bicycle poseur

[opabinia]

I rescued an old, decrepit bicycle from someone's scrap heap last week. Raleigh 10-spd(?), downtube shifters, classic drop bars. The drivetrain is probably beyond hopeless, but the first thing I thought of when I saw the thing was "single speed." I'm not hardcore enough to go fixie*, though. Definitely freewheel. Maybe I'll swap the drops for bullhorns -- I like those.

I dunno. Just an idea. Duh, I should actually put some real miles on my first bike before I go tinkering with another one. But the design and implementation part is fun, too! If all the parts that go into the project bike are free, I can still justify it.

It would be incredibly smooth if I could get brifters to talk to my internally geared hub. Wonder if that's even remotely possible. I just don't know how these magical wire things work.



* How the hell do you turn without dying, heatray?

Comments

[talesinsdaughtr.livejournal.com]

My first bike was a giant Raleigh from the '70's. Don't ask me what posesses someone to give ten year old a bike that size... :)

[lepidosiren.livejournal.com]

A Lamarckian desire for tall offspring!

[adaptively.livejournal.com]

Turning on a fixie involves a simple shift of body weight. It's really something you get used to after a bit; I practically can't ride freewheel anymore, I'm so conditioned.

[bottleimp.livejournal.com]

Careful about pulling things out of trashpiles and fixing them. You may turn into me.

Feel free to unpack all that fixie and brifter and other gearhead lingo.

Lemme see...

[lepidosiren.livejournal.com]

"fixie" = fixed-gear bicycle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fixed-gear_bicycle) (The article contrasts fixies with freewheels.)

A "brifter" is "A combination brake/shift lever, such as a Campagnolo Ergo or Shimano S.T.I. unit." (http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_bo-z.html)

Having the brake and the shifter on the same lever (actuated in one direction for braking, and perpendicular to that for shifting) reduces clutter, improves ergonomics, and looks cool.

"Downtube shifters" are these old-fashioned-cool, paddle-shaped, highly user-unfriendly controls for changing gears (http://www.rivendellbicycles.com/images/catpics/17-101.jpg).

"Drop bars" = drop handlebars (http://www.bikepro.com/products/handlebars/hndlbars_jpg/o1o_cinelli_66_bar.jpg), the ones you always think of on older road bikes.

Bullhorn bars (http://www.businesscycles.com/graphics/nittobull18.jpg) offer fewer grip positions, but they're swank. :)