Most changes based on comfort. First thing was a Unicanitor saddle on my old Raleigh because it looked good and I could ride it then. The desire was a go-fast bike within a student budget. Then killed the spined crank on my old Raleigh climbing to my apartment in south Austin. Bought parts at the co-op bike shop where racers sold the parts they won, and replaced it with a Sugino Mighty Comp. Had s set of wheels built on Zeus hubs with Rigida 1320 rims and 1" tires, tighter 5-sp sprocket, Shimano 600 RD (190g, still one of the lightest and most reliable road RD ever made), and threw in Zeus shifters and gum-hood brake levers (getting rid of the old Weinmann safety levers) - the wheels changed the nature of the bike, and kept me riding it a long time. It was fast. As I got older eased up to 1-1/8" tires and softer saddles - Concor then Terry. Finally couldn't get comfortable on the long GB stem and Maes bend drops. After finding Rivendell whet for a moustache cockpit rebuild, B-17, bar-end shifter pods, and found a new level of comfort. 6-speed rear, Half-step chainring in the front then found a cyclotouriste triple with half steps and escape to make the bike more versatile. Rivved out with fenders and front rack/bags. Most recently new wheels, finally 700c, 7-speed rear, and back to 32mm tires. Still riding the bike after 38 years. After getting back in shape was ready for a go-fast and built my Moser, though with (moderately) tall Nitto stem and Cinelli dream bars. Don't have the budget for a Rivendelll for a few more years, but it's high on my want list. It's going to be versatile and big tires.
On Friday, February 28, 2014 1:20:19 PM UTC-6, Liesl wrote: > > 1963: Pretend that I own my Brother's 3-speed black Raleigh; for a family > photo, pose next to it barefoot in my brother's bad-ass green bay packer > uniform like all of it was mine. > 1965: learn to ride on a prehistoric BMX type fixed gear with solid > rubber wheels covered with cloth electrical tape. Point down grassy hill > and hang on for dear life. > 1968: Blue Sears girls bike. Wanted a Schwinn. Wanted a boys bike. > 1971: Save money. Buy Schwinn Cherry Crate stingray. Thought it /I was > cool until I tried to ride more than 1 block and/or more than a 1% grade > 1974: Save money. Read books on bikes. Buy Mercier "10-speed". Ride a > lot happily in my small city of Madison WI and surrounding country roads. > 1980: Get into motorcycles in a big way and bicycles go by the wayside > for 2 decades. > 1998: Return to bicycles. Don't need to save money in the same way to > get one. Live in Frisco. Buy a Kona Fire Mountain because "that's what > you want". Have lots of fun riding it. > 2005: Start bike commuting 20 miles round-trip to work. Live in Mpls. > Do it in the winter. Love it. > 2006: See an Atlantis with Baggins panniers. Gob-smacked. Google > Rivendell. Fall in love. Devote myself to riding enough to warrant a Riv. > 2007: Visit Riv. Ride a Ram and a Glorious. Eventually decide on a > Saluki. Love it. Fall out of love with my Kona. > 2008: Pick up a Trek 620 single speed for a winter bike. > 2009: Snatch a Proto Bleriot Frame and build it up as a single speed. > Love it. > 2010: Must travel with bike! Use recent 50th birthday as an excuse and > buy a pair of Bike Fridays for me and Erin. Love it. > 2013: Win Riv raffle and go to heaven. > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
