...and a somewhat late "hey there!"
I first discovered this site the past spring or summer, after talking to a buddy about our local "bike snobs" and how it seems that adults have turned the fun of riding a bike into work.
"When mountain bikes first came out, the fat-tired community made fun of the spandex-covered roadies who took stuff so SERIOUSLY -- now it seems that even the mountain bikers are worrying about technical clothes and 26" vs. 29" vs. the new 27.5" wheels, and titanium seatpost bolts to save 4 grams of weight! Somebody needs to build an adult-sized Schwinn Stingray with a banana seat and high-rise handlebars, and put the FUN back into riding a bike!"
Needless to say, I'm preachin' to the proverbial choir here, but I didn't know about this awesome site (and resource guide!) when I said that.
For the next few months, we took somewhat divergent paths putting together "bolt-on bikes." (Seriously, I can't say that I "built" mine after looking at some of the creations you guys have put together.) First, I puttered with my old mountain bike and got some more ideas, then we both searched for, bought, and modified a couple of Craigslist finds.
He built a somewhat more practical run-around-town bike out of the bike he found ( http://ratrodbikes.com/forum/index.php?threads/new-guy-in-ohio.80003/ ), I figured out how to mount a banana seat onto an old six-speed Murray beach cruiser:
It's a blast to ride, and turns quite a few heads, but....
I'll be honest -- my third bike was a beat-up 1978 garage sale find: a single-speed, coaster brake Schwinn balloon-tire cruiser that probably weighed 45 pounds. It was indestructible, and thus perfect for its job as a newpaper delivery bike, but it was NOT as much fun to ride as my Schwinn Varsity or Le Tour IV.
Now I'm 35 years older, and I'll admit it -- I like having LOTS of gears! I'm happier with six speeds than one, but at the same time:
"This bike is about 90% of what I want -- if only I could figure out some way to put a banana seat on my 21 speed mountain bike, I'd have it made!"
I spent the rest of the summer riding the above bike and getting the second one 98% finished, but this first post is getting long enough, right?
Looking forward to reading and learning a LOT more from you guys!
I first discovered this site the past spring or summer, after talking to a buddy about our local "bike snobs" and how it seems that adults have turned the fun of riding a bike into work.
"When mountain bikes first came out, the fat-tired community made fun of the spandex-covered roadies who took stuff so SERIOUSLY -- now it seems that even the mountain bikers are worrying about technical clothes and 26" vs. 29" vs. the new 27.5" wheels, and titanium seatpost bolts to save 4 grams of weight! Somebody needs to build an adult-sized Schwinn Stingray with a banana seat and high-rise handlebars, and put the FUN back into riding a bike!"
Needless to say, I'm preachin' to the proverbial choir here, but I didn't know about this awesome site (and resource guide!) when I said that.
For the next few months, we took somewhat divergent paths putting together "bolt-on bikes." (Seriously, I can't say that I "built" mine after looking at some of the creations you guys have put together.) First, I puttered with my old mountain bike and got some more ideas, then we both searched for, bought, and modified a couple of Craigslist finds.
He built a somewhat more practical run-around-town bike out of the bike he found ( http://ratrodbikes.com/forum/index.php?threads/new-guy-in-ohio.80003/ ), I figured out how to mount a banana seat onto an old six-speed Murray beach cruiser:
It's a blast to ride, and turns quite a few heads, but....
I'll be honest -- my third bike was a beat-up 1978 garage sale find: a single-speed, coaster brake Schwinn balloon-tire cruiser that probably weighed 45 pounds. It was indestructible, and thus perfect for its job as a newpaper delivery bike, but it was NOT as much fun to ride as my Schwinn Varsity or Le Tour IV.
Now I'm 35 years older, and I'll admit it -- I like having LOTS of gears! I'm happier with six speeds than one, but at the same time:
"This bike is about 90% of what I want -- if only I could figure out some way to put a banana seat on my 21 speed mountain bike, I'd have it made!"
I spent the rest of the summer riding the above bike and getting the second one 98% finished, but this first post is getting long enough, right?
Looking forward to reading and learning a LOT more from you guys!
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