Pimping My Ride
Monday was supposed to include a 70-minute session at the Veloway. I was dressed for it, even had the water bottle filled as I headed out the door. But the hubs (see previous post) still bothered me. I knew it would be a great ride because of the weather, but it would suck with the hubs wobbling. All dressed for the veloway, I went in the opposite direction searching for some new hubs, or new old hubs, or working old hubs.
I had looked online and found quite a few deals...deals in terms of retail, but not as good as I thought I could get. From building the recumbent, I knew often if you look in the right place, you can find brand name parts for pennies. The thrift shop clerks don't know a Mavic wheel from a Shimano. The saw the amount of rust, flat tires and did it ride out of the shop. I saw bargains.
The first store I stopped in was a gold mine. Only two bikes left but both were under $20 and both had components I was looking for including; better brakes, aero bars, and 27" wheels with enclosed hubs. Aero bars alone can run past $100. I bought both, loaded them up and took them home for disassembly.
Long-story-short, I pilfered all that I could get from the two bikes and stayed up to midnight putting it all back together. The tires and tubes were in such bad shape, I had to put some new ones on. The sweet time trial bar had to go as the aero bars wouldn't fit the custom shape. The brakes are better, although they still need a little adjusting.
I rode into work this morning as the truck's in the shop getting the brakes worked on. I definitely noticed an increase in the bike's speed. I'll have to zip over to the bike shop at lunch and get some tape for the bars. Afterwhich, I'll post a pic of the new ride.
tags: cycling, bike parts, build a bike monitor
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