can i call a re-do?
fix your bike before you go to bed, don’t put it off.Last night I scuffed some speed coming into a parking lot, POW! + HISS + FLAP-FLAP-FLAP= flat tire.
It was only a couple blocks to the boat. Jason was kind enough to walk it with me. I should have fixed it last night, but I didn’t.
I woke up to fix it this morning. Damn, full fenders make it kinda hard to monitor your tire wear. This one was threadbare to say the least. Not having any spare tires on the boat I left the old tube in, just cutting out the valve stem. No go. After putting a new tube in it and pumping it up, the tube(s) bulged out of every hole in the tire.Round two, fold some heavy paper and slip that between the tube and tire. Good to go.
I grabbed my bag and went to get off the boat. Nope, the boat was ten feet from the dock. The forward line snapped during the night, (another boat in our marina broke loose during last week’s storm). I made the leap from the back of the boat to the dock, wrangled in the front. Off to work, only 40 minutes late.
Twenty feet into my ride I have a repeat of last night. Flat.
Rather than deal with any more shit, I grabbed the cruiser I picked up for Amanda a few weeks ago. The 3 speed hub sticks, the brakes only work if you pray, but damn-it I was late.
The hub really wanted to stay in the high gear. So I stood the whole way to work. After work I adjusted the rear brake a bit. A marginal improvement. After spending the evening rocking an undersized, over-geared girls bike I’d have to say, I kinda want a cruiser. The wide bars, fat saddle, wheels and tires that can take on a dozen stairs (verified) and full fenders that rattle like mad make for some good city cruising. Oh yeah, it has a kick stand too.
December 21st, 2006 at 4:54 pm
aw man, i just sold a cruiser such as you describe. i kept one for myself though, the gimpcycle is solid steel and heavy as hell, but commensurately indestructible.
if you need a hand working on that hub, i know a thing or two about working on them.