Old Winter Bike Gets New Look For Spring

Those big brown tires are Fat Franks from Schwalbe Tire.

I've had this Gary Fischer for almost 15 years and had been using it for just Winter riding the last few years, until my Dutch bike came along. This Spring, I decided that I wanted a larger stable of bikes to ride. I rode the Dutchman for 4 straight months, last fall. I don't regret it. When I finally hoped on another bike, it was a shock. I felt like I was going to fall over the front end of the bike. I thought maybe I should wear a helmet, just to guard against that posibility. I knew then for sure that the upright posture of Dutch style bikes really is safer.

After a long hard Winter, my Dutch bike needed some work, I began to ride my other bikes more regularly. Now I'm liking the variety. Three really is better than one(sometimes Four).

So, I started shopping around for some nice sturdy tires with the Fat Franks getting my attention. Fat! At 2.35, they barely fit on my mountain bike. Sturdy. The talk is they don't get flats. Styling. Might as well cut a pleasant trail.

I also bought the pannier from Hiawatha Cyclery. They are becoming my favorite bikeshop. Kind of a Sheldon Brown/ Rivendell/ neighborhoody shop down by Minnehaha Falls. The panniers are from Banjo Brothers, which happens to be a local company, which makes it even better! They were also nice enough to loan me the saddle to try out. I've put 50 miles on it and can't complain of any pains. I do think I should look into getting a brown seat though, whether that's a Brooks or not. Maybe I'll put this one on my aluminum Gary Fischer? It's seat had busted and I've been trading seats with this Gary ever since. That poor bike has been the odd bike out. Maybe I should sell it?

Well, unless it snows again, I'll be over at thechaicyclist. Hopefully, next year I won't poop out on blogging in the middle of the iciclebicycle season.