SALVAGING OLD TWO-WHEELERS; SOME TEN-SPEEDS CAN HAVE NINE LIVES.Byline: MARK LANGTON OK, everybody out there who bought a sleek, drop-handlebar ten-speed back when ten-speeds were the rage, raise your hands. Hmmm, quite a few of you, I can well imagine. Now, of those, how many rode them for a few weeks and then stashed them away in your garages where they now look like dust bunnies dust bunny n. Informal A mass of fine, dry particles of matter, especially hair and skin particles, that is formed by static electricity. on steroids? Another fair amount, I'd wager. Since then, have you longingly eyed those fat-tired steeds affectionately known as mountain bikes gliding over everything from potholed pot·hole n. 1. A hole or pit, especially one in a road surface. Also called chuckhole. 2. A deep round hole worn in rock by loose stones whirling in strong rapids or waterfalls. 3. Western U.S. pavement to Balboa Park Balboa Park is the name of several municipal parks, including the following:
They run for approximately 40 mi (64 km) east-west from the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles to Point Mugu in Ventura County. trails? Fear not, a solution is at hand that will convert your skinny-tire road bike into a street-wise warrior in less time than you can say ``on your left.'' While there is no substitute for the mountain bike when it comes to riding dirt trails, the fact remains that most mountain bikes are pedaled on pavement or paved trails (or relatively smooth dirt fire roads) because many cyclists This is an incomplete list. Please add to this list if you are aware of an omission. This is a list of cyclists by decade. Cyclists by decade Cyclists before the 1880s
The reason the mountain bike is so popular is because of its upright riding position, due mainly to the flat or ``riser'' handlebar and higher bar stem. On that handlebar are easy-to-reach controls - brake levers and gear-shifting mechanisms - that allow ergonomic ergonomic - Concerning ergonomics or exhibitting good ergonimics. positioning and safer operation. Fat tires make for a more stable and comfortable ride. So what does this have to do with your garage-dwelling ten-speed? The very same mountain-bike components that helped revolutionize the industry can transform your dust bunny into an urban-assault vehicle. All you have to do is take that old two-wheeler down to your local bike shop A local bike shop or local bicycle shop is a small business which specializes in the sale and maintenance of bicycles and bicycle parts. The initialism LBS and ask for a ``handlebar conversion'' - so that you can ride more upright like on a mountain bike - and a set of the fattest tires that will fit into your bike's frame. Be prepared to have the salesperson attempt to sell you a mountain bike or ``cross-bike'' - a two-wheeler with the characteristics of both a mountain bike and a road bike morphed into one. A cross-bike is basically what we're trying to achieve here, but the least expensive conversion can be performed for less than half the cost of a new cross-bike or mountain bike. You may be swayed; shiny new paint jobs often win out over an inch-thick layering of dust and grime. But if you hold fast to your desire of returning to the glory of riding that old ten-speed you cherished so long ago, here are the bare necessities Bare Necessities may refer to:
New handlebar: The least expensive is steel, but for a few more dollars and a lot less weight you can get an aluminum bar. Go with a high-rise bar for a more upright position Upright position or erect position, in a frequency-division multiple access multiplexer, means that a signal is upconverted to the multiplexer band without inverting the frequencies. See inverted position. . Cost: $10-$40. New brake levers: Back in the heyday of handlebar conversions when mountain bikes were becoming the rage in the mid-1980s, inexpensive brake levers that were - and still are - used on English touring bikes were readily available. If your bike shop doesn't have them in stock, they can be ordered. However, most bike shops carry the slightly more expensive mountain bike lever, which will work fine. Cost: $20-$30. New gear shifters: The least expensive design is the ``twist shifter,'' although for a little extra cost a trigger-style shifter is very finger-friendly. Both designs work well and provide excellent ergonomics ergonomics, the engineering science concerned with the physical and psychological relationship between machines and the people who use them. The ergonomicist takes an empirical approach to the study of human-machine interactions. but may not work perfectly with your derailleurs. New derailleurs could be installed, but if you start considering that option, you might as well splurge on a new entry-level mountain or cross bike. (If your bike has ``stem shifters,'' you won't necessarily need new shifter mechanisms; ask at the shop.) Cost: $20-40. New tires: Wider road tires, while not as stable as a mountain bike tire, certainly provide more control and shock absorption than the razor-sharp rubber that came on your bike originally. Of course, if your bike has been sitting idle for more than a couple of years, the Years, The the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time tires' sidewalls more than likely have decayed to the point where they should be replaced. The most cost-effective tires come with steel ``beads'' and run as little as $15 per wheel. Cost: $30. New seat: Replace that stiff, unforgiving racing saddle with a wider, padded saddle with coil springs. Nothing is more comfy com·fy adj. com·fi·er, com·fi·est Informal Comfortable. comfy Adjective [-fier, -fiest] Informal comfortable Adj. 1. to handle the bumps off road. Cost: $20. New cables: A good idea when you're overhauling a bike. Cost: $10. Tune-up: An even better idea. Cost: $35. Labor: Price is approximate, depending on how much you haggle with the shop manager. Cost: $20-$40. There you have it, a transformation of your tattered tat·tered adj. 1. Torn into shreds; ragged. 2. Having ragged clothes; dressed in tatters. 3. a. Shabby or dilapidated. b. Disordered or disrupted. ten-speed into a lean, mean urban machine for $165 to $245. Some money can be saved by not getting new cables or a tune-up (the bike shop may even throw in the tune-up for free), bringing the conversion cost down to as little as $120. The mechanic can make a recommendation on whether you should skip either or both of the options. Or you could just fork over the $250 to $300 for a low-end cross-bike or mountain bike. The choice is yours to make based on how much you are willing to spend to ride again in the most effective manner possible. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO (Color) COST TO CONVERT A TEN-SPEED INTO A MOUNTAIN BIKE Bicycle provided by Wheel World of Culver City Culver City, city (1990 pop. 38,793), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a residential suburb of Los Angeles; inc. 1917. It is a center of the U.S. motion-picture industry, whose roots in the city date to c.1915. Its chief manufactures are rubber products and computers. . Evan Yee/Daily News |
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