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It is amazing how even the “simple things” like installing a basket can become a challenge with little bikes:
You do not really want to see how bad it was if I used the front struts from the factory. The factory mounting straps are obviously going to take a bit of work to fit appropriately.
My wife’s bike is almost off to its new home now that she has fallen for the Sequoia. This bike has served her well and has many miles left in her. Originally a 700c bike that would barely fit 26mm tires, the conversion to 650b was transformational. It now fits 37mm panaracers with room for 45mm fenders. This being the smallest size it also sports a low trail front end geometry and handles like a dream with the load up front.
Last night I put 4 coats of garnet shellac on the yellow tape grips and the results are even better than I had expected. This weekend I will be running the new chain, cables and a few finishing touches.
Projects like this really are a lot of fun. A full write-up on the final build is soon to come.
Soliciting reader opinions on the pedal color, are the gold pedals too much or do they mesh well with the shades of brown throughout the bike? I like them, but am on the fence with a switch out to silver. Let me know what you think.
Signing off to get ready for our weekend in carmegedon as we head south into L.A. for our friends wedding. Have fun and get outside!!
As the next chapter in my life seems to be organically developing there has been a few bikes passing through my work stand. The common theme is small bikes for ladies that do not have wacked out geometry angles, more on this later (just re-read that, it is the angles on the bikes, not the ladies). My wife is 5’3″ and in the quest for champagne on a beer budget I have managed to keep a list of the bikes from the past that can be refurbished to suit. The latest bike in the stand is a near NOS 91 Bridgestone RB-T size 50cm, this one is for a friend:
All this one still needs is a touch-up on the wheels and it is ready to go. That, and I may switch out the tires to some wider Pasela rubber. unfortunately the original Avocet tires were not serviceable. Yes, I know the garage is a mess, as always a work in progress.
On other notes, I am hoping to pull this ride off this weekend, time and heat wave conditions will tell the tale. Either way there should be some good pictures next week
Have a fun and safe holiday weekend. Play outside and enjoy your family!
So we are out on a family ride yesterday and my wife is telling me how much she loves the cork grips and the Sequoia in general, but why are the shifters still on the down tube? It is realy fun being able to build bikes up and share the stoke. I remember having the conversation on this, none the less I was off to the parts bin with a score had been saving for just such a build…
The barcon shifter orientation part of my brain thought these would work well this way. The reality is that they are much better flipper over with the Suntour logo facing down they way they were meant to face on a flat bar.
The drop bars were not the setup of choice for my wife. I figured that was going to be the case and had a set of Nitto Albatross bars and NOS Specialized dirt drop stem on hand and ready to go. The grips and levers took a bit of time to get together, but the finished product looks pretty darn good in my opinion.
The only other thing swapped out so far was the pedals, as with the drops, clips and straps are not here thing at the moment. The luggage is in the design phases and fenders may show up before the next winter rains. I entertained the idea of a 650b conversion, not much to gain for her so we are going to hold off.
This is a fantastic bike, I wish you could still walk into a shop and buy something like this off of the rack for a reasonable price.