Handlebars for bicycles

Everyone seems to have an opinion about handlebars. Flat, riser, noodle, attack, mustache, and what have you.

I've been using flat bars for the last three years.

The Miyata I bought came with a flat bar, and I still use that bar on the 1x1 I built. The Instigator came with an old Azonic world force riser bar. the Long Haul Trucker we have has had mustache bars, bull horn bars, riser bars and now has nitto noodle bars. My Pugsley came with a Salsa Mo'to flat bar. Angled up slightly it might be the most comfortable bar I've used.

A while back I'd seen a thing about bar end grips being put in the middle of a flat bar, and have mulled this idea over since. I imagined this for riding through the suburbs,--a mockery of the pathletes on their skinny tires in lycra sausage casings.

This afternoon I finally put them on.

Bwahahahahaha!

pictures to follow.

The sneaky plan part 1

A while back I bought an early ninties Miyata mountain bike and almost immediately put studded tires on it.  I bought it second hand and slightly rusty.  I wanted a single speed bike for the winter becasue I didn't want any messy mechanical snafu on my commutes home.

So now the weather is getting springier, so it is time to give Guy Woodhouse a makeover.

trouble is, getting the rusty bits to budge.

It took 45 minutes just to knock the cranks off and remove one cup from the bottom bracket.

tomorrow morning: drive side cup, and everything else

is this rain, sleet or snow?

The correct answer is D. all of the above.

The ride home was quite pleasant.  I wasn't over or under dressed, the trails were clear of rutted ice.

time riding home: 40 minutes.

I mentioned before that I can't really go faster.  The bike is geared pretty low so I can get up to around 20, but faster than 16 is uncomfortable.  Where I improve is in improving the average speed by not going as slowly on the climbs.  I'll keep piling on weight to keep my time around 45 minutes though.  I am thinking it might be fun to try some of these local races, and I think of this as casual training.

and then I found five dollars

Back in college this was the classic end too a lame story that took too long to tell and the audience became bored from.

Last week, I was going to bike home and Shannon called me to say it was too cold.  So we agreed to meet at a nearby Starbucks.  But I got there first, so I rode up and down the street and through a bunch of fresh snow.  

So I'm riding around in circles having a ball.  Light snow is flying all over, the bike felt like it was floating. And then the wind went right through me.  So I decided to stand next to the building out of the wind.  Crossing the powdery snow, aiming for the parking lot, imagining exploding out onto the pavement. 

Whump

I got stuck in the compressed snow from the plow.  As I haul the bike out of the snow an SUV stopped and the people inside insisted I take five dollars.

Guy Woodhouse

So after this morning's ride I think I've dubbed the Miyata.

Guy Woodhouse.  

because that traction was something

Finally some god damned snow

Since I put the studded tires on the Miyata a few weeks ago, the weather has been mind bogglingly nice.  So this morning, since it has finally snowed an inch,  I tested out the studly tires on ice for the first time.

It was like I'd made a pact with the devil.  When the bike should have flipped out from under me it was sure footed (can a bike that has no feet have footing?).

Anyway, it was awesome.  I rode down the river road and back without loosing control, even when the back wheel tried to escape in a frozen rut.

What I will need to do is add a layer of sock; my toes were freeezing.

Studded tires

So last weekend I put the sexy new studded tires on the Miyata.  Thinking that the weather folks weren't lying and snow and ice was coming.  I was helped to this conclusion by icy walking in Minneapolis when we went to Harold and Maude.  But ice has not appeared and there is no snow.

And there is now visible wear on my brand spanking new tires from riding on bare pavement.

But I still have the 1 1/4 in. knobby tires for the Peugeot.  So today the slick 8 year old Continentals come off, and the Kendas go back on.

After a few months on a single speed Frenchie is going to be an exciting ride.