It's been sitting around in various (slow-moving) stages of completion since the summer as parts trickled in, many liberated from members of this group. I got pretty busy once the semester got going, but I managed to finish off the wheels (and several trips to the hardware store for bolts and bits) over the turkey holiday and ride it for ~60 miles this week. Enjoying all the qualities that folks here know, and were the reasons to upgrade from my cyclocross city bike: smooth, even ride, comfortable handling, inquisitive head-turning, and a smile on the rider. And no toe overlap (barely) on my size 14s, to boot!
The other huge, major, wonderful upgrade over my previous bikes is the dynamo lighting. Such a huge difference when night classes are 12 mi away, mostly with no street lights! One cell phone pic to prove it can carry packages to the UPS store (and later cupcakes to home, by request of the spousal unit). More will surely follow, once I figure out how to work the new DSLR that appeared on my birthday. Mr. Hillborne is likely to be the most patient model I can find to practice on. <https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-IIfCCvn6xqk/ULmLqS9P9lI/AAAAAAAAA6I/VRQs1gwiogE/s1600/IMG_0037.jpg> Coupla tweaks still to be made: - the Bosco Bullmoose bars are great for riding around town in a suit, and will be fantastic in about a year when a child seat gets added to the cockpit area. But I might need to swap them out for drop bars for the longer ride to school. The wind along the river chooses to be a friend one day and a foe the next. Usually when I'm already running late. - the wire that came with the taillight, for connecting to the headlight, was designed to reach the fork crown, not the front of a rack, so for the moment it's somewhat inelegantly running along one of the top tubes until I rig up a longer one. - stainless steel fenders are sitting at home waiting to get installed, but the stays are way too long to be mountable and my hacksaw wandered off to the home of a relative and has yet to return. Also needed for cutting the kickstand down to size. Of course, I've never passed up the opportunity to get more tools - maybe it's time to add a bolt cutter to the collection! - still looking for a toolkit to mount on the back of the saddle or somewhere else out-of-the-way-but-always-there. I like the idea of Acorn's roll bag <http://www.acornbags.com/rollbag.html>, but they seem to be impossible to actually purchase. Maybe someone with a sewing machine will be looking for stocking stuffer ideas. Overall, though, I'm just happy it's ride-able, and that the gamble of sinking in all the time, effort and money with no test ride has paid off with such a fine machine. And of course finally packing away the workstand is good for intra-household relations! I have enjoyed lurking and collecting advice on this forum, and the influence definitely shows in the final product. Thanks, all! -John Washington, DC -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rbw-owners-bunch/-/lUOCh9bT15IJ. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
