A friend of mine (B) met a new friend (G) who has an art studio which he lovingly refers to as his "getting dirty space." They were talking at a party and came to the conclusion that they would help me convert my bike. So yesterday, G called B and they made plans to meet. B and I arrived at the studio and 1 hour and a few country songs later, we were flying out of there on my new single speed setup. Removed a couple of chain rings in the front, ditched the shifters and derailleurs, and shortened the chain. We also chopped about an inch and a half off of my handlebars. Way better handling. G also polished my remaining chain ring and it's so pretty.
I still need to get new wheels/tires so that I can get rid of the back cogs and really lighten this baby up, but I can already feel the difference. I'm gonna be one zippy little thing especially after chugging along on 35 pounds of bicycle. But for now, I'm still a little heavy and on an odd gear ratio, so going up hills kinda sucks, but I still rode about 10 miles today -- more than 7 of them were with a friend who lives in Brooklyn now, but was my skating and biking buddy in middle school back in Indianapolis.
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Converted!
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2 comments:
And here I am looking for more gears and disc brakes on my next bike. Just not a real (or any other kind of) New Yorker I guess.
It's OK to have gears and disc brakes. I have a MOUNTAIN bike frame for crying out loud. I SHOULD have disc brakes and many, many gears. However, it's a frame that is probably from the 1970's, so it needed to go on a diet. As soon as I have a thousand bucks or so to spend on a bike, I'll buy a nicer one with fancy gears and such and this will become my "barhopper." But until then, this is my commuter, my long-distance bike, my mountain bike, my best friend, etc.
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