About

How it began

In 2013 I wanted to start riding a bike. I hadn't really ridden one since childhood and didn't know much about them. I decided that a hybrid would be good because it would be simple. I found one that I liked the looks of at a used bike stand at a farmer's market in Maryland. It cost me $150. It was a nice looking 1990s steel hybrid that I later learned had been sold in Costco new. So it was nothing special. But it felt fun to ride. I rode it a bit here and there but never really got into the whole cycling thing, and when I moved in 2014 I ended up locking it in an apartment garage that had some bike racks. There my poor little hybrid stayed, forgotten for about a year. I mean, I checked that it was there from time to time, but I didn't move it for many months.

Stolen

One day the seat post and seat disappeared, which was annoying. But I still didn't move it. Then a few months later, the bike itself disappeared, along with the cheap U lock and the cable lock that had been on it. I didn't have the serial number, so I didn't file a police report. I did make an entry for it on bikeindex.org using a picture that I had taken of it.

Although I hadn't been riding the bike, its disappearance bothered me and I kept thinking about it. The injustice. I knew someone around had it. I tried to tell myself that maybe someone who needed it had ended up with it, but that was little solace. I started thinking about bikes more. I decided to buy a another one.

Bike #2: 1990s Specialized Crossroads

I couldn't find the used bike guy that I had bought the hybrid from, but I found another guy at another farmer's market situation in Maryland. I again bought a steel 90s hybrid, this time a slight upgrade--a Specialized Crossroads. At least it was name brand. I paid $250 for this, which I now know is insanely overpriced for what the bike was. I was mostly attracted to the nice shiny purple paint job.

I still don't know whether the bike was too big for me or too small. It just never felt right. I started messing around with it in order to make it comfortable. I wanted to change the handlebars, but in doing that I discovered that the cables were too short for the new setup. So then I had to figure out how to change the cables and housings. I didn't like how the shifters were working, so I put new ones on. I thought the brake levers were a bit funky and old, so I changed those too. I put on a new seat. I put on new grips. I went from swept back handlebars back to the original straight ones.

The bike never felt right but I had cleaned it up and improved it significantly. I decided to give up on it, and sold it on Craiglist finally for around $200. Quite a loss, but I took it as a lesson not to buy an overpriced used bike from a dealer again, and just sort of tried to count the money as going toward a do-it-yourself bike maintenance class for myself.

Bike #3: 2016 Linus Mixte 8

I was reading more about bikes at this point. I took an interest in vintage bikes for their beauty and style. I decided that I wanted to try to commute to work instead of riding the boring bus, and what I needed was a European-style transportation bike. Something with an internal gear hub, and fenders. I didn't feel comfortable buying a vintage bike yet so I looked at companies that sold new versions of this type of bike. I landed on Linus, which is sold in the DC area at a few shops.

I ended up taking home a very attractive sea green Linus mixte 8. I dutifully began commuting on it. I struggled on the hilly ride; part of that was due to my out-of-shapeness and part of it was due to the weight of the Linus. I noticed people constantly blowing by me. That bothered me. I began to think about getting a road bike.

Bike #4: 1987 Schwinn Voyageur

I scoured Craigslist for a suitable road bike. I happened upon a 1987 Schwinn Voyageur in the 21 inch size. It was in original, unrestored condition with a nice deep red paint color. I paid about $200 for it. It instantly felt a little small but I doubted myself because that was the size I was supposed to fit on, from what I had read. I ended up replacing bar tape, saddle, cables and housings, and tires. No matter what I did, or what length stem I installed, I could not make the bike big enough. The reach was just too tight, I think. I really loved it otherwise. I kept the rack on it for myself and sold the bike on CL for about $300 to someone who seemed to really like it and fit it well. I hope it's still out there transporting her in style.

I should add that adjusting the gears at this point involved balancing the bike's center tube on the end of an ironing board, placed on my bed, held down on the other side by some heavy weights. This was not an ideal setup.

I went back to commuting on the Linus.

Bike #5: 1974 Raleigh Sports

I was still into reading about English three-speeds and wanted one for the DC tweed ride. I acquired a green 1974 Raleigh Sports on good old CL for $150. It was in fine shape as far as the paint but the crank was hard to turn due to old, gunked up grease. I bought a cotter pin press and removed the crank. I put new grease and ball bearings in. I did the same with the front hub. I installed a larger cog on the back to make battling the area hills easier. I did most of this in my living room while watching Downton Abbey.

I rode the Sports in the tweed ride and had a lot of fun.

Of course once I had done this, I discovered the existence of the stunning ladies Raleigh Tourist. One came up on Craigslist but got away from me. Once I had seen it, my poor Sports seemed pedestrian by comparison. I enjoyed the Sports and appreciated it, but I never loved it. I recently decided to let it go and sold it to an enthusiast via CL.

The Prodigal Bike Returned

More than a year after my 1990s hybrid bike had been stolen from the garage in my apartment complex, I received an email from someone via Bike Index. She had found the bike abandoned and gone searching for the owner, and found my entry.

I met up with her and the bike was indeed mine. The seatpost wasn't the right size; someone had dropped in another one since mine was missing and was just riding it untightened with the seat sitting on the bike frame. Overall the bike was more scratched up than before and needed a new brake cable but seemed okay otherwise. The girl who found it really liked the bike. Since she wanted it, and I didn't have the room or the need for it anymore, I let her keep it. Happy ending for me and for her, not so happy for whoever had stolen it.

Bike #6: 1980 Fuji America

My dream of a road bike had never died. I looked at CL all through the winter but nothing perfect came up. I had gotten a bike stand for Christmas from my dad, so I was in a better place for a new project. One day both a Schwinn Le Tour Luxe and a Fuji America came up on CL. Both had triple cranks. Both were in the touring/sports touring category. I went with the Fuji because from my research it appeared to have been a higher-quality bike when new, and the CL ad for the Schwinn had a couple of weirdnesses--handlebars turned way up, and no bar tape. I wondered what else might be going on with it. I also liked that the Fuji had bar-end shifters.

I was able to secure the Fuji for $150, which I think is a basically decent but not outstanding price for the condition it turned out to be in. The man who sold it to me is a DKO (dirt-knocker-offer) flipper in the DC area who seems to pick bikes up and turn them around without doing anything to them. To each his own. Anyway, it turned out that the Fuji's handlebars were awfully pitted from rotting handlebar tape that had been sealed over with a new layer of tape. Gross. I replaced brakes, cables, housings, tires to start with, and installed a nitto technomic stem and new nitto handlebars. There was also a bit spot of rust on the frame, which I sanded down.

The Fuji rides beautifully and is a truly fun bike. The cosmetics aren't perfect but they're still decent and it's easy to see that this was a fine, high end bike in its time.

Where I am now

Recently I sold my Linus mixte to a nice woman who wanted a fun and stylish neighborhood ride. It certainly provides that. I liked the Linus very much but I felt that I had learned from it and outgrown it, and it was time to let it go.

Now I'm down to just the Fuji America, but probably not for long. I've learned so much so far but there's more I want to conquer.

Thanks for stopping by and reading about this journey. If you'd like to contact me, please feel free to email.

-Retrocyclist