More on the MOTO

The project is complete. I feel a wholeness about it! The IRO parts arrived from Neil O'Murphy's online store (highly recommended by the way), so now the Motobecane is one bad orange mofo (what other cool things are orange?). Here's the update:

• Swapped the stock bar with IRO road bar, an $18 duplicate of the Rivendell Nitto Noodle. No ergo bends and a nice big flat spot up top.
• Swapped the Truvativ Touro S/S crank, 48T, with the IRO S/S crank, 44T. Both have square taper BB so the swap was a breeze. The IRO crank is super BEEFY. It's only polished on the outboard surfaces which is kind of weird, but the surfaces you see are as nice as Sugino, Shimano, I'd say damn close to the pearly shine of Campagnolo cranks...
• Canned the plastic to clips for some MKS chrome and some SOMA leather straps.
• Swapped the black stock seatpost for a silver IRO
• Swapped the stock cheesebox seat for a Brooks standard, honey brown. This is another item WAY cheaper at Neil's site than even a used one would be on EBay. I paid like $60 for it... Even though I have ranted and raved about the pains of a Brooks saddle in the past, I have never owned a NEW one and actually treated it as recommended by the manufacturer. I have paid as much for cheap foam seats, so I thought I'd give it another go, and lets face it, NOTHING would suit this bike as well as the orangeish tint of the Brooks.
• Cotton tape and wine corks
• It appears that 25s or 28s would be the biggest I could go on tires. I'll leave the 23s on until I wear 'em out (Kenda Koncept)
• Silly little Diamond Back BMX chain tensioners. Really in place so I can make sure the wheel is centered before I crank down on the rear axle bolts. Not really critical for chain tension.
• Specialized frame pump. Gay looking, I know, but flats on a fixxxie are no joke.
• No waterbottle for now. I'd rather drink out of someone's hose.
  

I have to carry a few things with me including tire levers, small adj wrench, allen wrenches, innertube, etc. Walking five miles with a broken bike SUCKS. In spd shoes, it REALLY SUCKS! I had some Specialize RockHopper MTB shoes that protected the spd clip pretty well, but I just can't wear plastic bike shoes for commuting any more. Walking into a gas station like a tap dancer is just too silly. Boat shoes, Pumas, Converse, Vans, Tevas- they work just fine, and I'm not clocking my rides for time, cadence or speed.

Back In Time

Great shot of me and Chris Blumensteter (Aloha Single Speeders, Bike Shop Hawaii, featured in Honolulu Star Bulletin, Fixed Gear Gallery, etc) dining at the Elephant Castle in Aiea, Hawaii. He's the photographer, I'm the dope with the goofy grin. It was a while ago, and a damn good time.

Motobecane assembled, Upgraded

A $379 Motobecane from Bikesdirect dot com landed me the cheapest complete fixxxie rig I could fine (new). The exact same bike is marketed as:

• Windsor
• Fuji
• Dawes
• Mercier

It is truly an entry level track bike, but better than the conversions I have had in most every way. There was a Cayne Uno for $450 with better parts, but no specifics on shipping- I wasn't about to let someone hit me with $130 worth of shipping and since bikesdirect has FREE shipping, I decided to go with them. Planned upgrades include ($ indicates already ordered):

• $ IRO cranks with a 44t chainring (48 is a little tall for around the hood)
• $ IRO aluminum silver seatpost
• Steel MKS toe clips with SOMA leather straps
• $ Silver Tektro/Cane Creek brake levers
• $ FSA Silver sealed cartridge headset
  
• $ Brooks Professional Honey brown saddle
• POSSIBLY my Nitto Dirt Drop stem

Yeah it's extra money on top of the originl purchase price, but it's really NICE to ride and looks way-cool.

UNO MAS

Got the Motobecane/Fuji/Mercier/Windsor from UPS yesterday. Not bad!

New week, New day

So each and every day is a new chance to BE and DO, but what if it's the same day over and over again? I need to let go on some pretty weak habits/rituals especially with only ONE MONTH OR LESS until I meet my little baby Duncan AND move to California. There's got to be a better use of my time than the following:

*Looking at EBay for things I have no intention of buying

*Drinking gallons of (heavily "creamed") coffee

*Tinkering (not to be confused with actual bicycle maintenance which justifies itself. Sometimes you HAVE TO tension a cable, change a flat, etc, but I'm just talking about messing around and generally isolating myself...

It's time to pave some new paths in my brain circuitry and start this week different than the previous. I can be who I am today and BUILD on who I was yesterday rather than just being a slave to my past.

Foul words were uttered

While truing in a wiggly spot on my rear wheel (on my Kona Jake Cyclocross/commuter), I had a problem... A couple of quarter turns on the wobbly spot and my spoke pulled right through the rim!


Not that I'm saying it's MAVIC's fault (this wheel has 3800 miles on it, and is 4 years old), but here's the type that failed, a MAVIC CXP22 laced to Deore hubs, the stock wheel on a Kona Jake and other Tiagra/105 level bikes.

Well, there goes about $50 bucks. Luckily I have a spare set of really nice MAVIC Open 4 CDs laying in wait for more action! Well, they're gonna get it now.
Looks better with the Open 4s anyway. So be it!

Stopped in transit

On the way to work (0600am), a cargo ship and tug decided to transit the James River Bridge. Never mind the 7,000 people trying to get to work at the shipyard... Who the hell is in charge around here?

The Clearance Sale continues...

My 1991 Specialized Rockhopper (built up like a Rivendell Atlantis) went for $225 the other day along with a 1997 Bianchi Trofeo for $400. I still have:

2006 Surly Pacer (primary commuter)
1993 KONA Jake (cyclocross, rainy-day commuter)
*1987 Trek Elance 400 vintage retro restoration. A real masterpiece.
*1984 Schwinn High Sierra
*1987 Bridgestone MB-3
*1998 Kona Lava Dome (SS conversion).

*Most of these will go too. It won’t really make sense to move across country with that much gear.

Regretably, my wife has never been impressed with any bike I have bought or built for her (Trek 830, GT Outpost Trail, Bridgestone Mixte). I want to get her an Electra Townie, but even if I do, she’ll probably never ride it.