Fixing Up the Tandem
I have this amazing Rodriguez tandem that I got a screaming deal on a couple years ago from a guy in Bellevue who was selling it because he hurt his back and no longer rode it. He sold it to me for $700.00 even though he could easily have gotten twice that; but I promised him it would be well-loved and ridden regularly.
It is and has been.
Mimi and I use it a couple times a week to get her to school and of late, Jen and I have been riding it around to evenings out. We had a grand time the other night taking it to a fancy restaurant wearing dress-up clothes for our anniversary; afterwards, we came home, changed into some things more comfortable, had a little safety meeting, and cruised to Capitol Hill for a drink and back.
People love seeing a tandem pass by. They often serenade us with the tune of “A Bicycle Built for Two.” And now, because we fly a rear-mounted pirate flag leftover from the Fucking Hills Race in February, it’s not at all uncommon for kids especially, but grownups, too, to give us a rousing “Aaarrr, Matey,” as we roll on past.
Since I’ve had it, I’ve slowly but surely turned it from something of a racing bike to an everyday steed. I exchanged the original handlebar stem for one that’s shorter to give me a somewhat upright position. I swapped the Sella Royal saddles for Brooks, front and back. I added fenders, shellaced the handlebars, and installed MKS touring pedals to give it a handsome old-school look.
The one thing I hadn’t done, though, was to do some necessary maintenance on the timing chain, which has been running slacker and slacker of late.
Today, though, I took the bike over to 20/20 and Alex showed me in a minute how to adjust the eccentric bottom bracket.
Now the tandem not only looks great, it rides even better, too.
It is and has been.
Mimi and I use it a couple times a week to get her to school and of late, Jen and I have been riding it around to evenings out. We had a grand time the other night taking it to a fancy restaurant wearing dress-up clothes for our anniversary; afterwards, we came home, changed into some things more comfortable, had a little safety meeting, and cruised to Capitol Hill for a drink and back.
People love seeing a tandem pass by. They often serenade us with the tune of “A Bicycle Built for Two.” And now, because we fly a rear-mounted pirate flag leftover from the Fucking Hills Race in February, it’s not at all uncommon for kids especially, but grownups, too, to give us a rousing “Aaarrr, Matey,” as we roll on past.
Since I’ve had it, I’ve slowly but surely turned it from something of a racing bike to an everyday steed. I exchanged the original handlebar stem for one that’s shorter to give me a somewhat upright position. I swapped the Sella Royal saddles for Brooks, front and back. I added fenders, shellaced the handlebars, and installed MKS touring pedals to give it a handsome old-school look.
The one thing I hadn’t done, though, was to do some necessary maintenance on the timing chain, which has been running slacker and slacker of late.
Today, though, I took the bike over to 20/20 and Alex showed me in a minute how to adjust the eccentric bottom bracket.
Now the tandem not only looks great, it rides even better, too.
posted by Professor Dave at 4:42 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home