Remember...?

... that rose colored Bridgestone mixte I posted about some time ago here?

Well, just a bit of an update, as I've changed a few things out on the bike.  Some of the changes are more technical, such as reducing the size of the chainrings, giving a lower and more useful gear range on the bike. Back when the bike was built, a 14 tooth small sprocket was the norm on the rear, with a 28 tooth large sprocket, so the 40/52 combination on the front made some sense. These days however, with sprocket clusters more typically having 13, 12, or even 11 teeth as the smallest sprocket. Paired with a 52 tooth big chainring that gives you a higher top gear than most mere mortals need, at about 108 gear inches for a 52x13 combination, even higher for the 12 or 13. The new arrangement has 36 and 48 teeth in the front, 13 - 30 in the back, which gives a rather nice range of about 32 to 100 gear inches. If you're old enough to remember when "10 - speeds" were the hot new thing, the top end is about what we had back then and the low is a bit lower, or easier on hills. I think that will work out well for this bike.

On the less techncal side, I've installed a shiny new set of Velo Orange Fluted Fenders, a Velo Orange Constructeur rear rack and a Portland Design Works Fenderbot tail light, bolted to the rear fender. One of the nice things about metal fenders (as opposed to the plastic ones the bike previously had, from SKS) is that they are strong and rigid enough to mount lights to, and can work in concert with a rack like the Constructeur rack to make a solid "system" of rack and fenders.  They look sharp too!

Remaining to be done on the Bridgestone? Cork grips are next, and after that, I don't know. We'll keep you posted.

Great 4th of July Ride!

It was nothing spectacular, and it almost didn't come off at all, but my girlfriend and I had a great ride on the 4th. She lives over in suburban Maryland, so we took a route down through Rock Creek Park into the city, to Georgetown, and came back via the Capital Crescent and Georgetown Branch trails, passing back through Rock Creek Park near the end.

The weather wasn't terribly inspirational... grey overcast and a hefty amount of moisture in the air. We ultimately decided to get out on our bikes and do the "Georgetown Loop" as we call it. And we were both really glad we did. A very nice ride, not as hot as we'd feared, and the trails and roads weren't terribly crowded.

Unicyclist in parade

An interesting twist at the start... we ended up at the tail end of Takoma Park's 4th of July parade. We didn't really see much... just a group that to be centered around the "9/11 Truth" movement (we'll leave that discussion for some other forum). The highlight of that particular demonstration was the rather skilled unicycle rider who did tricks while the parade went by.

Downed trees on Capital Crescent trail

Also, during the ride we encountered the after-effects of a recent thunderstorm. The Capital Crescent trail (and C&O Canal, which parallels the CC for a ways) was blocked by a number of fallen trees across the path. They were all passable, but required lifting our bikes over the fallen trees, and diverting to the Canal for a short stretch. Apparently it's even worse further west along the canal, with a lot of fallen trees blocking the path near White's Ferry. Even more upsetting, there was apparently a fatality from a falling tree up in that area on Sunday!

But we didn't know any of that as we rode along, and despite the minor obstacle course, were back on our bikes and rolling along again pretty quickly.

Our Bridgestone bikes, parked at a rest stop in Bethesda, MD

Genderalizations

Another morning ride on the W&OD this morning. And today was even more of the "Three Hs - Hazy, Hot, and Humid! You could feel and see it in the air, as the photo shows. As for my usual "critter report", today I saw both a pretty large black rat snake and a garter snake crossing the trail. Alas, both were far too quick to get a picture. Aside from that, a few birds and a chipmunk or two.

What set this morning apart was when I suddenly heard voices behind me... women's voices... a number of them, approaching. I sound found myself being passed by a group of 8 - 10 women on bikes, which isn't that common an event on the trail. I don't mean it's unusual for me to be passed by female cyclists... honestly, I'm not that fast a rider, so lots of folks pass me. What was unusual was seeing this large a group of women together on bikes.

And what made it all the more interesting was when they settled into a pace that neatly matched my own, so I could sit at the back of the group and observe. What I saw fascinated me. Compared to a similar group of men, these women were actually TALKING to one another as they rode. And enjoying each others' company! Now, I'm not saying men never talk while riding, and never enjoy riding together... but I'm hard pressed to say I can ever recall seeing a group of more than three men on bikes having much social interaction among themselves.

And it's not that these women were just dawdling along, chatting away. They were riding at a good, steady clip, and all seemed to be fit and for the most part, experienced riders. It's just that they included actual conversation into their ride in a way I rarely see in groups of male riders. I don't know if it's simply that men aren't as talkative in general, or that male riders are more "serious" (I mean in terms of image, not substance) and competitive when riding, or what it is, but it does seem there's a general difference.

Sadly, one other thing I realized set this group of women apart from the male riders, both solo and in groups, that pass me on the trail. As this group passed me this morning, nearly each and every one of them warned me politely and clearly of their approach. More often than not, the more "serious" male cyclists simply blow by without a word, heads down, as if I weren't there.

I know I'm painting with a bit of a broad brush here, but I don't think I'm totally off the mark. What do you folks think?

Hot this morning!

So, I went out for a ride this morning about 8am, and it was already really warm... over 80 degrees, and growing warmer by the minute it seemed.


The bike today was my 1992 Bridgestone RB-2. It's the "raciest" bike I have, in the modern sense. It's got a long top tube and the stem has a long "reach" as well, so it stretches me out more than most of my bikes, as well as skinny, "fast" tires.






Ironically, today I chose to take a side trip on the bridle trail that parallels the bike path! I'd reached my turn-around point, and the simplest way to turn back was to use the bridle path to reverse direction. Once I had done that, I figured what the heck, I'd stick to it a ways. The bike handled it perfectly fine... I wouldn't pick it out for a day of dirt riding, but with a little care and attention, it zipped right along in the dirt.

Which gave me a chance to see something I'd not seen along the trail before. There's an auto repair shop near the trail that has set up a table and chairs beside the trail, as well as a couple of bird feeders and a bird house. I imagine the staff must enjoy lunch outside, and appreciate the birds that visit the feeders. It's nice to see something like that.






And once again, I saw a box turtle along the trail. I first saw him on the way out, on the path itself, slowly making his way across from the far side.  When I was on my return trip, he was back at the edge of the path, as if he'd been picked up and put back where he'd started. Yet he was still slowly making his way toward the other side. I figured if he was so set on getting across, I'd give him a hand, so I picked him up and place him in the grass on the other side.







And finally, here's a cool shot I got of a bumblebee just as he was taking off from a flower.

All in all, another nice ride, despite the heat.

A few more pics can be seen here:  W&OD, June 8, 2011

Making Your Bike YOURS Pt 3 (Mixte Makeover)

It's been a while since I've visited the topic of customizing your bike to suit you, but here's a project I've been involved with for a while that I just had to write about.

Back in the fall, thanks to this blog, I was contacted by a woman looking for a "mixte" style bicycle. Historically, a mixte was intended as a sort of "unisex" frame that would work for either men or women. The traditional design uses two thin tubes angling from the top of the head tube (where the steering bearings are) all the way to the rear dropouts which hold the rear axle. As I recall, the French first popularized the design, but just about every maker of bikes in the days of the old "ten speed" made some variation on the mixte concept. I've always really admired the design, and heck, here was a person looking for a classic steel bike, so I jumped at the chance to help.

Anyway, in short order, through luck and the help of a friend of mine who apparently spends entirely too much time looking at Craig's List, a mixte was found - a very nice 1986 Bridgestone 300, in a pretty rose color. Then the fun began. The owner brought the bike in for me to look at and assess, and give her some suggestions on fitting and accessorizing. Thus began a process that over the next few months transformed the bike into just the right bike for her... or at least we're well on the way to that!





The first order of business after determining that the bike was in fine mechanical shape, was to try to set the bike up to fit comfortably. In the simplest sense, that wasn't so hard... but "dialing in" the rider's position took a fair amount of time and several different attempts with handlebars. However, that's just the sort of project I enjoy, so it worked out fine, and the owner and I have become friends over the course of this project as well.



Originally, the bike came with what used to be known as "French style" handlebars, shown in the photo to the right, and in the inset above on the catalog page. It's hard to tell without the bike as a frame of reference (I didn't think to snap a photo before taking them off, dang it!), but they are a narrow, upright style of bar, which sweep forward from the stem, then angle slightly back to the grips. The rider's comments were that they felt narrow and low and too close in. Or at least, that was my interpretation. Sometimes it feels like you're speaking different languages while trying to sort out bike fit and feel!



So the first thing we tried was a set of "trekking" or "butterfly" bars. These are a design that you don't see much in the US yet, but they are apparently popular in Europe, for touring as well as commuting. They give you multiple positions for your hands, like traditional road "drop" bars, but tend to put in you a more upright and comfortable position. You can see them wrapped in natural cork tape here on the bike... which in itself led to a pursuit of the perfect color of bar tape for a while! Some mechanics might have found that silly, but having agonized myself over such things, I understood. In this case, there was much anguish over the right color to both complement the honey Brooks saddle (um, yes, another sign of my influence... and no, I don't get a kickback from Brooks!), as well as the rose color of the bike itself. The owner went through a seemingly endless array of options, including several shades of tape (tan, maroon, green...) and even a lovely brown leather sewn-on wrap. Ironically, all the agony over bar wrap ultimately proved irrelevant, as you'll soon see.

Anyway, after riding with these bars for a while, the verdict was that while they were pretty comfortable and versatile, it wasn't a perfect fit, and they just "didn't look right" on the classic steel bike. There's always a balance to be found between form and function in most things, and bikes are no exception. Another person might have decided otherwise, but the owner really wanted a bar more in keeping with the aesthetics of the bike, while offering a comfortable riding position. She's a graphic designer, so the visual makes a big difference, and from my years of working with scenic designers, I knew not to argue.



Next up, we tried Nitto "moustache" bars, a personal favorite of mine. I like the look and feel of them, and find them really nice for a general purpose, knocking around kind of bike. Not as racy as drop bars, but more hand positions than a straight bar. And they look more in keeping with an older bike, I think. The problem here was they just never really felt comfortable for the rider, despite tweaking the position several times both vertically and horizontally. Honestly, I wasn't that suprised, as I know that moustache bars just don't work for some folk, particularly women. There's just something about the position they put you in that just doesn't agree with some. I should note, by the way, that here is where an "adjustable" stem comes in handy. Unlike more traditional rigid stems, this type is articulated such that you can adjust the angle and thus the reach as well as the height. Not the prettiest stems, but very practical when working out fit issues.



Finally, or at least to date (stay posted!), what we settled on is a traditional "North Road" style of bar, similar to what millions of classic old British three speeds used. In this case, it's a very nice, simple, affordable bar from Wald, one of the few US makers of bike parts that has been around a long, long time. They've been making baskets, bars, stems and other bits and pieces in Kentucky for ages now. And one ride with their model 8095 "touring" bar convinced the owner that these were the best choice so far. Pal Beth, of the bikelovejones blog, will appreciate this, as they are a favorite bar of hers. A little tweaking here and there, and it seems we've hit upon a winner. You can see the bike here in the penultimate setup, with the adjustable stem and original brake levers.

Speaking of brake levers, in an earlier experiment, I let my friend try out my Dahon Hon Solo, which has moustache bars and "reverse" brake levers, which plug into the end of the bars and point forward. She liked those right away, so along with selecting a more attractive, rigid stem based on the setup we had settled on with the adjustable, they completed the package. Well, completed it as far as riding position goes...

You see, there's more to making a bike "yours" than simply position. Based on some of my suggestions, this mixte is taking shape in other ways as well. You have probably noticed by now that in the later photos the bike now sports several features that clearly show my influence... notably the Brooks saddle, Carradice Pendle bag, and SKS fenders. What can I say? I know what I like, what works for me, and I will steer folks that way if I think it's the best choice for them. There are plenty of people that have come to me to ask my advice that I would never dream of putting on a Brooks or suggesting a Carradice, but when someone notices what I have done with my bikes, and asks about it, I know they are open to the idea. A starting point on this whole project was the owner taking a look at my bikes and getting a feel for the style I prefer, and she seemed to really "get" it. And so far, the saddle, bag, and fenders all seem to be working for her. Although she has been eyeing some Velo Orange fenders lately...

But there's more to be done still... with a desire to use the bike for transportation... shopping, errands, commuting... the question of luggage is still being explored. The Pendle bag is a great bag for a recreational day ride, with room for a lunch, patch kit, tools, and a few extra bits of clothes... but it's not really enough to tote groceries home, or a change of clothes for work. For that we're going to be looking into a rack and some bags of some sort, perhaps "grocery panniers" a simplified design of bag that hangs on either side of a rear rack. Or maybe soemthing in a stylish basket? A set of Basil bags, in their fun colors and designs? Hmmmm.... So many choices, so many fun options!

Stay tuned for future developments, and other "makeover" projects as they come along.

There she is, in all her glory!



A few more photos can be seen at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/43828356@N00/sets/72157618985717292/

Re-Visiting My "New" Bridgestone RB-T

I have to say, after waiting so long to put this bike together, I feel a little silly, as it has fast become one of my favorite bikes to ride! It's just a good balance of light and rugged, able to zip along on pavement quickly and handle mild dirt trails and such with aplomb. And it looks sharp too. When I first received it, I thought it might end up being a "beater"... a visually battered bike that's used for utilitarian purposes, in all weather, and locked up places and such, to spare one's "better" bikes. Much to my surprise, most of the issue was just grime, and some time and care with simple green and rags, along with a little polish, left me a bike that looks as good as it rides. For the last two months, it's gotten more use than any of my other bikes, even the others that got built up around the same time.

So what sets it apart? Well, the moustache bars are fun for a mixed use bike, first of all... great for commuting, very practical for light trail riding, and just fine on the road too. The basic design of the bike puts it somewhere around the "sport tourer" category, much like my beloved Trek 414... not perfectly suited for fully loaded, self supported touring, and not as light and nimble as a racing bike, but a good in between that lends itself to a lot of the kind of riding I do. The thing that differentiates it from the Trek, more than anything else, is the cantilever brakes. This style of brake gives you more room for bigger tires and fenders, and provides really nice stopping power and modulation in all conditions. Not that the Trek is a problem in either area, it's just that the RB-T has a little more versatility as a result.

For previous posts on this bike, see:

http://spokesofawheel.blogspot.com/2008/11/first-real-ride-on-rb-t.html
http://spokesofawheel.blogspot.com/2008/11/my-new-bridgestone-rb-t.html

"Family" Portrait

Well, after my latest burst of activity in building up "project" bikes that have been gathering dust, I've now got 3 more bikes up and running, which is a good thing. Part of what got me going on this flurry of activity was a customer bringing in his nice old Bridgestone road bike, either an RB-1 or -2, I don't recall which just now. It reminded me that I had several Bridgestones I needed to get rolling myself, so I dove in, and got all three put together. Now that my little "flotilla" of Bridgestones is complete, I figured I'd shoot a few photos of the set. A very bike-geeky thing to do, I know. But I suspect there are folks out there who will enjoy this.



In this view, the bike closest to the camera is the latest one completed, a 1992 RB-2. The next in line is the 1994 RB-T, which I think has my favorite Bridgestone graphics, with the oval around the "RB-T" on the seat tube and a real metal head badge. Behind that bike is my XO-2, the closest to "all original" of the bunch, with only minor modifications. The "splash" bar wrap is kinda weird, but it was either that or white or black. The XO series is arguably the weirdest and most collectible of the Bridgestones, as they reflect Grant Peterson's unique interpretation of the "hybrid" idea.




Now, here up front you see my lone mountain bike, a 1987 MB-1. I'm not by any means a "serious" mountain biker... I tend to take it easy on trails, just noodling along, generally with a grin on my face. And the MB-1, with no suspension and simple, solid components and good geometry, suits me just fine. I might at some point try putting an Allsop Softride stem I have on it, to give a little bit of cushion to the bars. But honestly, I don't know that I need it for the limited trail riding I anticpate doing on this bike right now. Back when I lived in Flagstaff, I might have felt differently, but I was younger and the trails were more plentiful and accesible.


A view from behind of the group, showing the different handlebar styles.... left to right, MB-1 with MTB flat bars, XO-2 "dirt drop" bars, RB-T "moustache" bars, and RB-2 with classic road drop bars. The XO bars are original, but oddly enough are also what the MB-1 had when new. I've never ridden a mountain bike with drop bars, so I have no idea how I'd like that. Maybe I'll try one day. The RB-T would have originally had standard drop bars, but I wanted another bike with moustache bars, and from what I had heard about the RB-T's handling, it seemed like a good choice. I'm loving it so far. And the standard, classic Nitto drop bars on the RB-2 are an old favorite.

This view and the first photo give a pretty good idea of the different intended use of each bike as well. Notice the tire sizes on the bikes... skinny road tires on the RB-2, wider road on the RB-T, 26" medium width tires on the XO-2, and 26" knobbies on the MB-1. In terms of versatility, the middle two win out, but the extrems of the MB-1 and RB-2 are a lot of fun for the right conditions.

I had a lot of fun building the bikes up, and now I'm having even more fun riding them. I can't really pick a favorite... they each have their strengths, and each has a distinct ride from the others. Variety, is after all, the spice of life.

Yet Another Bridgestone!

Well, here's another bike I've built up from a frame that was gathering dust and parts that were doing the same! And yes, it's another Bridgestone! This one is an RB-2, from 1992, the second from the top-of-the-line road model from them. None of the parts are what the bike originally would have had, but I wasn't trying for a "correct" restoration, but rather wanted a light, zippy road bike with parts I had on hand. Cranks are an older Shimano XT, set up as a double chain ring instead of a triple. Derailleurs are older Shimano Ultegra, and shifters are the Shimano barcons so many of my bikes seem to have these days. Brakes are a pair of short reach Royal Gran Compes from sometime in the 80s, I think, with lovely script lettering on them. Bars and stem are Nitto, again a personal favorite. Right now the saddle is the original Avocet Racing saddle, but you guessed it, I'll probably put a Brooks on there soon.

I've only had a chance to take a short spin around the parking lot, but it feels good so far. The top tube is a little longer than a lot of my bikes, as is the stem, so we'll see how I like a more stretched out position. Part of the point of this build was to try that out, so this should be interesting to see.

Oh, and I predict the white bar tape will be swapped for something darker, like, say, black, before too long. But gosh it looks pretty with the white!

Another Bridgestone Hits the Road (and Trail)

Well, I seem to be in the midst of some sort of surge of activity on getting some of my "project" bikes up and rolling. And it seems to be my Bridgestones that are the beneficiaries of this burst of productivity. The latest to get running is my 1987 MB-1, one of their mountain bikes. There's a little bit of history about these late-80s MB-series bikes... according to some, they were the first production bikes to introduce shorter chainstays and steeper seat and head tube angles to mountain bike design. Whether or not this is true, they were certainly among the first, and everyone else quickly followed suit. The advantages to the "new" geometry are better traction on the back wheel, and more nimble handling around obstacles. It certainly makes the bike more agile than my old '85 Schwinn Cimarron, which had really long chainstays and a really stretched out wheelbase. It was comfy as all get out, but just didn't climb or maneuver that well.

The MB-1, on the other hand, seems pretty quick and responsive. Now, I'm not a "serious mountainbiker" (actually, I try really hard to not be a "serious" cyclist of any sort... I like to smile and laugh too much), so I'm no expert. Really hardcore MTBers would probably think this bike is a dinosaur, or at least a thing of the past. Why? Well, there's no suspension, aside from the cushioning provided by the tires. These days, purely rigid mountainbikes are an oddity at best. But I'm simply interested in having some casual fun off road, nothing too hairy. I used to have a mtb in Flagstaff that was a lot of fun to ride on the trails out there, just exploring and enjoying the scenery. I expect this one will be much the same. If I ever do find myself craving greater "performance", there are plenty of options, but I suspect this is all the mountainbike I need for the forseeable future.

Riding it last night and today reminded me of how much fun my first MTB was, out in Flag. The first rides I took on that bike brought back memories of when I was a kid, tearing around dirt trails on my old single speed British bike. There's just something refreshing about a roll through the trees and leaves on a comfy, nimble bike.

It's sort of a mutt, equipment-wise... a few of the parts are original, like the wheels and the derailleurs and I think the stem. But the rest... brakes, crankset, etc, are not. Most notable are the handlebars... originally, this year's MB-1 had drop handlebars, similar to a road bike (and just like my XO-2). That apparently didn't catch on with the masses, because it's the only year Bridgestone set it up that way. I've never tried drops on an mtb, but I'm not in any hurry to swap things out here. The straight bars seem just fine, for now.

Anyway, it's nice to have a mountain bike in the stable again... variety is, as they say, the spice of life!

First Real Ride on RB-T

Well, today was a day off for me, so after doing a bunch of stuff around the house (which included writing the previous blog posting... please check it out), I headed out for the first "real" ride on my new-to-me Bridgestone RB-T.

The observant among you will no doubt say "wait a minute, that photo of the bike looks like it was taken at the same time as the ones from the earlier post". And you'd be right. But I wanted a picture of the bike in here too.

Anyway, it was a lovely ride. I went out on the local rail-trail, the Washington and Old Dominion, and it was a beautiful, if somewhat chilly day. Mostly blue sky, with some clouds, and a bit of a breeze, but nothing too challenging. And I managed to dress reasonably well for the ride, so that I was comfortable for the whole trip. All told, I did about 25 miles, and thoroughly enjoyed both the day and the bike. I had a pretty good idea, based on my short hops around town, that the bike was going to be a fun one, but it was even better than I expected. It feels light and nimble, yet not at all twitchy. And the moustache bars with stoker levers were a winner. Not a huge surprise, given that I had had the same set up on my old Fuji Allegro, but one never knows for sure with these things until you try it. I'm pleased to report that it works beautifully. Plenty of hand positions for variety, from upright and relaxed to low and stretched out, and several options in between.




And it was a lovely day out, all in all. The trees have mostly lost their leaves, so we are settling into the bare, grey look of mid-Atlantic winter now. Still pretty, especially when you see bare branches against clear blue sky, as in the photo to the right.






There are still some small, dramatic bits of color as well, such as whatever this plant is against the background of woods and stream. This is overlooking Broad Run, near Sterling, VA.








It seems every year there's less and less of a "wild" feel on and near the trail... so much development has happened in this area, even in just the five years I've been living here. And it doesn't help that the power company keeps the edges of the trail pretty clear for their lines. I understand their concerns, but I liked it better when we had more of a canopy on the trail. Ah well, it could be worse. Even with these complaints, I have a beautiful ride, and it felt good to be out in the air.

My "New" Bridgestone RB-T

Another "project bike" hits the road finally!

I picked up this frameset longer ago than I care to admit, and it's been hanging in the attic for too long. It came my way when I casually mentioned on the Bridgestone Owner's Bunch internet list that I would someday like to own an RB-T, if I could find one in my size. Next thing I know, I have a guy emailing me and telling me he's got one he'd like to sell. That's actually the same way I got my Bridgestone XO-2. The BOB list is an amazing bunch of bike nuts.

The RB-T was a early 90s bike, Bridgestone's version of a light touring bike. Not a full on "load up all your camping gear and strike out across the US" bike like my Miyata 1000. Sure, you could use it that way, but it's not as "hardcore loaded touring" as that. Bridgestone described it in their 1994 catalog, which you can find here:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/bridgestone/1994/pages/47.htm

Since I got it as just a frameset, none of the parts are as described in the catalog. Rather, I put together a combination of parts I had on hand to create a bike I could use for commuting and casual fun rides on pavement as well as mild off road riding. Nothing too hard core... canal towpaths, dirt roads, that sort of thing.

To start with, I wanted to put moustache bars on the bike. I've had them on a couple of other bikes over the years, and in general have really liked them for the kind of riding I mentioned above. Also, based on past experience with an old Fuji road bike, I wanted to add "stoker" levers in addition to the real brake levers. You can see them in the pictures... they give you a nice comfy hand position near the stem, which is otherwise lacking on moustache bars,as well as giving you a large flat expanse to rest your palms across the stoker levers, bars, and brake levers. The rest of the parts are an eclectic mix of mostly 90s parts... Deore DX crankset, XT rear derailleur, RX100 front. The hubs are more modern Deores from the early 2000s, with Sun CR-18 rims, one of my favorites. Strong, reasonably light, and easy on the eyes. The saddle is my all time favorite, the Brooks B-17, with a Carradice Nelson saddlebag to carry my stuff. I also opted to put one of my Shimano dynohub-based wheels and a Busch & Mueller DLumotec Oval LED headlight, since I plan on using this bike for a lot of my commuting. Finally, like most of my bikes, this one is set up with fenders... SKS P45 Chromoplastics to be precise. I'm a big fan of fenders, as they vastly increase the usability of a bicycle. It's all about versatility.

Yes, some of you are no doubt saying "geez, can you say 'Grant Peterson acolyte'?" It's true, I've been a fan of Grant's views on bikes for a long while, and some of my choices were no doubt influenced by him. The moustache bars and saddlebag, definitely. But I've always been a fan of Brooks saddles, and have also always preferred classic, lugged steel bikes over aluminum, carbon, etc. And I've long leaned toward the practical niceties in bikes... such as fenders and having some way of carrying things, even if it's just a simple rear rack.



Anyway, I've only done a few short rides, mostly test rides and errands, but so far I really like the bike. It feels light and zippy, but I suspect it will handle moderate loads well too. And the frame has enough clearance for fairly big tires... I can get 32mm tires under fenders on there, which is plenty big for the riding I want to do on it. All in all, a great bike!

It's fun to have a stable of bikes!

It's true, I enjoy owning a stable of bikes. Or maybe it's a squadron.. or a fleet? How many
does it take before it's a fleet? Well, a squadron of aircraft is generally between a dozen and sixteen, so I guess I have a squadron.

Anyway, one reason it's so fun to own a bunch of bikes is that you can take turns riding them. How do I decide which bike to ride on a given day? Well, part of the decision is which ones are in good riding shape at the moment, of course. Beyond that, if it might rain, I pick one with fenders (more on fenders in the future), if I'm pretty darned sure it will stay dry, I pick one without. If it's snow and ice, it comes down to the Miyata with studded tires. If I know I'll be riding in the dark for a significant time, I might pick one with the dynamo hub front wheel. And then it boils down to mood... which one do I FEEL like riding?

Sometimes I'll go quite awhile without riding one particular bike, for some combination of the above reasons. Which then leads to a period of "rediscovery" with that bike when I do ride it again. That happened just recently with my 1993 Bridgestone XO-2, shown above. I hadn't ridden it in a few months, and just the other day pulled it out to ride to work. I was reminded of how it differs from my other bikes, and what I like about those differences. The single most striking difference is that while the frame is based on road bike geometry and tubing, it has 26" "mountain bike" size tires, rather than the more typical 700C size of road bike tires. This results in a really interesting ride. A smaller diameter wheel will accelerate and decelerate more quickly than a larger diameter wheel, all else being equal. Now, most mountain bikes use pretty big, chunky tires. My XO, on the other hand, has lighter, narrower tires (currently 1.75" Paselas, but I've often ridden it with 1.4" Tom Slicks) than a mountain bike, so they accelerate pretty quickly. Basically, I find that compared to my Miyata 1000, which has 700x37 touring tires (about as wide as the XO tires), the XO-2 accelerates more quickly, yet is just as comfortable on rough surfaces. Compared to my Trek 414, with 700x32 slicks, I'd say acceleration is nearly the same, but the XO absorbs bumps better.

All of that aside, it just feels different from any other bike I own, and I like it. I wouldn't go so far as to agree with the Bridgestone ads of its era, claiming the XO design could take the place of all your bikes, but it's a pretty great bike.

Now, for those of you that don't know, Bridgestone was and is a very big Japanese bike company. They left the US market after the 1994 model year, due to currency issues, according to Grant Peterson, who was their product manager and is now the head of Rivendell Bicycle Works (www.rivbike.com... worth a visit). They tended to "go their own way" on design in the late 80s/early 90s, and the XO series is the prime example. More or less the Bridgestone interpretation of a "hybrid" bike, they were markedly different from most other company's hybrids. For example, while most hybrids were designed around "mountain" geometry with "road" sized wheels, the XOs were mostly road geometry on mountain wheels... and used a variety of handlebar designs that were variously loved and loathed by those who tried them. Me, I'm a fan of the basic design as well as the bars.

If you want to know more about the XO-2 in general, check out:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/bridgestone/1993/pages/32.htm

And while you're there, look at the rest of that part of Sheldon Brown's website... you'll find scans of a bunch of Bridgestone catalogs and ads and such. Fun stuff. And Sheldon's whole site is absolutely amazing.