bulldog1935
Cruisin' on my Bluebird
I've had an upright in my mind for awhile, and when a late 90s Viner Italian cross frame came up on ebay in my size, decided to spring for it and finagled an offer with the seller - actually 3 offers - he finally accepted the third offer.
Did my homework, made a list of parts, sourced best prices from Japan to UK and in between, sold a few fly rods and a reel.
Decided on Aherne 615mm MAP bars, which are modeled on the Jones H bars and have a very natural hand position.
With measurements from my other bikes and a scaled photo of the bar went with 80mm Technomic stem, placing the ends of the bars about an inch behind the stem. Wanted a modern compact double with gearing that would let me climb the steep hills back home after a long ride - Microshift 9-speed thumb shifters - this is my first ever index-shift bike, though had great luck with Microshift bar ends on a Team Fuji my daughter built summer before last.
Paul touring canti brakes - Andy at Modern Bike has the deal on Paul components. Velomine had an inexpensive tubular wheelset with a great price, so I decided to at least begin with tubies and sprung for good tires - Challenge Chicane - these will will run down to 23 psi on the soft stuff, are rated for 90 psi, but no reason to ever run them above 60 psi.
The final on my drivetrain is Sugino XD2 42/25T rings with guard, and Miche 12-29 9-sp custom cassette. Microshift R10 RD and Ultegra CX70 FD (this came from UK at half of US price); SKF BB 111mm Italian with JIS tapers.
Gearing is 23 inches to 90 inches in 4-7-inch steps.
Done - quick but reliable steering, the bike is light and responsive, the tires are fast, cozy and quiet
In order to get the pedal placement correct for upright riding position, had to go with a max offset seatpost, Nitto S84, but got this from Japan for 40% of the US selling price.
Also, if anybody wants a great bag buy, the Ostrich 731 7-liter bag from Alex Cycles in Japan is $67 including the 4-day express mail (selling price for this bag in the US is $140 plus shipping).
There are great buys in Japan right now because of a weak JY (which even makes the shipping a good buy).
The Nitto wire cage there is also half of the US price.
A few details - cork grips with 7 coats spar varnish and twine wrap spacers with 2 coats shellac
Randi Jo bartender bag - the most useful bag ever
Did my homework, made a list of parts, sourced best prices from Japan to UK and in between, sold a few fly rods and a reel.
Decided on Aherne 615mm MAP bars, which are modeled on the Jones H bars and have a very natural hand position.
With measurements from my other bikes and a scaled photo of the bar went with 80mm Technomic stem, placing the ends of the bars about an inch behind the stem. Wanted a modern compact double with gearing that would let me climb the steep hills back home after a long ride - Microshift 9-speed thumb shifters - this is my first ever index-shift bike, though had great luck with Microshift bar ends on a Team Fuji my daughter built summer before last.
Paul touring canti brakes - Andy at Modern Bike has the deal on Paul components. Velomine had an inexpensive tubular wheelset with a great price, so I decided to at least begin with tubies and sprung for good tires - Challenge Chicane - these will will run down to 23 psi on the soft stuff, are rated for 90 psi, but no reason to ever run them above 60 psi.
The final on my drivetrain is Sugino XD2 42/25T rings with guard, and Miche 12-29 9-sp custom cassette. Microshift R10 RD and Ultegra CX70 FD (this came from UK at half of US price); SKF BB 111mm Italian with JIS tapers.
Gearing is 23 inches to 90 inches in 4-7-inch steps.
Done - quick but reliable steering, the bike is light and responsive, the tires are fast, cozy and quiet
In order to get the pedal placement correct for upright riding position, had to go with a max offset seatpost, Nitto S84, but got this from Japan for 40% of the US selling price.
Also, if anybody wants a great bag buy, the Ostrich 731 7-liter bag from Alex Cycles in Japan is $67 including the 4-day express mail (selling price for this bag in the US is $140 plus shipping).
There are great buys in Japan right now because of a weak JY (which even makes the shipping a good buy).
The Nitto wire cage there is also half of the US price.
A few details - cork grips with 7 coats spar varnish and twine wrap spacers with 2 coats shellac
Randi Jo bartender bag - the most useful bag ever
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