Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Schwinn 434


This was a cool story. I had bought this Schwinn 434 road bike for parts but decided to pass it on. The guy who picked it up told he had road across the United States last summer on a bike from REI. He said he took the bike back after the ride so that is why he wanted this one. What was cool is that he sent me a picture of the bike after he had fixed it up. What a nice job he did. It seems like leather Brooks saddles are in style right now for road bikes. One thing with this bike is that the seat post tightened with a screw in the post its self. I guess there a lot of 434 out there with missing seat post and that make the bike kind of useless.




Hang em High

Where do I store all of my bikes. My garage and shed. 16 in the garage and 5 in the shed a this point. I love bicycle hooks. Granted there are a few kids bikes and women's bikes mixed in with the lot. I have seen another idea of hanging bikes from their seats, I will have to try that if I get more.


Nishiki Seral Cafe Road Bike


I bought this Nishiki 12 speed road bike two weekends ago. That weekend was a good weekend for bikes. I bought a total of 6 bikes that weekend. A Columbia woman's 5 speed, a Phillips woman's internal 3 speed, this Nishiki, 2 Specialized Rockhoppers, and one Nashbar branded 12 speed. The cool thing is all of the bike were sizes that I could ride.
Anyway, this Nishiki was a project for me. I have aways been hesitant to work on my own bikes. My father was a mechanic but I did not seem to acquire some of the same skills. I was able to put in a new handle bar stem, straight handle bars, new brake cables, new tubes and tires. I think it turned pretty cool looking. I love riding it around.



A before pictures of the Nishiki. The Nashbar brand black road bike next to it.

Puch and Panasonic Road Bikes


A few weekends ago I bought 4 bikes at a MS fund raising tag sale. 2 bikes for the kids and two road bikes that were in nice shape. I decided the morning that I didn't need two more road bikes so I posted the Puch and the Panasonic on Craigslist and with in 30 minutes I got a call from a guy that wanted the bikes. 30 minutes after that he came and got them. Fast turn around. The Puch was a huge frame bike. 36 inch stand over height and the Panasonic was 33 inch stand over height, both bikes too big for me. I did save the Puch head badge and it is now on my walking stick. What can I say, I love bicycles.

Cannondale ST500


A week before I left for San Diego in May I sold my Cannondale ST500. She was a beautiful bike but I felt it was time to sell it sense I have my new road bike that I bought 3 years ago and I was not riding it because I would take the Cannondale out. I bought the Cannondale from Dave at Ye Old Bike Shop (Peddling Pushing) for $250 about 5 years ago. The bike was like new when I got it and like new when I sold it. I sold it for $240 so $10 for 5 years of use was not bad at all. I will miss the metallic blue flake paint. According to the serial number this bike was made in 1985. Thanks for the years of faithful service. I hope your new owner treats you good.

What can I say, I love bicycles. I have loved them since I was a kid. The first bike that I really remember and that I had a long time was a Schwinn metallic green stingray. It had a fat dirt tire in the rear and a skinny street tire in the front. It was an eclectic bicycle, the see was off a beach cruiser for my fat butt, my Dad had to buy a reinforced seat post after I bent the one that was on the bike and everything was just a miss match.

Anyway, I want to us this bicycle for my interest and one of them is bicycles. I'm going to post pictures of bicycles I have had and ones I have now. The bike in this picture is a pearl white Peugeot made in France. I bought it at a tag sale for $7 a few years ago. I was so excited to get it. I had been keeping an eye out for a Peugeot. My parents had a 504 station wagon when I was growing up so this was fitting that I have a Peugeot bicycle as well. When I got it, it had steel wheel on it. I had some nice aluminium wheels and grey/blue Kevlar tires I put on the bike. I was such a nice looking bicycle. It was a little too big for me, but I road it all over the place. I don't know why I sold it, but I seem to play with bikes for a while and then sell them. I believe the bike was from Canada because it had a aluminum plate on it with a Quebec address on it. Like I said it was a really cool bike. I wish I knew more about Peugeot bike and I could explain more but I can on this one.