lucky bike geek
i found this dusty road bike in a free pile on sunday afternoon, brought it into the kitchen and had barely glanced at it, aside from ascertaining that it's bigger than my everyday fixie. this evening, as i had to move the bicycle to get into a cupboard, i looked at it a bit more closely: holy lucky bike geek! the components are all campagnolo and shimano 600/dura-ace!
for those of you not in the know, these are excellent quality parts... the sort that one hopes to find on an old road bike, because they are likely to be almost as functional as they were when this bike was first put together. not only are they durable, they are also built for speed: they are quite lightweight.
*none* of my other bikes have components as nice as these ones: the pug (retro 12-speed orange peugeot road bike) has some shimano 600 (including *one* of his cranks) but is otherwise a muttish mix of components gleaned from recyclistas, as is duncan (14-42 ratio fixed gear navy bianchi); nigella's all old raleigh with a sturmey-archer 3-speed hub, cuz she's a bit of a period piece (from 1972, to be precise).
as i went to write this, i got out my tape measure and checked the frame size: this new bike is 58.5 cm, which is 1 cm larger than the pug (measuring from the center of her bottom bracket to the top of her seat tube). i like to think the pug fits me quite well, so am rather excited by this knowledge... maybe i can negotiate some sort of ongoing relationship here. such a sweet new ride!
i know, i know: i hardly *need* a new bike. but i just gave one away a couple weeks ago! ritchey, whom i'd loved continuously since he belonged to my roommate when i first moved to vic, has gone to live in bella coola with my amazing friend kerri. so, really... i can validate getting another, right? especially because it was free, and i have tons of room in my apartment.
anyway, i could always find a new home for the pug. or make the pug into a fixed gear, and then give away duncan after making him back into a multi-speed ride. or keep them all, and just be glad that they aren't cats or teacups or some other item for which lonely women have a reputation of collecting.
ps. that same afternoon, i also got a good wooden futon frame from the side of the road in fernwood. am very happy to no longer be bedding down on the floor, as it was cold and there was pet hair collecting at the edges of the mattress. ick. i like to provide my dust bunnies with somewhere nice to hide and breed, so that they don't have to feel so exposed.