30

I've been 30 for about a week and boy do I feel old. Last night, I was angry at the dehumidifier for shutting off randomly, so I kicked it and the free hub broke yesterday on the snake bike, so I got a ride home from Johanna.

Now that I'm old, I suppose that my joints are going to start aching and I'm going to require a lot of Bengay. For example, I was riding in Vermont this road that heretofore had always been open, but someone had run an electric fence wire across it. Since wires and gravel are the same color, even with the help of my glasses (further indication that I'm old) I hit the wire about went over the bars. My shoulder was stiff for a week. The reason I was riding there is because I'm a member of the Craftsbury Outdoor Center, which in the last few years has developed some pretty good singletrack. I joined it. The trails are more difficult than Kingdom Trails and I can ride to them from Glover. Also, I can ski there in the winter. They have rowing stuff, too, but I haven't seen any canoes, only those fast, tippy boats.

Since I haven't written a real blog post in a long time, I can also tell you about riding the Dirty 40. It was low key, cheap and a lot of fun. It got Salem out of retirement. He finished 10th and I finished 35th. He's still way better than me. Todd Bowden won. At cyclocross practice last week, Todd Bowden did not lap me. That was a big victory for me.

Another thing that has nothing to do with getting old, but is a cool secret thing that I've been doing is riding at Nathan Hale in between a class I'm taking in Storrs and when I have to be back for my Admiralty office hours at the law school. In that vein, does anyone know a good sandwich place near 44 in the Storrs/Coventry area? Highland Park is sort of expensive.

So, this is my return to the beat bike blog after a month or so. No great insights.

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Salvaging cartridge bearings in an orphan headset

For machines that have been essentially unchanged for the past several decades, bicycles suffer from a remarkable amount of planned obsolescence. Today's case in point: the threaded headset.

I've ranted about this in the past, the fact that most of the bikes I see in use on the street have threaded headsets, yet most bike shops don't even keep them in stock. The industry prefers that you buy a complete new bike with a 1 1/8 threadless headset and abandon your aging-but-otherwise-serviceable ride. If your headset has ball bearings and the bearing surfaces aren't damaged, you can renew a tired headset with a fresh set of balls and some grease. If your headset has cartridge bearings, you may not be so lucky, but there's still hope. Here's how I went about it:

My gently-used Breezer Venturi road bike, circa 1995, still had its original 1" threaded carbon fiber fork and Shimano 600 cartridge-bearing headset. I decided to retire the OE fork due to suspicious surface crazing and my general distrust toward carbon of advanced age and unknown provenance. While swapping on a replacement fork, I found the cartridge bearings were lacking a bit in the smooth department. Actually, the top bearing still felt pretty silky, while the bottom cartridge felt downright crusty-- not surprising given the added load and dirt the bottom end of a headset sees on a fender-less bicycle.

A few days of searching showed the bearings to be made of high-grade unobtainium, although there were a few complete new-old stock 600 headsets to be found. While I was chatting with the mechanics at the Bicycle Cellar, one of them suggested that I might be able to pry apart the cartridges and repack them. He was right!

Top left: complete cartridge. Everywhere else: races and retainer from disassembled cartridge.

I started by gingerly prying the assembly apart with an old, well-worn putty knife. This revealed within each cartridge 18 balls held in place by nylon retainers.



Removal of the bearings/retainers revealed very slight pitting (shiny spots, really) on the bearing surfaces-- and also cracked the retainers. I mitigated both problems by installing loose bearings without retainers. I learned this cheapskate trick from Sheldon Brown-- the lack of retainers means you can install more ball bearings and that they will no longer line up with the tiny dents in the old bearing cups. It's technically not quite like new, but I couldn't tell the difference once it was back together. Most 1" threaded headsets take 26 5/32" balls per cup. You want a little bit of play between the bearings.



In this case, the bearings were identical top-to-bottom. With both cartridges repacked, I reinstalled them in the opposite locations from whence they came, so the former road-dirt-eating bottom cartridge can enjoy its golden years in the sheltered luxury of the top cup. I figured this overhaul would be a stopgap measure until I found new bearings, but I'm thoroughly happy with the results and don't feel particularly motivated to change them again. For under $6 in grade 25 loose ball bearings, it feels great. Read more!

Bikes Outside: I like the Sprite in you

Today, the Bikes Outside lens drags itself away from hiatus with a proper steel workhorse. This 1970's Raleigh Sprite 27 shares both the color scheme and solid, overbuilt construction of the Checker Marathons that still ruled the streets of New York back in the day. Given that this one could actually accommodate a passenger, the taxi comparison is somewhat appropriate.


Aside: I was obsessed with Checkers as a child, once asking for a ride in one for my birthday (we almost never splurged on taxi rides). They were increasingly outnumbered by Chevy Impalas by the early 80's, so my Dad's attempts to hail one resulted in an errant Impala stop or two, followed by Dad explaining to an irritated cabbie that his shiny new Chevy was not what he was looking for.

Between the bright colors, the trailer flag and the massive twin horns, this rig should be hard to miss (or hit, as it were) The bright Brit machine was parked at a gas station convenience store on Albany Avenue, making it the first Bike Outside profiled in the Clay Arsenal neighborhood. Read more!

Bikes outside: the realm of possibility

I've never written a bike outside, so I'll probably break a rule or two.

Pictured here is Dario's Wicked Fat Chance. He got it a long time ago and I didn't know him then. Since he got it, it has shed derailers and is a single, dingle or fixed gear. Next to this snow bank, it's fixed and has fenders. The brakes are original and it has a weird bottom bracket with press-in bearings. If ridden through the Connecticut River, it starts creaking. It's also set up with one of cool fixed/free ENO eccentric hubs (thus all the aforementioned options). Like my Colnago it has a hole in the stem instead of a cable hanger. Some people think that's cool.

It was ridden in the Reservoir, early in the Reservoir's history of people riding in it. I've seen it carried up and down Constitution Plaza, bounce through both of the meadows and lumber through tracts of snowy powerlines. It's a nice bike and unlike other Fat Chances of the internet, it's not a bike shrine.


In other news I went for my longest ride of the year so far. You're perfectly allowed to make fun of me, but it's not exactly been easy to get out there. This, however, was a very pleasant ride with Salem & Peter to points east and south.

New bike attire!

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Bikes Outside: Well Traveled, Well Red

With all the snow around Hartford, the bike sightings have been down a bit of late. I was out of town most of the past week, so that didn't help matters on the bike-spotting front (though it was very helpful on the snowboarding front). I have learned that when I'm scrambling for Bikes Outside blog fodder, there are two places where I'm virtually guaranteed to see a bike or three parked. One of these is the library, as last week's Murray demonstrated. Another proven venue for bike-spotting bounty is Park Street. This Monday, we meet at the spot that combines both favorable conditions, the Park Branch of the Hartford Public Library. I have spent a fair amount of time at the Sucursal Calle Park over the years, and the sheltered entryway has proven a popular and convenient bike-stashing spot for me and many others, including the owner of this Schwinn Traveler III.

This is classic bike boom ten speed material here: hi-ten steel frame, steel 27" wheels, and turkey wings activating the front center-pull and rear side-pull brakes. Nothing on this frame suggests anything more detailed than a Japanese origin, but Panasonic is probably a good bet for the role of "Schwinn Approved" manufacturer in this case. I've read that they produced the non-Chicago Schwinns, specifically the Le Tour, during the 70's and early 80's.

I didn't see or meet the owner of this bike, but the slam-dunked nose-down saddle and nosebleed-high stem seem to suggest that this tall Traveler might be a less-than-perfect fit for them. What appears to be a double-thick bar-wrapping job could help ensure the rider's hands are well-cushioned wherever they end up. The bright red paint and chrome fork ends on this bike still look presentable after 30-something years.

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Bikes Outside: Monterey Salt Festival

This morning's Bike Outside was spotted this past Sunday afternoon at the Hartford Public Library. With high temps barely into the teens and stern frostbite warnings on the radio, I was surprised to see two bikes locked up upon arriving for yesterday's Baby Grand Jazz show. This is one of the better bikes I've seen wearing the Murray badge. The componentry is solidly 1970's with some 60's aesthetic nostalgia thrown in, especially the champagne (pronounced in the manner of The Continental, of course) paint and the chainguard lettering. The 3-speed hub was too crusty to identify, but I'm assuming it's a Shimano or Suntour based on the decidedly non Sturmey Archer thumb shifter. The Altenburger Syncron brakes are great period pieces. They have a mixed reputation, but they are credited as the precursor to the dual-pivot sidepull brakes that are the modern road bike standard. They are also setup with the right hand lever activating the front brake, an arrangement more familiar to motorcyclists or European bicyclists.

The very presence of this bike on the roads yesterday called for some teeth-gritting fortitude on the rider's part and some sturdiness on the 40 year old bike's part. That said, I hope the owner is faring better than the salt-encrusted Murray's drivetrain. So very very salty! Had I spotted this bike in motion, I'm sure that I would have involuntarily cringed to hear that poor rusty chain laboring around. I want to take this bike in and give it a hot shower and a major overhaul in front of a roaring wood stove.

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Bikes Outside: Swede Ride

This morning's Bike Outside is my first since November due to an extraordinarily busy stretch at my job. Thanks to Schleppi for filling in some of the missed Mondays for me.


Today's handsome example sports a classic frame from Crescent of Sweden. It appears to be a late 60's-early 70's Crescent Stainless Mark (something or other) The differences between the Mark IX, XI and XX models were in the components, so the current parts offer no clue as to its original spec. Whatever it was, it's still a really gorgeous frame, and the Brooks saddle looks just right. For me, a set of polished old school high flange hub/ box-section wheels would set it off beautifully. The mismatched deep-V rear looks as incongruous as billet rims on a Volvo Amazon. I would be happy to own both this bike and an Amazon wagon, come to think of it.

This past week's Downtown glimpse was my first sighting of this particular bike. Did one of our usual messengers add another bike to his stable or could this belong to someone new in town?

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Bikes Outside: Vintage 'Vega

This Monday's Bike Outside was spotted downtown a while back. It's a handsome machine in spite of a glaring case of missing bar tape.

It seems like the vast majority of classic Univegas are either blue or gray in color, and I, for one, think it would be a shame to pass up the opportunities inherent in the symbolism of the two colors. I envision an interprative reenactment of the War Between the States. Picture this: hipsters in mid 19th century garb square off in a brutal, week-long North vs. South bike polo tournament to gain control of the Mason-Fixie line. Such an event would be guaranteed to be [described as] epic!

I'm partial to the versatile 'Vegas of the 70's and 80's, so today I pay my respects at the Church of Univega Universalism.



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Bikes Outside: Ride Me to Firenze

Today's bike outside is a feast of well-preserved 1970's Bike Boom bling. Everything you need to make your own low-budget remake of Breaking Away (and impress the ladies) is right here.

You've got the Italianate name, The snappy paint job on the lugged frame, color coded cable housings and decals, and some fine-looking drilled brake levers (with bonus turkey levers to boot!)

The "Precision Drive 15 Speed" drivetrain (with narrow-range triple crankset) will make you half-again better than the jealous haters on their puny contemporary 10 speeds.

Luxurious foam drop bar grips are the perfect finishing touch to this period piece. They're like little handlebar afros.



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Bikes Outside: Raleigh 'Round the Neighborhood

In observance of Labor Day, this week's bike outside was pushed to Tuesday morning. Today, we look at a former British subject leading an active life in Frog Hollow. It is a rare trip I make down Park street that I don't see this bike parked or being ridden. If memory serves, the mix of older and newer fonts on this particular example place it around 1970, give or give a year. The tall head tube indicates a 23" frame (the other available size being 21")

This particular Raleigh Sports (see what I did there?) some interesting aesthetic choices. The decorative spoke beads are a youthful contrast with the stodgy old school machine. The bobbed fenders enhance the sporting look and ensure that important components like the brakes and lower headset bearings are spared the flung muck of foul weather riding, without depriving the rider of his fair share of road spray. A brush repaint at some point carefully skirted around the original decals. The bike is cared for, in a very DIY sort of way.

I'm especially fond of the Raleigh Sports model, as my Dad had one, purchased new (along with a matching ladies' Sports for my Mom) at Hogie's Cycle in Hawthorne, NJ around 1975 or so. His had the 21" frame in metallic chestnut brown with a proper leather Brooks saddle. It was sold at a garage sale years ago, sadly, but I'm always on the lookout for its twin. The crisp ticking of a Sturmey-Archer hub is aural comfort food for my cycling soul.

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Spitting Swap

Early this past Sunday, I took a rainy ride to the New England Muscle Bicycle Museum in Bloomfield for their last "Northeast Bike Swap Meet" as this under-the-radar display of awesomeness is pared down and sold off.

I rode the Yuba to help deter myself from loading up on too many bikes, and it kind of worked, though I did pass up on a heartbreakingly cheap old Schwinn tandem. I did pick up a couple of wheels, tires and cranks for bikes I'm working on, stuffing some of them into a nice Dahon bag to ride up front as I slogged home. Also, in the spirit of the trendy new minimalism, I picked up a unicycle. I got somewhat wet riding to Bloomfield (I brought a spare shirt) and thoroughly soaked coming home in time to get a flat right in front of my house. I was glad that didn't happen en route, as changing the rear tire by the side of the road in the rain would have sucked.

The museum is like a secret wonderland of 60's pop culture. My favorite was the red George Barris-branded bike with mags and a surfboard rack! There are some vintage motorcycles there as well, so I got to ogle and pine for an old Triumph again.

I don't know the full story of how much or how quickly they are winding things down, but you'd do well to have a visit if you get a chance.

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Bikes Outside: Drum Beat Bike

This week we are crossing a line I had considered with great trepidation and apprehension. For the first (non-postcard or vacation) time, the Bikes Outside lense takes a look at something parked beyond the boundaries of Hartford proper. I've seen plenty of sweet bikes parked in the surrounding suburbs, where the average sweet bike-buying budget per capita is much higher, but felt like broadening the search would make things too easy. I've decided for now that I will allow Bikes Outside the occasional foray beyond city limits for extra special bikes within Greater Hartford.

Today, we find ourselves just two miles from the border established in 1854 by Otto Liebend Blauzurück as "A clear demarcation 'twixt The Spigot and Roger's Package Store, in preparation for the future enforcement of a minimum age for the consumption of spirits." Here, steps from the shopping center that many foolhardy Hartford Advocate readers mistook for a neighborhood in Hartford, this morning's bike was spotted outside of West Hartford Town Hall during the recent MDC public hearing. Aside from its owner being on board for a good cause, this bike has that extra special something that lets it into the rarefied club that is Bikes Outside.

This bike makes the cut because it is a winning mix of elegant lines, quirky components and sturdiness. I always love me some Chicago Schwinn, and the swoopy lines of the traditional American cruiser frame are an enduring form in the bike world for good reason. While seeing a cruiser that isn't a cheap Chinese knockoff is refreshing, it's not enough to land you here, nosiree. This bike goes the extra mile. There's the color: somewhere between coral and brick-house red, dulled and nicked to a comfy patina. There's the front end: a crowned tubular fork (instead of those lame flat bladed ones some Schwinns have) and the massive Wald basket say, "I have arrived, and I brought a 12-pack!" The chrome fenders, random newer stem and springy seat all add to the look, and then there are the brakes!

I am hopelessly fond of drum brakes. My first car had drums all around, my gorgeous, snarling 1970 Triumph had drums front and rear. I have stared in awe of the massive finned aluminum drums on vintage racing motorbikes and cars. Adding drums to a neat old bike is an automatic win for me. I fully understand that disc brakes are the most effective hub-based way to decelerate a wheel, but how can you look at those clunky finned beauties and not be a bit charmed? The rear one in this case has a 5 speed freewheel attached, insuring the rider can climb hills in preparation for some white knuckled brake-warming descents. Good stuff.

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The Ridin' of the Green

In honor of the Irish portion of my ancestry, I wanted to share with you some pics of Raleigh's Irish X-Frame model bikes. Available in ladies and gents models, they were marketed by Raleigh for the first third of the 20th century-- ostensibly for use on the rough roads of Ireland, but also secretly because the Irish were just too awesome for run-of-the mill limey bikes. One of these joins the Columbia Chainless in my bicycle fantasy garage. I do love a full chaincase, at least until I have to work on it...

I'm charmed by the wording of this vintage ad, even it it seems to be dissing Irish infrastructure just a wee bit.

"The Irish X Frame model, as its name implies, has been specially designed for use on the reputably bad roads often to be found in Ireland, or where the ground to be continually traversed is of a broken and exceedingly rough nature, thereby necessitating a frame of somewhat more substantial and stronger character than is usual."


I was talking bikes with an older guy who shared an anecdote about Irish cycling. He said that back in the day, Irish lightweight road bike enthusiasts were in the habit of jamming a broom handle up into the steerers of their forks . The idea was that it would hold the tube together and keep you from crashing when the steerer inevitably broke, enabling you to coast gingerly to the side of the road. It's a fun story and a great image, regardless of whether it actually happened.

Irish singer-songwriter Luka Bloom wrote one of the all-time great bike-riding songs (and coined my favorite alternative term for a bicycle) in the title track of his 1992 album, The Acoustic Motorbike. I was fortunate enough to spend the summer of that very same year in Ireland as part of a student exchange program. I rode a borrowed bike while staying in the village of Pettigo, which was bisected by the border between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland. This preceded the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, so the border was marked in varied manners ranging from small unassuming signs to high-walled compounds guarded by machine gun wielding soldiers. I opted to ride the bike through the quiet, unmanned crossings and limit my interactions with anyone holding a loaded weapon, a personal policy that serves me well to this day. I often wondered why the IRA didn't simply do the same. Maybe they did. Anyway, It's an awfully pretty place to ride around if you ever get a chance. I'd imagine it's even nicer now without the periodic bombings. Most places are.

Irish X-Frame pics and ad thanks to Oldbike.eu

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