Deej
Maximum Pace
- Oct 13, 2007
- 1,018
- 150
I've been transforming my papa-chari -- a 1993 steel KHS mountain bike -- into a single-speed cyclocross commuter beast. And I gotta say, I am loving it.
Today, I took it out in the rain and bombed around the city roads, then on the gravel, mud and grass along the Tamagawa. After all my skinny-tire-and-carbon cruising, it felt kind of ... liberating ... to get in the drops and charge full-bore over curbs and potholes and mud on a steel beast -- all while not giving a thought to shifting, as there was only one gear. I had images of Roubaix, strade bianche and the Rocky Mountains dancing through my mind as I chattered over the rough terrain.
Off with the baby seat. Off with the big-@ss knobbly tires. Off with the flat bar. Off with the front derailleur.
On with the super-robust, lightly treaded 1.5-inch Schwalbes. On with the drop bar. On with the Tektro brake levers.
It's still got a kickstand, which comes in handy but will probably go, because, well, it's a kickstand. The next step is to remove the rear derailleur and just have one cog up front and one in back. I also need a chain tensioner. Oh, and I have to lose the rusty old pedals and slap on some Shimano SPDs or something similar.
A couple questions: do any of you have gear-ratio recommendations? As I said, it's a single-speed (but not fixed), so I need a combo that allows me to cruise at a good speed but not blow out my knees.
Also, do any of you have experience using a tensioner? Is there anything I should be aware of before buying one?
I'm actually not dreading the coming of rainy season now. I'll just hop on the bomber and tear it up!
Deej
Today, I took it out in the rain and bombed around the city roads, then on the gravel, mud and grass along the Tamagawa. After all my skinny-tire-and-carbon cruising, it felt kind of ... liberating ... to get in the drops and charge full-bore over curbs and potholes and mud on a steel beast -- all while not giving a thought to shifting, as there was only one gear. I had images of Roubaix, strade bianche and the Rocky Mountains dancing through my mind as I chattered over the rough terrain.
Off with the baby seat. Off with the big-@ss knobbly tires. Off with the flat bar. Off with the front derailleur.
On with the super-robust, lightly treaded 1.5-inch Schwalbes. On with the drop bar. On with the Tektro brake levers.
It's still got a kickstand, which comes in handy but will probably go, because, well, it's a kickstand. The next step is to remove the rear derailleur and just have one cog up front and one in back. I also need a chain tensioner. Oh, and I have to lose the rusty old pedals and slap on some Shimano SPDs or something similar.
A couple questions: do any of you have gear-ratio recommendations? As I said, it's a single-speed (but not fixed), so I need a combo that allows me to cruise at a good speed but not blow out my knees.
Also, do any of you have experience using a tensioner? Is there anything I should be aware of before buying one?
I'm actually not dreading the coming of rainy season now. I'll just hop on the bomber and tear it up!
Deej