This is the bike that just won't go away. I originally bought the frame for $5 at a garage sale. I wrote about its history on 63xc.com a couple years ago. It's primarily been my snow SUV do anything bike. It's a fixed gear super simple tough turd of a bike. I couldn't even give the frame away, let alone sell it.
So I was thrilled today when my buddy Jon at OTM was lamenting how his freehub froze up and how he just wanted a simple snow bike. I jumped at the chance to build up the Turd for him. It took me about an hour to put back together. Hopefully, he'll take delivery tomorrow.
There's some nice little treats on this bike for the careful observing bike nerd. The Softride stem, the PJW-built Surly/Mavic rear wheel, the Ritchey cranks, the lugs. Under the saddle cover is a NOS Ideal leather saddle: it's the only saddle I had here at home with the old collar-style connector that this seat post wants. I think some Nokian Extreme studded tires would round it out and make it really a full-fledged winter bike.
I hate having useful bikes and frames sitting around, so this will be another loaner for life. Although I'll probably swap out the crank set with some old turdy Deore's once I find a chain ring and some BMX chain ring bolts. In any case, everyone wins.
The snow is nuts here. We're at around a foot or more and it's supposed to go until 4 AM tomorrow morning. It's really cold too, so it's great powdery snow. But it's hard to ride in, especially on the south hill where there's a layer of ice under it. Good times. Geez winter came fast this year.
4 comments:
Hell yeah it is hard to ride in. Studs are useless. Around 6pm I was able to ride downtown, but then had to walk up Jefferson from 5th to 16th. Finally made my way over to a semi-plowed Lincoln and was able to ride the rest of the way up. The light snow on top of ice makes for a rough time.
Yeah. the only hope you have in this stuff is super duper fat knobbies tires at low low pressure. Wouldn't mind one of those Pugsley's for today's commute.
I went for my first snow ride today. That was a blast. I was surprised at how well my bike handled, but 32mm tires don't have enough float. pushing your way through the snow is quite a workout.
I picked up a pair of Gore Bike Cross Gloves last fall and have been really happy with them. My hands have staid toasty-warm and dry all winter. They're worth the $70 price tag.
http://www.rei.com/product/757107
I just mounted my studs today. I bought new wheels for them so I could make quick changes if the weather changed. My tires at 700x45 and that won't work in this deep, soft stuff. I was going to try until I woke up this morning and saw how much had fallen, and continued to fall until just a short while ago.
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