I built this bike over the winter from parts I had laying around. The company I work for moved offices over the Christmas holiday to a building that doesn’t allow me to bring my bike up to my office. Instead, we have to store our bikes in a shady loading dock that’s open to 43rd street / Times Sq. So I needed an inexpensive “beater” to commute on every day. More on the bike build and additional pictures after the jump…
I’ve had this bike for a couple of months now, but I only recently got around to taking some pictures. It’s an original Grant Petersen-designed Bridgestone RB-1 from 1990, and when I found it on eBay, it came with all the stock parts: Suntour GPX drivetrain, Hatta Vesta headset, Dia-Compe BRS 400 brakes and levers, and Sansin hubs with Wolber rims.
A month ago I switched the groupset to a NOS Shimano Santé group I pieced together. Santé is a rare and misunderstood groupset – in 1987 Shimano created it with the idea of appealing to consumers who wanted pro-quality parts with a slicker design. Perhaps due to the cheesy name and white powdercoated parts, many people assume Santé is low-end stuff – not so! Mechanically, it sits between Ultegra and Dura-Ace., and the Disraeli Gears site enthusiastically calls it “most innovative and influential derailleurs in recent history.”
Santé performs beautifully – after switching the groupset this bike went from “very good” to a truly remarkable and amazing ride. It’s now my favorite bike, the kind you look forward to riding, regardless of the weather. The shifters are set to friction and it shifts and coasts smoothly and nearly silently.
I held onto the original parts for the RB-1 in case I ever decide to sell it, but it will take a pretty special bike to replace this one. More pictures after the jump…
Here is the second installment of my clipless / SPD shoe round-up. This bunch are all sneaker-style shoes, typically aimed at BMX riders. None of them are quite as cool as the Nike SB Dunks, but they do offer a better shoe than my home-made SPD Dunks and are probably a little cheaper. I hope more companies (hint hint Nike) offer SPD sneakers this year!
So if you’re not ready to whip up your own SPD Dunks or Adidas Shelltoes, check out my round-up after the jump: Continue reading
Following up on my last post, I recognize that not everyone wants to make their own SPD-compatible shoes. So what are your “off the shelf ” options? Well, I’ve done a lot of research and here is the first installment of my two-part “2010 buyer’s guide” based on the coolest shoes I have seen that are currently for sale. My criteria here is to list shoes that would look and feel good at a casual office or social occasion, the kind of shoes you can wear all day, anywhere, without looking like a total bike dork. This first list is of leather low-profile shoes that have a European style. Part Two of the buyer’s guide will focus on sneakers that are SPD-compatible.
Check out the rest of the 2010 buyer’s guide after the jump: Continue reading
I have waited nearly a year to build this bike: I first ordered the frame from Alien Bikes as part of a group buy last October, receiving it last May. Despite the ridiculous wait, the frame is gorgeous and well-made, especially considering the low $350 pricetag for a hand-made lugged steel frame. I used wire brushes to remove most of the phosphate coating from the tubes, exposing the raw steel and bright gold flux around the lugs. The inspiration for this build is a classic Italian racer, something that looks like a throwback to the 1940’s or 50’s, but built from a mix of affordable modern and vintage parts.
Click “Read More” to see a hi-res gallery pf photos.
Recently I switched from riding in clips and straps (MKS GR-9 pedals with Toshi double straps and Soma double clips) to clipless pedals. It was an amazing difference; easily the best upgrade I have ever invested in for my bike. Within minutes I could do stuff that had always eluded me with clips and straps – I can skid, even while seated, and can ride no-handed. Handling and power transfer is superb. But I still had a problem: when I wasn’t riding, walking around in fancy road shoes and cleats was pretty lame! They don’t look cool, they were noisy, and at one point they made me slip and fall down a flight of stairs! (Luckily, I was OK).
Then at the Bike Jumble last week I bought a pair of these 611 Filter shoes from Continuum Cycles. They are skate-style shoes with stiff reinforced soles and mounts for cleats! Perfect! They are comfortable and solid, holding my foot as well as my road shoes. The cleat is recessed into the sole, so you have the full grip of the sneaker tread – no more slipping around on bulky cleats. I am using them with Shimano SH51 cleats and M520 dual-sided clipless pedals. I definitely recommend these shoes to any urban fixed-gear riders who want the benefits of riding clipless without the annoyance of walking around in road shoes all day. Check them out at 611’s website or you local bike shop.
I originally featured this bike back in January when I first acquired it, but since then I have done a number of upgrades to improve the fit and handling. I switched the Selle Italia Flite saddle for an upgraded Gel Flow version with titanium rails, swapped the bar/stem combo for an original Eddie Merckx pantographed Cinelli stem and a set of Ritchie Pro Biomax bars wrapped in Cinelli cork tape, added a set of Origin-8 white pedals with white Soma Oppy-X four-gate toe clips and a set of red nylon double straps from King Kog. Finally, a pair of new red water bottles to keep me hydrated on long rides.
This morning, after being first rained on, then snowed on during my commute into work, the sun broke through the clouds and I took these fantastic pics of the bike. Enjoy!
Check out all the pictures after the jump. Click the pictures to see the full-size version.