May 23, 2005
Miscellany about bicycles
Yesterday I took stock of the bits and pieces of bicycle scattered through the house, workshop, and storage rooms. I wonder whether my "one front wheel to ride them all" approach will work: a low-flange Phil Wood hub, laced 4x to a box-section MA-3 rim. Beautiful, simple, and strong. I couldn't fit the tyre onto the rim, though, so I was happy to unearth the old pair of Suntour Sprint road hubs laced to older Mavic rims. I threw one of those onto the Kogswell and rode off this morning, only to see, by morning's light, that the tyre on the front was agèd to the point of rot. Nevertheless, with good fortune I made it all the way to work without incident.
At Mahayana (aka Salon des Biciclettes, a proper bike shop), where I picked up a length of Velox rim tape yesterday, I always get a chuckle out of the sticker on the side of the cash register: I park in bike lanes, like a dumb-ass. We always joke that we should print up a batch and slap 'em on cars parked in bike lanes. I'd run out just on the way to Civic Center, I swear: there are always so many dumb-asses idling in the bicycle lanes on Market between Van Ness and Eighth.
