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Date: 06 Jul 2007 05:17:37
From: Luigi de Guzman
Subject: Bikes for 'tweens: SUCCESS
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The $30 used bike is a big hit.
It's still a Huffy, but it looks better than when it left the factory. I
took all the cheesy decals off with a bit of hair-dryer-fu. I tightened
some slack cables and crimped endcaps on some frayed ends. I adjusted the
brakes--the shoes were all the way down in the caliper slots--so far down,
in fact, that only about two-thirds of the pads were touching the rim.
I took the chain off, gave it a good cleaning, reinstalled it and lubed it
properly.
I cleaned everything up obsessively. I waxed the frame and buffed it. I
cleaned the rims, the spokes, the hub bodies until they blinged.
Three more bucks at my local bike part emporium got me a water bottle
cage, which mounted to the thoughtfully-provided braze-on.
I had it waiting on my workstand in the garage, door shut, lights out, and
waited for him to come back with mom & dad from their trip.
They got back late tonight and I got to surprise him with what looked like
a brand-new bike. He was jazzed, practically jumping up and down. He
wanted to ride it--no-go, since it was already pitch-black out. He'll get
to ride it tomorrow morning though.
Total cost: thirty-three bucks, and maybe an afternoon or two of fettling
and polishing. The look on his face when I turned on the lights?
Priceless.
-Luigi
--
Luigi de Guzman
http://ouij.livejournal.com
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Date: 08 Jul 2007 15:30:20
From: Luigi de Guzman
Subject: Re: Bikes for 'tweens: SUCCESS
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On Fri, 06 Jul 2007 19:41:34 +0000, landotter wrote:
>> http://ouij.livejournal.com/233139.html
>
> You could totally pimp that mofo with a $10 Tourney rear mech! I do
> like the homage to the Simplex, though.
The Soleus came with the bike. I note that only the rear is indexed (and
not badly for such a cheap unit, IMO). The front is pseudo-indexed; that
is, it's a friction shifter with click detents. I actually prefer this
setup to my own Sora brifters, since he can trim the front derailleur. I
haven't yet taught him how to shift/trim, though.
The SOLEUS/SIMPLEX similarity is something I found really funny. I know
it's pretty normal to copy your competitors' nice components. I have a
1984 Shimano 105 rear derailleur in my parts bin which has a nice
bow-and-arrow engraving on it. I imagine that sort of design cue was
meant to remind me of Campagnolo, who had the very pretty winged-wheel
device on their components.
But Shimano and Campagnolo were--and are!--both alive and kicking each
other in the marketplace, especially among road-race enthusiasts. I
thought it kind of funny that anyone would try to copy Simplex's trademark.
The buyers of this type of bike--young parents--wouldn't even have been
*born* at a time when Simplex parts were a big deal.
Re: pimpage--ultimate pimpage would probably mean building a new wheel for
a Sturmey-Archer 8-speed hub. Alas, the budget doesn't stretch that far.
> Alloy or steel rims?
Chromed steel, which, with the marginal brake shoes and the flexy sidepull
calipers, occasioned my very sage advice to him: "Don't ride stupid."
But they sure are shiny.
>And did ya put on the rigid fork?
Stock--the whole reason I went for this bike over any of the others.
>The Sears catalog shows the"stoned mountain" with a doinger. All for $80.
I had a look at the eighty-dollar X*Mart doingers and was unimpressed.
I could have possibly gotten better brakes in the deal, but that would
have meant buying a useless doinger fork. Worse, "hardtails" are starting
to go out of fashion in this market. Double-boingers are even
worse--short short seat tubes and weird angles mean it's almost impossible
to fit the bike to the kid. They're a far cry from this bike I saw when I
was last in Cambridge--obviously some primary schooler's daily rider:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ouij/254599421/
As it is, we've been spending the past few days going up and down the
block and fine-tuning things, especially saddle position.
-Luigi
--
Luigi de Guzman
http://ouij.livejournal.com
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Date: 06 Jul 2007 20:10:35
From: Luigi de Guzman
Subject: Re: Bikes for 'tweens: SUCCESS
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On Fri, 06 Jul 2007 12:41:45 -0700, Zoot Katz wrote:
> On Fri, 06 Jul 2007 05:17:37 GMT, Luigi de Guzman
> <luigi12081@cox.net> wrote, in part:
>
>>
>>They got back late tonight and I got to surprise him with what looked like
>>a brand-new bike. He was jazzed, practically jumping up and down. He
>>wanted to ride it--no-go, since it was already pitch-black out. He'll get
>>to ride it tomorrow morning though.
>>
>>Total cost: thirty-three bucks,
>
> Beautiful.
>
> How'd the ride go?
His first ride up and down the block this morning was a great success. He
was grinning from ear to ear. I took the opportunity to fine-tune the
fit, raising the seatpost and the stem a bit for proper leg extension &
reach. He's very comfortable on the bike, and it fits him just right.
I've told him not to mess with shifting yet until I can teach him how to
trim the front derailleur (I noticed some interesting wear marks on the
chain sideplates when I was done cleaning it--probably from chain rub on
the front derailleur cage).
He's really jazzed. I want to take him out for a longer ride.
-Luigi
--
Luigi de Guzman
http://ouij.livejournal.com
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Date: 06 Jul 2007 14:57:18
From: Zoot Katz
Subject: Re: Bikes for 'tweens: SUCCESS
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On Fri, 06 Jul 2007 20:10:35 GMT, Luigi de Guzman
<luigi12081@cox.net > concluded:
\
>He's really jazzed. I want to take him out for a longer ride.
You're creating long lasting pleasant memories for his future and
perhaps striking the spark that ignites lifelong cycling enjoyment.
--
zk
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Date: 06 Jul 2007 12:41:45
From: Zoot Katz
Subject: Re: Bikes for 'tweens: SUCCESS
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On Fri, 06 Jul 2007 05:17:37 GMT, Luigi de Guzman
<luigi12081@cox.net > wrote, in part:
>
>They got back late tonight and I got to surprise him with what looked like
>a brand-new bike. He was jazzed, practically jumping up and down. He
>wanted to ride it--no-go, since it was already pitch-black out. He'll get
>to ride it tomorrow morning though.
>
>Total cost: thirty-three bucks,
Beautiful.
How'd the ride go?
--
zk
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Date: 06 Jul 2007 06:53:25
From: Luigi de Guzman
Subject: Re: Bikes for 'tweens: SUCCESS
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On Fri, 06 Jul 2007 01:38:19 -0400, Paul Myron Hobson wrote:
> Luigi de Guzman wrote:
>> Total cost: thirty-three bucks, and maybe an afternoon or two of fettling
>> and polishing. The look on his face when I turned on the lights?
>> Priceless.
>
> Rockin' good job, Lu! How did the folks react?
> \\paul
Dad was actually pretty impressed. "I had thought I'd see a kind of
rickety old bike," he told me later, "but I walked in and saw a brand new
bike. He won't know it's not brand new. It's pretty."
He also noted, to Mom, that he had owned a ten-speed in the same shade of
yellow back in the '70s.
Oh, pictures!
http://ouij.livejournal.com/233139.html
Yeah, I know, not so much of a big deal. No component swaps/upgrades--not
in the budget for this project. No real bike pr0n. But a satisfying job.
-Luigi
--
Luigi de Guzman
http://ouij.livejournal.com
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Date: 06 Jul 2007 09:26:06
From: Dane Buson
Subject: Re: Bikes for 'tweens: SUCCESS
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Luigi de Guzman <luigi12081@cox.net > wrote:
> On Fri, 06 Jul 2007 01:38:19 -0400, Paul Myron Hobson wrote:
>> Luigi de Guzman wrote:
>>> Total cost: thirty-three bucks, and maybe an afternoon or two of fettling
>>> and polishing. The look on his face when I turned on the lights?
>>> Priceless.
>>
>> Rockin' good job, Lu! How did the folks react?
>> \\paul
>
> Dad was actually pretty impressed. "I had thought I'd see a kind of
> rickety old bike," he told me later, "but I walked in and saw a brand new
> bike. He won't know it's not brand new. It's pretty."
>
> He also noted, to Mom, that he had owned a ten-speed in the same shade of
> yellow back in the '70s.
>
> Oh, pictures!
>
> http://ouij.livejournal.com/233139.html
Niiice. It looks much snazzier without the decals.
> Yeah, I know, not so much of a big deal. No component swaps/upgrades--not
> in the budget for this project. No real bike pr0n. But a satisfying job.
Hey, getting him out biking is the first step. It's a lot easier to
work on upgrades or an improved bike once the time pressure is off.
i.e., If he has a working bike in hand.
--
Dane Buson - sigdane@unixbigots.org
"A power so great, it can only be used for Good or Evil!"
-- Firesign Theatre, "The Giant Rat of Summatra"
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Date: 06 Jul 2007 01:38:19
From: Paul Myron Hobson
Subject: Re: Bikes for 'tweens: SUCCESS
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Luigi de Guzman wrote:
> Total cost: thirty-three bucks, and maybe an afternoon or two of fettling
> and polishing. The look on his face when I turned on the lights?
> Priceless.
Rockin' good job, Lu! How did the folks react?
\\paul
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