Just Sayin

I recently pulled out a fall coat that I hadn't worn in some time. I'm one of those people who puts stuff in their pockets and never checks them, even when I lose something. I got a pretty pleasant surprise when I pulled out this:

We around here who were lucky enough to have known him, called him, Doc. His real name was Dave Ornee. Doc finished the race that is life, January, 21st 2009. One thing that really rocks about the cycling community, is the people you meet. Dave was one such special person. He built thousands of wheels over his lifetime and was a true master at it. I've handled many a wheel in my time but I've never seen anyone who engineered like Dave. He had a way of looking at simplest of things with a " how can it be improved?" attitude. He understood that, riding a bike could be much more pleasurable if you built certain things (like wheels) better and stronger. He didn't lace a touring wheel the same way he laced street or track wheel. Whenever I'd ask him to build something for a customer he'd ask, how much do they weigh? How do they plan to use them?
During his eulogy his daughter Amy made a comment about him. "He would always say to me, Amy, there's no such thing as a failed experiment." That's how he looked at life. When he gravely I'll, a staph infection ravaging is body, he told the doctors to try whatever they thought might work. A deeply religious man, you didn't know it because he never wore it on his sleeve.
I didn't know him for very long, but I'll never forget his lessons. I'll just say PEACE, cause I know resting just ain't his style.

In Search of Ideas Who's got em?

So I recently purchased this bike from my buddy over at Nearly New Shop.
I'm in love with old English Bikes and try to grab them whenever I can. Names like Royal Scot, Raleigh, Dunelt, Triumph, Hercules, to name a few. Most of these bikes are pretty solidly built. They can often be had for a song. The downside is, many are quite heavy. I've found however that given a lighter wheelset and changing the crank to an alloy 3 piece design, can greatly reduce their weight. I always struggle with what to do with these bikes because they are just so damn beautiful as is. The full fenders, the classy chainguard and classic British paint, really suck me in. Just look at this beauty.



So I sat and thought and pondered. What the hell to do with the little beast? Sure it needs a good cleaning, some steel wool to take care of the rust. Change the bars to alloy add a Brooks saddle. But that would only make it prettier. Not really any better. I decided to air the tires up, tighten the crank arm a bit,and take it out for a spin.

Immediately I notice the crank arms loosening. I'm heading to the bar, which isn't very far, so hopefully it will make it. I can tell as I pedal on that,both hubs are likely dry as a bone. The tires though new, are not seated properly and the rear end kinda bounces up and down. Very common with cheap 26 in tires. The wheels appear stressed and won't really hold up on city streets. I arrive at the bar, the little shit made it. But it still has to bring me back. Stay tuned.

Ok, as life goes in Chicago, it rains on the return trip. It's fenders are really keeping my ass dry, although the rest of me is soaked to the skin. One things for sure, the fenders will be included in the rebuild, as is the chain guard. The wheels however must go. I'll be posting the aftermath of the rebuild real soon.