Cool bikes around town.

Not much new today.  So here's a cool bike I saw down at Public House last weekend!

It's tough to find a Mixte Centurion in this good of condition.  Extra bonus for the flowers!

Weekend Projects....Dynamo hub Upgrade.

Last week I posted on some new tires that I put on the Fargo.  What that post didn't detail was me putting a tire on backwards (after presumably) thinking about the correct rotation direction.  I also had one wheel pretty out of balance due to an overly long Mr. Tuffy tire liner.  And....I received a new rim and dynamo hub which meant the front wheel had to be switched out to boot!

Freshly tuned and ready for install!

The new hub and rim laced up and ready for a new disc rotor and tire.  Yep, this will be the 4th tire mount on the new tires without touching the ground.  A pro shop tech I apparently am not!

Yes, there was some cursing during the project....and it does help to have a handily located flask during such projects.

Finally the new rim, hub, tire, and dyno light mounted and ready for a test run!  Really, the whole process (even with all the remounts) wasn't that big of a deal.   Tires aren't really that hard to mount and most of the time was spent futzing around with truing up rims, realigning disc brake calipers, and modifying the fender mounts to accept the new light.

For now though it's another project in the books.  I'll update this in a few weeks to let you know how the new hub and light are preforming.

March Slow Roll Bike Ride.

There were bikes....we rode slowly....much fun was had!

The gathering @ Reno Bike Project.

The bikey family on matching Schwinn Suburbans with Trailer in tow.  P.S.  Brian send me your email!

Taking a break after the hill climb up to Whitaker Park (in the university neighborhood).

No babies were killed during this ride....but some of them can sleep through anything!!

If you read this and feel bummed out that you missed it....join us next month!

Weekend Bicycle Reminder!

If you're looking for a bikey thing to do....join us for the Slow Roll on Saturday.  Chances are there will be a group headed out for a beer following the ride!  Oh yeah....it will also get your free basketball tickets!

A Call for Bicycle Art!

This is always a fun show to attend.  If you've got artistic flair it's a great way to showcase some of your work. 

It should be Glaringly Obvious....

With the recent time change come some different lighting conditions.  Depending on the timing of your morning commute, you are likely to encounter some early morning low angle sun.  This makes those Nevada pitted windshield really hard to see through.  So be alert to the fact that drivers have an extra excuse "not to see you" on the road. Other than that....enjoy the beautiful morning commute!

Fargo gets a new pair of shoes!

Ok...tires.  This was way over due.  The reality is this bike has been in my stable for about two years.  I ride it most days in some way or another.  This means that it sees a lot of miles.  By my estimate the Fargo has ~7,000 - 8,000 miles on it.  Needless to say  the original tires (Continental Race King) were on it for most of this mileage, and are just plain worn out. 

I spent more than a few hours debating what tires to put on as a replacement.  Keeping in mind that I have a pair of Schwable Marathon Supreme 2.0 that already come in to play when it's in it's road touring configuration.  And after all that thought and wasted hours on the internet......

I bought another set of Race Kings.....talk about anti-climactic.  Why go with the same thing?  For me the choice came down to a few things.  The Fargo sees a lot of road miles from commuting....as much as I want to call it the ultimate off road adventure bike.  So given this factor...I do want a set of tires that roll pretty well on pavement, but still have enough tread to get around on single track and gravel.  I want a tire that will last a while.  The first set proved they can do this.  I wanted a tire that's fairly light.  I realize this is a bit weird considering it's a steel frame and I have wood fenders and carry pretty much everything including the kitchen sink....but yeah.....I like to think when it's stripped down for cyclocross season that it's "light".

So with all those considerations....I also found these on super sale for about $30 a tire (and you can easily find options that are $70+ per tire.  So given their previous history and the price, I picked up another set for the next 8,000 miles!