I am indeed “all stocked up” in my shop, as
my rafters are full of finished bicycles. I would think it is an end-of-season
lull in selling activity, but while I can always expect a spring increase in
repairs/service, the sales pattern has never been predictable. The amount of
storage space has also been compromised by a desire to purchase affordable
component groups and frames when they become available for future projects.
While some friends have laughed at what I
consider to be disorganized, somehow I’ve accumulated TEN loose wheelsets that
are creating a bit of an obstacle course at times when doing my work. Yes, many
are earmarked for bicycle assembly, but others just don’t fit into my plans,
either because of preferred brand or gearing compatibility, and need to move
onto a new home!
I did have a really nice Italian Fir wheelset
that had a Chorus 7-speed freewheel on the rear, and I decided to attempt an
upgrade by swapping in an 8-speed hub myself. I had never tried this level of
wheel-building, and because I was removing all the spokes and nipples from the
existing rim, I found a similar product hanging in the shop to use as a guide
to replicate the pattern.
It took a good amount of time, patience and
a little bit of math to loosely fit the 32 spokes into an intricate weave of what
was essentially an eight-point star on each side. I don’t have the tensioning
or dishing (accurately centers the rim on the hub) tools, so I took the partially-completed
wheel to my pals at Bikesport for the final touches.
A couple customers had also presented me
with work which, while quite welcome, hadn’t exactly helped my problem with storage
space. Recent acquaintance Nick, who purchase my Olmo Sportsman, is a racer and wanted to upgrade some parts. All went
smoothly, and I was happy to exchange my time for the parts returned, including
a really nice Ambrosio/Campagnolo wheelset!
My friend Arol in New Hampshire, for whom I
had previously build a Vitus 979,
has me once again on the trail for Mavic parts – or at least for the brands the
company copied – in order to build a Sean Kelly KAS tribute bicycle. It is
going to replicate somewhat the bike I built for Brendan a couple of years ago,
then rebuilt with all-Mavic last autumn, except we are going with even more brand/model accurate parts,
namely the black Modolo-copy brakes and levers (photo right) and the Cinelli Criterium bars
the Irish legend preferred.
I received the 979 frame to which we are
applying this transformation, and it includes many parts that we should be able
to sell to make the project less costly, including some Campagnolo Super Record
derailleurs. The bike was also equipped with an interesting (yes, another) wheelset
built with quality Wolber Super Champion Alpine rims and Hi-E hubs, made by eccentric
American designer/engineer/machinist Harlan Meyer (1924-2013).
Harlan’s complete bicycle from 1971, the Cosmopolitan,
had features that are now industry standards today. I wish I had a date for the
cool photo below, but I’m guessing from his age in the photo, it was taken in
the 1950s.
Another addition to my crowded basement is
my disabled Cannondale. I was out for a ride last Sunday and came to the bottom
of hill, where I was going to make a left-hand turn. I wasn’t going terribly
fast, but I didn’t have much time to react when I noticed cinders in the
intersection. You certainly don’t want to lay on the brakes too hard, because
you will definitely lose maneuverability and slide out, so I gently squeezed
the levers, hoping to be able to hold traction.
Nope – the front started to slide, so I let
go of the brake and turned into the slide to regain control and stay upright.
Unfortunately, I was out of room on the road and went right into the guardrail lining
the low ground on the outside of the turn. It has become second nature to me to
stay with the bike in a crash, after the number of times I’ve seen pros do the
same thing and have it save their butts!
Sometimes things slow down in these
situations, and I can remember thinking, “Oh this isn’t going to feel good,”
and actually standing up on my pedals to get above the metal barrier as much
as possible. The front wheel hit, and I did a perfect flip onto the back, perfectly safe in a soft pile of leaves and brush.
I popped right up and climbed back over the
rail to check myself and the equipment out. An oncoming driver and her family,
who had seen everything and probably thought I was dead, had looks of shock on
their face to see me casually checking the alignment of my front wheel and brake/shift
levers. I had torn my right shoe cover, probably catching it on the rail during
my flip, but amazingly everything seemed just fine.
“Are you sure you are okay,” the driver
asked a couple of times, as one of her children stared at me in awe through his
rolled down window. I replied that I really lucked out landing so softly, and
thanked her for stopping.
Alas, when I reached a climb on my attempt
to return home, there was a nasty crack and creaking sound. The weight I put on
the front wheel when out of the saddle going up the hill must have been the
last straw for the right fork blade, which had obviously buckled during the
collision with the guardrail. I was only a couple miles from my son Carrick’s
place, so I did a very slow, cautious ride there for a rescue pick-up from Sue.
I doubt that I am going to find an exact
match for my seven-year-old model bicycle with a fairly unique paint job. I
have seen some with similar colors, but we’ll see what I can come up with. With
my go-to bike with the best gear range out of commission, it’s kind of good
timing that the cycling season is winding down, but I’m fortunate to have other
bikes to ride and will just have to back off on the altitude for a while.
I’d also like to mention that we had a great
time during the Cycle Tech Turkey Trek, even if many hopeful participants were
turned away by the temperatures, which hovered around the freezing point when
we started off on Saturday morning, November 9th. Everyone had come properly dressed
for the cold, the day was sunny without any wind and things warmed up comfortably
enough around noon.
The event extended a bit longer than
expected due to some splits in the group, whether it was because of different
fitness levels, snack breaks or photo opportunities. The crew also split in half
for route choice near Manayunk; some selected the hill up to Umbria Street, and
others descended to the canal towpath near Shawmont Station. A few of us even
rode a couple blocks up the Manayunk Wall, just far enough to be in view of the
really nasty steep part!
My friend Brendan also met us part way along
the route, as he rode from his Philadelphia home out to meet us, and except for
a couple folks who had to duck out early because of family commitments later in
the day, we all finished up pretty much in sight of one another. That’s a tough
thing to do when necks/shoulders start to get stiff and a few butts get sore –
people start to push the pace just to get off the bike!
I’m waiting for one of those miracle autumn
days when it warm enough for us all to wear shorts and maybe just a light,
long-sleeve jersey, but we’ve always managed to enjoy ourselves on the Turkey
Trek. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!
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