Sunday, April 26, 2009

bike curious tour 2 preview, horse trading

090426

Have to link to this video I came across on the great "slow your roll" blog. He titles the post "speechless" and there's really nothing more to say:



How is that possible? It's like bicycle parcour.

What else? I'm doing some bike curious tour again. This time it's what I'm claiming (though many don't believe me) will be my last tour with The Shins (not just with them, but with anyone!). I have a new career to attend to now and I don't want to end up as the deaf crazy soundguy. But anyway, I'm taking my bike!! I got a nice used Polaris case and I'm putting that baby on Southwest Airlines and hoping for the best. I'll be in Portland, Seattle, Bellingham, the Bay Area and LA, so I'll have some pics coming soon.

Which reminds me, there have been some changes in my stable over the last few weeks. Here's what happened:

I decided to try and get a move on sending my Paramount off the the beauty shop in Waterford. I also decided that I'd rather have a winter rideable road bike than the Surly Steamroller I was rocking. That thing was a bit too small too. So, I (at least in my opinion) caught the ebay masses sleeping and got a REALLY nice used Surly Pacer 60cm frame for $150, just under $200 shipped. Put all the Paramount stuff on it and it's a fun ride. Probably a pound heavier than the Paramount (hell, maybe even a pound and a half, clocking in at 23.5), but it's a pretty nimble ride all the same. I found out I need to wait until the off-season to save $100 on my Paramount paint job though (and seeing as there's a little rust, etc. stuff that is probably going to add to the tally a little, I could use the savings). So I'll be on this thing for a while.

I also had a little fit of bike curiousity and decided to sell off the Orbea and have a new project. After listing it in a few spots for a couple weeks, I sold it to a suburban gentleman who was moving up from a 30 year old Nishiki. He seemed a bit shy in the height dept. for a 60, but who am I to decide!? He rode it around a bit. At any rate, I got my parts money back and I'm sure he can too if he comes to his senses, but maybe he's been on a too large bike forever. He did come with some measurements on a post-it note and a tape measure, so caveat emptor I reckon. It's a fine steed at any rate. I also sold off a couple funky project bikes out of the garage, so I've got a little scratch to play with.

Not sure what's coming down the pike. I was planning on flipping that cash right around for a 62cm Serotta Classique Ti bike, but the guy sold it THE DAY AFTER I SOLD THIS THING! We'd been corresponding for about 3 weeks on it and I told him I just had to sell this bike and it was a done deal, but I guess that's the dog eat dog world we are living in. Plus you can't compete with local pickup! It's just too easy. No hard feelings Andrew.

I've got my eye on a Look KG381i frame/fork. Waiting to see if my meager offer is accepted. I think I want to scour up some Campy stuff and see what all the fuss is about (will definitely have to bargain shop for that stuff!).


1 comment:

hermannhesse70 said...

oh man that Look set up is rad; I hope you make that score... The Danny M. footage is mindblowing too. Saw it on Hord's page.

But really, the reason I'm making this comment is to stomp you for selling that bike to the dude that was OBVIOUSLY too small for it. I mean, what if you were an idiot and somebody knowingly sold you a bike that was too big and just went "oh well"...

I'm totally kidding. I'm sure if the guy was wobbling back and forth, you wouldn't have done it. Or would you? Again, kidding.

I sold a hybrid to a dude before the MS150 and it was def not the right size. However, in my ad I posted the size and the height range it was intended for. The guys shows up like 3 inches under the min., rides it, loves it (after taking the seat way down) and slaps down cash. What's a guy supposed to do?