COOK YOUR BIKE!

Come out on Sunday to Mitchell Park in SLO for the Bike Kitchen! Hang out with others who share an obsession with bikes, donate old/spare components, and sift through the bins to find that one last random part that you have been needing to finish your new build.  I'll be the guy trying to find a bolt for an old 1" SR stem.  Tools and bike stands will be available for your wrenching needs, and there will be a BBQ as well if it's not raining.  This event bonds our community and strengthens our commitment to cycling as an environmentally sustainable mode of transportation and as a way of life.

MUSICAL CRANKSETS

This weekend, between rainstorms, I was able to get some work done on the old Motobecane Mirage frame that I bought for 40 bucks on Craigslist a while back.  I stripped all the components and rebuilt the bottom bracket and the headset.  It's a nice bike, and I think it will make a fun single speed.  Unfortunately, the crankset, an old alloy "S" brand, has an integrated chainring/crank arm instead of a spider, with spacers and long bolts for the smaller rings.  The integrated ring is a 52 tooth, too big for a single speed (I prefer 44).  So, after a quick cleaning, I put it up on Craigslist for 20 bucks.  I figured some fixie purist with a love for oversize gear ratios would snap it up, and I was right; it took all of 7 minutes to sell.  Today, the Pyramid SS cranksets that I ordered finally arrived (I ordered 2), and I'm pretty stoked on how they look, especially for $21 each.  They're steel, so they add a bit of weight, but they're inexpensive and durable: perfect for economy rebuilds. Now all I need is a decent 700c rear wheel.

Here's the old crankset- vintage French "S" brand

And here's the new Pyramid 44 tooth, soon to be installed.

OLD FRIENDS

I've built up and sold a fair amount of bikes over the past year, and every once in a while I see one of mine around town.  A couple of days ago I came across the first single speed I ever built; my old blue "Superman" Huffy, parked in a bike rack at Cal Poly.  I'm glad that the person who bought this bike is still riding it, although I was slightly disturbed at it's condition; it looks like it may have been ridden (in the loosest sense of the word) home from the bars one too many times. Also the red wall tires and vintage Araya rims that I thought were the highlight of the bike seem to have moved on to a new home.  Anyway, it was good to see her again.  And in case her new owner reads this post, I just want to say "hey, go easy on the old girl!  And put a new cap in those bars so they don't rust inside, dammit!"  These things are important.

This bike can be seen in its original incarnation HERE.