I'm gonna ramble a bit here...
I live just above the upper left-hand corner of the USA...in a nice seaside
town that's getting a lot of sun lately...perfect riding weather, in fact.
I have a neighbor, a nice old duffer named D. F. He's a retired mechanic of
some sort, and fairly handy...but he don't know bicycles. Which is a shame,
because tinkering with and getting around by bike are two things we have in
common, and probably why we get along so well...I've raided his spare parts
collection at least as often as he's raided mine...in fact he's contributing
a new frame for my hardtail and a seat for the "no-weld" recumbent I'm gonna
start on soon...
Mr. F. is pretty spry, but he doesn't like working any harder than he has to
(he's retired, see?), and so none of the street beaters he has built or
modified have a full set of gears (he doesn't like front derailleurs), but
on the other hand, none of them have been very light or quick. He thought
he had that problem beat when one fine saturday he stumbled across a 90%
complete MARINONI 12-speed racer.
Quoted message said:Quoted message said:the purists among you will no doubt point out that MARINONI is not
actually an Italian brand. Maestro Marinoni lives in Vermont, USA. "Mass
Market" versions of his creations are produced in a factory in Canada;
Quebec, I believe. Unless there's more than one Marinoni out there...but
I digress.<<
As originally equipped, the bike had a Shimano 600 group with a few odds and
ends missing: pedal cleats, front brake shoes, rear derailleur cable; stuff
like that. D.F. stripped the frame, added a big-assed overpadded sprung
saddle, replaced the stem and bars, and installed narrow 26" wheels. Now,
he had a street beater light enough to go ANYWHERE...or so he thought.
You have to take a moment to picture this bike: no rear brake, as the 26"
back wheel was too short and he couldn't find a long-reach caliper for it.
A 26" front fork to replace the original, with a huge stamped steel sidepull
on it. A BMX stem with (no joke) high-rise girlie bars on it...and, of
course, the piano-stool sized saddle.
He didn't care what it looked like, it ran great...
However...
The geometry was all wrong. The way it was configured, most of his weight
was on the back wheel, and so shortly he began popping rear tires. After
two or three such incidents, on long rides after which he had to WALK home
(have to convince him to carry spare tubes and a pump - and learn how to use
tire levers), he gave the bike up as a bad job and started riding one of his
other creations. (he has several)
Then he gave it to me...
oh wow...
I got the bike frame and all associated parts that had come with when it was
first purchased. I spent nights the last few weeks getting the bike in
riding condition. Finally, after boring my co-workers to tears telling them
ALL about it, we got some good weather and so I rode it to work. Just to
show off.
Ouch.
The gear ratios on my Freddy Fender commuter bike are much kinder, and I
just DON'T have the kind of kick it takes to push a 2:1 ratio up a long hill
like the Alex Fraser Bridge; or even the shorter but much steeper Nordel Way
hill. But I made it home; even if I did have to stop to catch my
breath...four times. For the technically inclined, it has a 52-42 on the
front and a 12-21 on the back. The 42:21 combo was what I was trying to lug
uphill that day; that's where the 2:1 ratio comes from.
I've taken it back into the shop for some tweaks and re-do's. The original
Cinelli stem was replaced with a "short upright" alloy stem from my spare
junk, and the faded neon red bar tape removed in favor of some basic black
foamtape. The 12-21 casette has been replaced with a 14-38...we'll see how
it works out.
Oh...anybody out there ever used nu-teck or airfree 700cc tires? Know any
dealers in Vancouver, BC?