Have I been riding? A little. Have I been losing weight? Nope. I've been putting it on. I finally quit smoking on my 40th birthday - July 19th - the day I SHOULD have been at RAGBRAI. Anyway...enough about that. It's been 5 weeks now. Still haven't cheated once. Oh, but I have wanted to...
I have ANOTHER couple of new bikes now. Yes, I'm pitiful. The less I ride, the more bikes I buy. Due to changes to my schedule at work, I don't really have time to ride any longer. I'm gone from sun-up to sun-down. My two days off I'm lucky to get out of bed. Plus, that's the only time I get to see my wife, since she works nights. So yeah....I'm pitiful now.
Anyway, the first new bike is an old one. I'm guessing it from sometime between 1983 and 1986. It's a Bianchi San Remo. It originally came with cool old Shimano stuff that was engraved and stuff. It also has one of those wacky triple cranks from that era with a 50t, a 46 or 48t and a 30t. Weird. I kept those cranks on there. I replaced the rear derailleur with a Deore (for now), the wheelset with the wheels from the 'cross bike that I stripped (more on that later), and the downtube shifters with a set of 10 speed bar-end shifters that Greg gave me. Oh, and I replaced the 40cm handlebar with a Ritchey WCS 44cm bar I bought from Rob. Vern gave me a set of new Tektro brake levers to use so that I can ride on the hoods without crying in agony. I kept the original brakes, as they reach the 700c wheels just fine (it originally had 27" wheels).
It cleaned up well and looks great. It suffered a little damage in shipping, but it's still mostly okay. The bar is wrapped with leather bar tape, and the saddle is an "Aged" Brooks B17.
Maybe I'll actually take it out on it's first ride soon! LOL!
The second new bike is another eBay purchase. I wanted the Masi Volumetrica so bad....but it wasn't to be. None to be had. Masi has been out of stock for a while now. So, I bought a "Bottechia". It isn't anything of the sort, of course. Some discount bike seller here in the US licensed their name. The frame I have is actually a "copy" of the Fuji CCR bikes. It's made by the same manufacturer, and is identical as far as the front triangle. The rear triangle is slightly different, as the Fuji chain/seat stays are patented.
I built the frame up with an IRD Mosaic fork, Ultegra 10 speed stuff stripped from a Fuji cyclocross bike that we've had at the shop for a year, and assorted other goodies. It has a Fizik Aliante saddle, FSA carbon seatpost, FSA stem, Ritchey BioMax handlebar, Velocity wheelset in "pimpin" gold, VeloFlex handmade open tubular tires, Fizik bar tape, and TruVativ Elita cranks. Oh, and Salsa rasta Flip-Off skewers and a red Salsa seatpost clamp. :p
I've ridden it a total of 9 miles. Maybe 13. I'm too lazy to look.
My Cinelli that I've only ridden once? I have it on eBay. I need money pretty damn badly at the moment, so I'm trying to sell pretty much anything I can. I sold my Specialized mountain bike on eBay, but the idiot hasn't paid me yet. It's been a week. The putz who bought my Volvo hasn't come to pick it up (and therefore pay me) either. That's a total of $800 I'm owed that would REALLY help out right now.
Anyhoo, here are some pics of the bikes!
Bianchi San Remo - Before
Bianchi San Remo - After
Here's the Cinelli Aliante
These are "old" pictures of the Bottechia/Fuji/Thing
Well, that's all for now. It's 3am and I must be lonely.
