[Bigwheel]

and a mtn. dwelling bike junkies mind turns towards bicycles.

While assessing the pile today and getting my mtb ready for a desert trip,
I ran across a few projects that needed tending to. Imagine that. One is a
Triumph 28" bike that I have had kicking around for the last 20 years
after someone ditched it at my bikeshop.

Going to make an English Racer out of it I think. Was always going to
Scorch it, but I have a decent 3 spd hub laced to a 700c rim w/ a coaster
brake so I may go that route because getting any type of a front brake on
it is going to be a pain. The bb is a weird size that I am going to have
to do some messing with to get a decent bb and crankset on there also.
But the front fork fits a "tire" just fine so it will be the big rubber
on both ends. At this time the front dropouts have flats on the ends that
prevent a wheel from going in all the way, but it is close enough to see
that it will work. Also I am going to bob the rear fender so that the
wheel goes in and out without having to mess with fender stays.

While I was fooling around with that bike I found a set of black alloy
handlebars almost just like them but a little longer in a bunch with the
rear rack and fenders for my townie. A little more scrounging and I came
up with a 1" stem and solved the problem of the too short top tube and
really too short stem and upright bars that were on it. Much more
comfortable now being able to stretch out a bit.The only place to ride here for awhile longer is on the roads anyway so this rig is plenty sporty for that.

 

[wooglin]

I'm not sure what to make of that bottom bike. Is it bouncy? Looks like one trip off a curb would bend it.

 

[Bigwheel]

Maybe it's bedtime....

Here is a pic of the shock and pivot. Pretty simple setup and the bike can be real bouncy if you let the shock work too much. I have it set in the middle setting with more than a few turns on the pre-load and you can just barely get it to move pushing hard on the saddle. I remember getting to this setup by riding it, then cranking it some more, until I felt it was right for me. The pivot is pretty strong and there is not alot of bb sway either.

I have ridden this bike down stairs and on the lower loop a bunch of times and it is actually pretty strong and a terror on any bikepath. The hardest part about riding it is the rear brake, get on a bike with a coaster brake sometime and you will see what I mean.