I bought this bike, yes paid money for it, at the Goodwill here in Boone. 15 bucks. I was originally only going to take the brakes off (Mafacs) and save the whitewalls that were on it for my Schwinn board track cruiser. But as time passed I saw this bike as a more interesting sum of the parts and kept it pretty much original as it came to me. The only changes on my part were to slip the Porcs on there (Curses, why would I ever have thrown out my pair of Farmer John/Farmer John's Cousins:( and change the seat from the hard plastic Troxel (which I still have:) It is a Columbia and as you can see, the paint has faded and patinaed to a nice two-tone red/base primer. I really like the controls on this bike. You see, back in the day, before men had buffed and clearcoated nails, and used their thumbs for texting their order to Applebees for "Curbside To Go" they used their thumbs to shift the gears on their ATB! This pic shows the direct crossover from motorcycle parts. I mean look at those brake levers! Looks like a Norton Commando gave up its levers. Somewhere, a Honda 50 is saying, "Damn, those are some levers now!"
If I had 8 fingers on each hand they would still be roomy! And sorry Ergon, but you're not the first to include a palm pad on a grip. I admit though that the green Ergon uses is cool. I had thoughts of cutting a couple of inches off each end of the bars but changed my mind in favor of the pit drying riding position afforded by a 32 inch bar spread.
If I had 8 fingers on each hand they would still be roomy! And sorry Ergon, but you're not the first to include a palm pad on a grip. I admit though that the green Ergon uses is cool. I had thoughts of cutting a couple of inches off each end of the bars but changed my mind in favor of the pit drying riding position afforded by a 32 inch bar spread.
You know I have to keep it period correct and ride in cutoffs, a T shirt, and some old Redwings right? White tube socks with two green bands at the top, oh ya! Makes me want to grow out a vintage Tom Ritchey 'stache. Later! Travel Gravel!
4 comments:
i think that was a bargain at $15. ya done good!
That's a mi-t fine ride, Gravel Man! Fifteen bucks for a decent beater bike ain't bad at all!
Time for customization. Convert it to a fixie. Paint it purple. Put a big brass bell or horn on it. Zip tie a wicker basket to the handlebars. Stick some cards in the spokes :>)
I do have a couple of old rear racks squirreled away in "the Lab" that I might be persuaded to put on. Hmm...what better way to carry a 6 pack of Hamms eh? Thanks guys, It's a keeper for sure. Later!
Where is the rust on the rims? %^)
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