Bicycles

CannondaleBehold, the Rando-dale. This is an early-to-mid 1990s frame, with mostly original components (mid-level Shimano MTB gruppo). I finally manage to find a used Selle Turbo saddle and, yes, it is white, but it is also quite comfy, and works well with the Carradice saddlebag. The bars are currently flipped True North clones. I can’t say I’m terribly chucked with them. They are fine for general cruising, but when climbing out of the saddle, my hands feel too far back. Ideally, I would swap them out for the moustache bars sitting on my workbench, but the GripShifters won’t fit. I’ve pondering the switch to friction shifter, which would allow me to get a set of cheap thumbies from Kraynick’s, but I haven’t gotten around to the switch. I probably wouldn’t mind a sweeping MTB riser bar, but I kinda like the look of something curvy on a bike with 26 inch wheels. It is worth mentioning I purchased the bike for $250. Complete. I’ve put maybe $50 into it (road tires and mudguards, primarily), and it runs quite well. The previous owner thought the headset bearings were done, but upon further review, he simply had the cups cranked down too tight. The steal of the year.

Jen's Ride And this is Jen’s bike. We found the Specialized Langster frame and fork on eBay, and we build up the wheels around a set of Formula hubs laced to Sun CR-18 rims. The bike is silly light, even with the rear rack and lights, thanks the frame and fork. The design of this bike has confounded me. The frame has braze-ons for a rack and mudguards, yet there is barely enough clearance for a set 28mm wide Paselas. And don’t get me started on the racing fork. The bike is great, don’t get me wrong, but it could have been a much more utilitarian machine with a bit more clearance.