deciding on the final build out. I am pretty sure her stoke is apparent,
after some fast wide loops to get a feel for the handing, she was showing off, hopefully there will be miles of smiles.
Then the munchikin and I made our way around the point to check the surf, just for fun,
Of course, since it is thursday and I am on daddy duty the surf is overhead and pumping, so it goes.
Back to work, exciting things are happening, more on that in a bit.
Some of you may be familiar with converting old road bikes to 650b, smaller rim, fatter tire, possibly more fun. I am working on an older Fuji for a friend at the moment and had to share this. It has and will have the original 27x1-1/4 tires for a bit due to budget constraints. But look at those perfect dimples, it could not get any better if you built it that way on purpose.
Frosting on the cake is the bottom bracket drop of 60m or so. If I had the money I would convert it and put Berthoud fenders on it just because it seems like the right thing to do. I took it for a test ride, and even with no front load, trail in the low 40s and the big hoops it handles great. Still, it begs for fatter rubber.
Surf Check October 12 2011, 0 Comments
Made a quick stop to check the surf on my Wednesday rounds,
Low tide is going to be good, time to get things caught up double time so I can get out there for once. It is looking to be a good day.
Load Testing October 10 2011, 0 Comments
Today was another fantastic day to be out on the bike gathering the groceries for the week
ide blue skies to the east with the fog looming just offshore behind me. THe high sweeping clouds made the blue skies pop, this one made me think of the swallows that will be heading back south pretty soon.
Enough day dreaming, and time for the business end of the trip. Two stops totaling, 1 gal milk, 1 gallon Tangerine Juice, 3 quarts yogurt, boxes of cereal and crackers, more juice, bananas, and some how squeezing the camera gear back in the bags. One trick I use is to take the bags of stuff out of the boxes, getting every little bit I can out of the hauling capacity.
Fully loaded with over 30 lbs of stuff I decided to head uphill to push the bike and myself a bit. The handling climbing up was very precise, not slow speed wobbles all over the road, even mashing a 36/30 low gear. The views were fantastic once above the fog, the bank looming just off the beach, with the channel islands poking out the top miles away. This shot diving into one of my favorite turns captured it best.
Adding a twist to the regular Sunday ride we have been heading over to the playground as a family before keep on riding to the market.
Then it is time for me to keep on keepin on for the next 10 miles to get the veggies. Today was another incredible day to be outside.
This area of southern California is really is a wonderful place to ride and call home.
While setting up for some pictures came across one of my pet peeves. I will never fully understand why changing a tube is so intense that you throw the dead tube off on the side of the road.
I usually pick them up, take them home and patch them. While a free tube is a nice bonus, they are usually 23mm tubes, and do not see much use in my stable. have a few ideas on how to curb this kind of waste, but implementation is going to be a bit of a process.
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 managed to get out on the Roadeo before the sunrise this morning, but left the camera card at home. Stuff Happens
I made do with the camera phone, and things came out OK. The air was crystal clear, and it is going to be another fantastic day before our first winter storms of the season kick in later this week.
Two days in a row of sunshine!!! The fog has lifted and it is really nice out. Perfect day to haul home a load of veggies.
The fit is close to perfect. These were designed to fit the non-ratcheting suntour downtube and stem shifters of long ago. They have some stretch and give to help slide them on. The end is just a little big. I solved this by putting a little squirt of shoe goo in the cap before sliding it on. They stay on fine without the glue, but are just more squishy at the tip. These are easy on the hands and knees, squishy enough to prevent poking problems, and if my older shifters are an indication these should outlive the cockroaches.
I have a decent supply of these to offer for sale. $3 will get you a pair, plus $2 flat rate shipping and handling in the continental US. Overseas shipping will be at cost, contact me before you buy.
Pay pal works best for me, but if you want these and are paypal adverse feel free to contact me and we can work something out.
Thanks for taking a look!
