So, in an effort to clean up the garage, I’ve decided to hang the bikes from the ceiling. Drilled a couple holes in one of the ceiling joists in the garage, and hung up Joe’s road bike and my Cannondale. While I was down there, I cleaned and fixed up an older Specialized Sirrus that I’d cobbled together from a bunch of old parts, and Ei-Nyung’s Trek, which she hasn’t really had the opportunity to ride very much.
The Sirrus is a fine bike – a mix of older Dura-Ace and 105 parts on a reasonable, if older frame. There’s nothing particularly *wrong* with it (aside from the blown front tube). The problem is, it’s really difficult to ride, because it’s *old*. Yeah, that sounds ridiculous, except that in the time since the parts on that bike were made, *all* road bikes changed from downtube shifters to brakelever shifters. Using downtube shifters while knowing that brakelever shifters are available is terrible.
It’s less safe, it’s much less comfortable, it’s more difficult, and a huge pain in the ass. The problem is, to upgrade to brakelever shifters basically means replacing the *entire* drivetrain of the bike – shifters, derailleurs, the rear wheel (hub + sprockets), and pedals/front chainrings. Which essentially costs as much as a new bike. So, I’ll just stick with the old-school components, I guess. I don’t do much road riding anyway.
It’s pretty impressive how much space four bikes can take up. It’s even *more* impressive how much space SIX bikes can take up (Joe’s old Softride frame and various components, and the Bridgestone RB-2 frame I scavenged for components (a better frame than the Sirrus, but the wrong size for me).
Unfortunately, to hang up the other two complete bikes, I’ve gotta move a giant stack of boxes. Probably what I’ll do Sunday morning, as I moved a whole crapload giant boxes the other day to make the space I used for these two bikes.
I’m pretty psyched, though – I’ll have to take some pictures, but the garage can almost house the Mini and the scooter. It’ll be close, sure, but I think before the end of summer, I’ll be at a point where I can start working on the Mini’s paint. Awesome!
Congrats! You’re making great progress on the garage.
I’d love to see a pic of garage with all the bikes and mini and scooter. Talk about high vehicular density!
Yeah, as much as I, and maybe you, think that bikes are bikes are bikes, they really have progressed over the years. The technology is constantly advancing, even if only incrementally.
I mean, I see delivery guys in NYC with 5-10 old dual suspension Cannondales. Not a huge percentage, but seeing any is craziness, even if they are likely stolen.
I knew I had to get a new bike when all the delivery guys in my neighborhood had better bikes than me.
That wasn’t my immediate reaction, at first I thought about upgrading like you described. But, as you discovered, nothing fit my bike anymore. I couldn’t buy any of the current front shocks because the … fuck, I forgot the name, the front “tube” was too narrow to fit any of them.
And then I learned that I couldn’t replace the brakes because everything was V-brakes these days and my brake levers and shifters were a single unit. I couldn’t replace just one.
All in all, it was just a massive PITA to upgrade components. So I just bought a new bike like I mentioned elsewhere.
Best.decision.ever.
“But, as you discovered, nothing fit my bike anymore.”
That sounds weird.
“But, as you discovered, nothing fits old bikes anymore.”
Better.
For certain kinds of old, truly vintage bikes, the bay area is a bit of a mecca. But yeah, the 80’s and 90’s bikes with obsolete components definitely don’t fit into the that category.