Prototype

Got another little project in the works. My wife has a large old family Bible and needs a display stand for it. The plan is to put the stand and Bible on the top of our glass-doored bookshelves in the living room. I want the stand to match the wood and general construction of the bookshelves, so I bought some decent oak plywood yesterday. But, before I cut the plywood I wanted to throw together a prototype to check the measurements and see how the big book looked on it.

The size and general measurements turned out to be close. The only dimensional change we decided to make is to lower the front by about two-thirds, leaving the back the same height, and thereby increasing the display angle of the book. Of course, I'll use different joinery on the next version ... the screws are only for the prototype!

So, I guess one day this week I’ll start cutting the good plywood, but first I need to put up the clothesline I promised my sweetie. She’s been really patient :)

Conversion ... Part One

I took advantage of yesterday to put the old Rincon back together after having completely disassembled and cleaned every possible part. I lubed and adjusted everything and installed a set of cheap drop bars and stem friction shifters that we cannibalized from an old garage sale road bike. The most difficult part was figuring out how all the springs, spacers, washers and screws went for the cantilever brakes. Everything always looks different when you’re putting things back together, and that mental picture you had of the parts prior to disassembly has vanished.

We called my reassembly of the Rincon a “proof of concept” … the concept being making a decent loaded tourer out of an old mountain bike. The concept is sound. This old steel mountain bike, like others typical of its time, has a nice long wheel wheelbase and the top bar is parallel to the ground. I happen to like the look of the classic non-compact frame. It has long chainstays, rack eyelets on the seatstays and on both front and rear dropouts, 26 inch wheels, and low gearing suitable for loaded touring.

I took it out for a quick spin around the neighborhood this afternoon and wa-laa! it’s alive! Now I need to take inventory of what it needs to actually enable me to feel confident about beginning short day trips and training for some multi-day touring. For sure I’ll need a new rear wheel (a bend and a small crack), some cables and a touring saddle, even if that means borrowing the Bl7 from my Cannondale. To be truly confident and comfortable I’d be looking at a new component set, but I’m thinking maybe I can piecemeal it. We’ll see. There’s no need to be really committed to this thing yet … I can afford to wait and see what develops. Besides, scrounging parts can be fun.

Maggot's Bike

Had a good day yesterday playing in the garage. Maggot came over about 11am with his hybrid bike, which he proceeded to tear down. He wanted to clean, lube and adjust his bottom bracket, but when he pulled it apart he found that the crank axle was brindled and the bearings pretty well shot. He was also concerned about the condition of his gear rings since the teeth looked pretty worn. Taking the parts with us, we went down to see Johnny, our friendly LBS proprietor, who of course had all the answers. Turns out Maggot needs (and ordered) a new crank axle and bearings, but that his Biopace rings are supposed to look that way, with some shorter teeth. You learn something every day.

Valley of Dry Bones

Have you ever thought that maybe you could make something from nothing?

This old Rincon followed me home one day, so I let it stay in my garage. Before long it was whispering to me, saying "I'm not really a mountain bike ... I'm really a touring bike!" Do I believe it? Of course not. Am I going to try building a tourer on this old frame? Of course.

Is it possible to make something from nothing? Stay tuned. We're about to find out.

Goodbye BOB

Well I've nearly finished overhauling the old Bridgestone 200. I'm waiting on a freewheel remover tool that I've ordered so that I can overhaul the rear hub, and I still need to adjust the derailleurs since putting them back on the bike. Over the past couple of weeks I've completely gone through the bike cleaning, adjusting, and lubricating. I've gotten a chance to use some of the tools I've recently acquired and to have lots of fun taking things apart (and so far being able to put them back together!).

I learned how to decode the serial number and discovered that it was made in 1985. I also had a good time measuing and recording all the specifications for the bike, including its geometry and gear ratios.

I've decided I won't be keeping this bike. My buddy Maggot needs a road bike, and I need a Blackburn rear rack he has, so we decided on a swap. He should replace the bar tape and a couple cables, but otherwise she's ready to roll. It's good to put a 20 year veteran back on the road.