impulsive decisions lead to paralyzing indecision. irony.
so now i have two very, very sweet bikes that I have to choose between for college. sigh.
the freewheel on my shogun roadbike, wonderfully, had developed a habit of skipping forward violently, throwing feet off pedals. at cape cod, this actually resulted in an achilles tendon bruised enough to lame me for three days. so! at three in the morning on sunday, i read an article on "fixies" (fixed-gear bicycles), went downstairs, and tore both derailleurs, the shift levers, all the cables, and one brake off the bike. the freewheel i had to take to the shop to remove, and then threw it into the trash. fucking thing. i also picked up a cog for the rear wheel (thirty bucks!) and just tonight slapped that on, cut the chain shorter, and tightened everything up. now i have a blazing fast fixie roadbike, and a specialized hybrid that i bought used when i had given up the roadbike for salvage--slower, but hella more rugged. i'm thinking the specialized is better for college. but damn, fixies are cool...i can do a trackstand, and hold it for about thirty seconds on a good try. i almost pulled off a three-point turn, without putting a foot down! i can stop without brakes! there are no components on this bike except for the front brake! whew.
it seems like i'm pretty good at breaking things, replacing them, fixing them, and ending up with a choice between two very nice things. maybe in the future i should hold off on replacing things.
the freewheel on my shogun roadbike, wonderfully, had developed a habit of skipping forward violently, throwing feet off pedals. at cape cod, this actually resulted in an achilles tendon bruised enough to lame me for three days. so! at three in the morning on sunday, i read an article on "fixies" (fixed-gear bicycles), went downstairs, and tore both derailleurs, the shift levers, all the cables, and one brake off the bike. the freewheel i had to take to the shop to remove, and then threw it into the trash. fucking thing. i also picked up a cog for the rear wheel (thirty bucks!) and just tonight slapped that on, cut the chain shorter, and tightened everything up. now i have a blazing fast fixie roadbike, and a specialized hybrid that i bought used when i had given up the roadbike for salvage--slower, but hella more rugged. i'm thinking the specialized is better for college. but damn, fixies are cool...i can do a trackstand, and hold it for about thirty seconds on a good try. i almost pulled off a three-point turn, without putting a foot down! i can stop without brakes! there are no components on this bike except for the front brake! whew.
it seems like i'm pretty good at breaking things, replacing them, fixing them, and ending up with a choice between two very nice things. maybe in the future i should hold off on replacing things.