The Weapon of Weep

14 Monday Apr 2014

Tags

Brooks Pro, canti, compass, CX70, diamond bar wrap, dirt drop, harlequin wrap, Miyata, RidgeRunner Team, scrambler, thumbie, u-brake, v-brake

I plan to become a stronger rider. That much is for sure. One way to do it is stop eating big fat lunches with the workmates, and go out on my bus/carpool/motorcycle days to ride intervals. I don’t really have a great bike for that, however. Wait… Maybe I do? The old Miyata RidgeRunner Team that was my Bosco’d lazy bike might fit? I’ve always sort of loved this mutt – it has a great fast, low feel to it. Awesome Compass tires that feel like 26″ Hetres!

But, there is that high bottom bracket which was made to fly over fallen logs and various obstacles on the ’88 downhill circuit. That’s the achilles heel for this bike, I fear. Then there is the obnoxious U-Brake. Hmmm – I guess this may still work for a 1-hour lunch ride slash torture session. Better than sitting barless and sad in the basement bike heap. OK – first things first. Put on an old dirt drop cockpit setup I have laying around. I hope the reach isn’t too short.

Nice! Even has the diamond tape! Not really a match, but I’ll add a little blue to the drops. There. Much better… Now about shifters. Hmmm – I could do the stem setup like I had on the clown bike?

Nope. Too much hand movement – can’t deal with that while I’m cranking up a hill at top speed, right? How about something more ergo – perhaps thumbie style?

Awww yeah – that’s more like it… Now is this a scramblin’ interval machine or what?

This sucker looks fast just standing there. Like it’s going to jump the start and kill the field. Those lugs! Those fenders! That raked cockpit! Damnnnnn. Better put some clipless pedals on this beast. Need maximum torque. Let’s put a Ti Brooks Pro on there, too. Keep the weight and comfort down – no sense getting complacent and sitting down on the ride…

Hmmm – that old V-Brake’s gotta go. No problem solver rig this time. This bike was built in the golden era of cantis. Hey – I just got a pair of CX70s for the rando bike that I didn’t need (had centerpulls). How about we try one out on the front? Crap – gotta put a cable hanger on there somewhere… Hmmm… I know I have one lying around somewhere. There we go. Got it. OK – now comes the fun part! Get it to work. It’s raining tomorrow – perfect day for a transport stage. There’s life in this old steed yet!

RidgeRunner Porteur

14 Tuesday Jan 2014

Posted by Brian Hanson in Cycling

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

bike cockpits, commute, fog, Miyata, nitto, RidgeRunner Team, Seattle, Soma Grand Randonneur, Technomics

RidgeRunner Porteur, a set on Flickr.

I promised some photos of the re-cockpitted Miyata, and it was light out when I rode in today. It was a nice misty day by the time I got downtown. The fog started as I neared the Sound, and I was covered in wet mist by the time I got to work. Another beautiful Seattle commute!

Comments on the setup:

I love the way this bike rides, but it’s time to disassemble in anticipation of the forthcoming Soma Grand Randonneur.
I may keep the frame, but I have a feeling it won’t get ridden much.
The bottom bracket is too high, which pushes the seat too high – too much seatpost showing.
I would also put a longer stem on this beast – probably a Nitto Technomics 110.
The reach is a bit too short this way.
I also won’t do 175mm cranks again. After 170/171s it feels like I’m really moving the legs a lot!

Bike Work

12 Sunday Jan 2014

Posted by Brian Hanson in Cycling

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Tags

a. homer hilsen, bosco, Grand Randonneur, Miyata, porteur, rivendell, Shimano, Soma GR

I needed some “dad alone time” tonight, so I did a little work on the Miyata RidgeRunner Team. I like the Rivendell Bosco bars, and have used them for over a year, but it was time for a change. They are huge, and allow an amazing amount of variety, but they started to feel a bit clownish – perhaps it’s the tape job…

I put a VO Porteur setup back on this bike. This was a cockpit I had originally on the Hunqapillar, and liked it quite a bit. I also started out with porteurs on my Hilsen after a bad experience with some of the larger (46cm) Noodles. I rode that configuration for quite a while until I got a bit of hand numbness on a 100k in 2012.

The porteurs are narrow, and have enough reach back towards me that they offer a bit more upright position than drops. They also look cool :)

In doing this, I had to replace all the cables due to the length differences. I also went to bar end shifters (indexed Shimano 8-speed). They work fine on the 7-speed cassette, BTW. The bike feels smaller and narrower now. I don’t have the bolt upright feel that I had with the Boscos, but I’m saving them for someday when I need to relax a bit. With more randonneuring coming this year, I need to get used to the more aero position of the drops, and the porteurs aren’t too off.

I’ve thought about selling the Miyata with the forthcoming Soma GR I am planning to build up, but I’m not sure I can do it. I like the bike a lot, and have put a lot of time and effort into reviving it from the ’80’s MTB form I found it in. I will post some pics of the new config in the next week, but for now, here’s the old version.

New fenders, old bike

23 Monday Sep 2013

Posted by Brian Hanson in Cycling

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

B&M, B17, Bar Wrap, bosco, brooks, compass, hammered, harlequin, honjo, Luxos, Miyata, resurrectio, rivendell, sackville

I have an old mountain bike that has become one of my favorites. Not sure why, but I think it’s the pump peg. It’s always the simple things that give flame to our obsessions.

Old version

The Miyata has a few issues, but I’ve solved a lot of them in the past year, getting rid of the front rack and basket (too much trail to handle well), and adding the awesomely great Compass 1.75″ tires. They are like Hetres for a 26er, but with useful tread. I even harlequined the hell out of the boscos. OK – there are a few other things that need changing, like the crappy VO crankset, slippy MKS pedals, and plain old Brooks B17, and I may have the frame powder coated some day, but I’ll leave that for a while and keep enjoying the retro color scheme. I also needed lights for the perfectly good unused Shimano dyno hub. Enter the Luxos B:

New hotness

Another problem with said bike in that it had ugly black fenders. Those had to go even though they were perfectly adequate (well – not really – they were too short to keep the front splashes off my feet in really big puddles). I picked up some NOS 26″ hammered Honjos last year intending them for this bike but uninstalled due to time commitments.

Bad ass fenders

I took it for the inaugural ride today and had no rattles, log-jams, or other inconveniences. It is still living up to a favorite! This will be my winter ride. I may even use it on a brevet if the main bike is in repair…

Rear view

Oh yeah – the bell is totally divine! Multiple timbres and tons of decay, while not being too intrusive/obnoxious.

Nice foreground to a vodka yacht (Serene)

Pretty!

This frame is 25 years old, but it’s starting to have a new life. I’m guessing it will go at least another quarter century if these fenders do their job in rainy Seattle…

Diamond Tape Session

27 Sunday Jan 2013

Posted by Brian Hanson in Cycling

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Tags

bleriot, bosco, city chickens, cycling, diamond bar wrap, diamond wrap, harlequin, harlequin wrap, Miyata, saluki

Diamond Tape Session, a set on Flickr.

This afternoon, four mad-rad RBW list members got together for a bar taping fest in a Seattle garage (yes, it was raining). Amazingly, all members arrived on their bikes and carrying nothing more than bar tape, and the willingness to be made a fool of by cotton tape, they learned the fine art of the harlequin bar wrap.

We had a good time, and in the end there were 3 new diamond’d up cockpits on a Saluki, Bleriot, and Bosco’d Miyata Ridge Runner Team. Special thanks to Rob Harrison for his garage, and his family’s patience! For those that missed this round, there will be more. I will host one in a few months at my place.

Pics prove it happened in the rain with chickens…