So here's the Beach Bike all decked out in the stuff I had laying around:
Actually, I didn't have much to change on it. I added the Easton Flatboys, Specialized BG grips, computer and cut down the bars to twenty two inches. The tires are Continental Sport Contacts in 700x37, but they are actually like 35s. I had to wait until today to get the Axiom Journey rack put on; there was a problem with the length of the stays. Oh, and that's a Tacx Tao bottle cage.
But wait! you say. That is NOT the same bike!
What are you talking about? Of course it is.
I accidentally left it out in the rain last night and it grew by four centimeters.
Actually, a funny thing happened on the way to the supermarket.
I came home on Saturday night and started to "tune" my ride. In my quest for top end speed, I thought to take off the rear reflector that was mounted on the seat post. That was when I noticed that the seat post was adjusted about three quarters of an inch above the recommended depth. I took the post out and measured it; turns out it was only going in about halfway through the top tube/ seat stay joint. If you look closely at the frame, this means that only about two and half inches of seat post is secured in the tube. Not good.
The first frame was a forty five. It fit well and I had no problems with it except for the seat post. On further inspection, I noticed that the seat was adjusted all the way back on its rails. I went out and tried the next size up, which was a forty nine.
And there it is. I guess the moral to the story is: ride one size up and one size down, just to make sure. And make sure everything is up to specification.
Here's the thing about the Globe Vienna: it has an usual geometry. At least in this size.
We/I had to modify the stays on the Axiom rack in order for it to fit. Thankfully, Evil Hoku found some longer stays at the shop. They were about two or three inches longer that the ones that came with the rack; only thing, there were two right sides. I saw this when I got home, so I had to use my fabrication skills to put a mirror image bend in the stay that was for the left. Actually, I put it in a vise and tweaked it. It came out okay:
Here's another funky thing about the Globe. It has a rider friendly cassette. It's an eight speed; what the gears are I have no idea. All I know is, one of them is big:
If I had to guess, I'd say it was a seventy five or so. If you can't get up the hill with that, give it up and walk.
Out in the fabrication shop, I find an old bungee cord. I tie it on to the rack and off I go! My first stop is the hardware store to buy more bungees. Cool! I find a pack of four that look perfect for my rack:
Off to Safeway I go, excited to make my first run at the store. I get my cargo, only to find that:
The hooks are too small for the rack! WTF? Tail between my legs, I use the old large bungee to fasten my cargo and ride on home. Oh well, I'll just have to take the new bungees to the fabrication shop.
On the way home, I decide to mash it, cargo and all. My massive legs hammering on the pedals get me to twenty seven mph.
What was I carrying?
Four blueberry muffins and a couple of cheese rolls.
Oh ya baby.
No comments:
Post a Comment