Biked to work today, and just got back. Maybe not the smartest choice of a day — second hottest of the year, with thunderstorms threatened — but I made it. Going there was rather slow, as I got lost a couple of times, but coming back was faster than transit.
If I felt really nerdy, I’d post my route as GPX, but it’s a bit twisty.
To round out the Dawes Super Galaxy, I got a pair of used Sun Tour Superbe non-aero brake levers from Bicycle Specialties. Wouldn’t you know it though, but one of them was for thicker (Cinelli?) bars than the narrow GB Randonneurs that are on my bike.
Armed with a sharp knife, a straight edge, and an empty can of Irn Bru, I cut myself some shim stock to fill out the gap. The lever has a little lateral play, but it’s not moving up or down any. I am the king ov shim!
I finished fixing up the brakes on the Super Galaxy, and put new handlebar tape on the bars. I still suck at fitting bar tape; should’ve stuck to my old standard Benotto tape, which, while almost useless for shock absorption, is cheap and easy to fit.
Once all was fitted, I took it for a spin. The new brakes are a delight; very positive and extremely powerful. I will enjoy riding again.
(And yes, you bike nerds, there is no straddle cable in that picture.)
There is something very pleasing about working on one’s bike of an evening, racing against the fading light. I stripped the ancient bar tape of the tourer, and started on refurbishing the brakes. I think that 1987 was the year that cantilevers got good, and since I have a 1986 Super Galaxy, the old Shimano BR-AT50s were pretty poor. New Alivios don’t quite have the finish of the old units, but they’ll work, meaning I’ll be able to stop without a full city block’s notice.
Further to Matt Seaton’s article in the Guardian about atrocious cycle facilities, and highlighting Warrington Cycle Campaign’s Facility of the Month, can I just say that Pete Owens of WCC got the idea for the web page from my Crappy Lanes (archive.org copy) site?
If I see another $2500 full-sus disk-braked mountain bike, I’ll puke. There were a few tiny things of interest here; please comment if you want the details.
Ah, the Cleland Aventura — the very distinctive off-road bike. I wanted one of these something fierce when I was a young ‘un.
Sturmey-Archer Heritage is perhaps the nerdiest bike site I’ve ever seen.
Oh dear, another bike lane project: Take the Tooker! – Bloor Danforth bike lane. I much prefer to go play in the traffic.
Had an impromptu visit to Port Burwell today to fix a cranky cell modem. It was also my first experience of driving a stick shift — and not just any stick shift, one with 400Kclicks on it — on the wrong side of the road. It was weird, but since I neither wrecked the car nor hit anything, I think I got the hang of it.
Anyway, no trip to Burwell is complete without a visit to the Lighthouse Restaurant for fresh fried lake perch. While I was there, I got chatting to a couple from Chicago who were working on their plan to cycle round a Great lake each summer. By doing this, they were hoping to appreciate the scale of these huge bodies of water. Neat plan.
One day, when I’m a Celebrity Windfarm Designer with my own television show, I’ll take a summer off to go round Lake Erie.
I cycled out to the end of Leslie Street Spit this evening. It’s far. I got to the concrete pad by the lighthouse: Google Maps: Leslie St Spit: 43.61374° N, 79.34352° W.
My legs hurt. A lot. But it was pretty. I saw one of the beaver-felled trees, too.
Sturmey-Archer have finally updated their website. Hub gears a-go-go!
Missing BikeShare bikes: #2 Taxi, #3 bumblebee, #4 Bike four, #5 Nico, #8 Blue Elephant, #10 Momentum, #15 Paw Print, #17 coffee & joy, #19 buddha, #20 Sulpher, #22 Ticket To Ride, #27 Tianamen, #30 Nimbus, #33 Turntable, #44 Napolean, #47 Matilduh, #49 Paris-Roubaix, #53 Cracked, #54 Frodo, #55 Che, #57 froggi eyes, #58 Penny Farthing, #60 Lemon, #68 north bay or bust, #70 Boulder, #75 morris, #77 DownTube, #80 Delta, #83 schep, #84 Sunshine, #88 Blue Heeler, #91 Stella by Starlight, #92 Clara the Shark, #94 Over the Hill Pinky, #95 Kushner, #101 Murphy, #103 Tulip, #106 Fly Grrl, #113 Moo Moo, #117 Art, #128 Phineas Foggs, #129 Slow Poke, #135 Darbellay, #142 Winterton Wendigen, #144 Tessa Kat, #148 Throckmorton, #153 Left and leaving, #163 Husky, #168 NoToryUs, #188 Troz Forster, #192 Shooting Star, #210 National Unity, #223 Mango, #225 Drew, #230 Purity Passion Revelry
The TTC has a one year pilot program to put bike racks on buses.
I saw a bunch of Belkin Cable Ties, F8B024 being sold off at CPUsed, and they look like they’d make great parking brakes for when you’re taking your bike on the subway. Sure enough, they fit every brake lever we have.
No more gorilla grips when taking a bike on the subway!
uh oh, indeed. On Sunday, I bought that beautiful Dawes Super Galaxy that they had in Cyclemania on the Danforth. Reynolds 531 ST frame, SunTour Cyclone M II gears, Maillard hubs, and a Brooks saddle. I’m guessing it’s a 1984 model from the date on the gears.
Its sky-blue “Handbuilt in England” frame is a little dusty with age, but it’s still got the E. Chamberlaine & Son dealer decals on it (and they’re still at 77 Old Kent Rd, too). When I was a bike-obsessed 14 year old, I so wanted a Dawes Super Galaxy, after reading too many articles in Bicycle (long gone, sadly missed; some images from it here) magazine.
It rides like a dream. If the legendary Reynolds 531 Super Touring frame was always reviewed as being a little less lively than regular 531, it must’ve been a bronco. It’s a sparkling ride, with the beautifully thin forks taking up a lot of the vibration. I took it out for a spin down to the lake this evening. I’m usually too pooped to go anywhere after work, but not when I’ve got this joyful vehicle to ride …
(I nicked this image from Cycle Heaven‘s website, so I should probably give them credit.)
See, lookit — a bicycle that meets all the requirements of being sensible, without being dull. This is from Gazelle, one of the Netherlands’ oldest manufacturers.
I was in Curbside on Bloor West today. They have nifty-keen vehicles like Bromptons, Pashley roadsters (like the Tube Rider, sigh), German roadsters from Hawk Classic, and some frankly over-designed things from Biomega. But what really made me happy is that they’re about to start importing Batavus roadsters from the Netherlands. Yay! Sensible bicycles!!
Not having the readies to buy a bicycle, I made do with walking out with a Sigg; Europe’s equivalent of the ubiquitous Nalgene.
I really think that Moulton have lost all sense of proportion. They’ve released a limited edition AM2 (with two-speed coaster brake hub) for a mere £2100 — that’s nearly $4700! Who needs a titanium-railed saddle on a roadster bike?