Building a new bike (part 4)

Getting the bike back from the LBS, after having the steerer tube cut, all hat was left to do was put the handlebar tape, setup the gears and the brake calipers, and give test the bike on the road.

Building a new bike (part 3)

After having all the components, it was now time to start assembling the bike. I usually do the maintenance on my bikes, I know a bit about the mechanics, but it was the first time I actually built a whole bike from scratch.

Building a new bike (part 2)

Choosing the frame was just the first part, afterwards there was an extensive research and procurement process to get all the other components. This post is about component selection, and it is written in no particular order, so I will just start with the brakes.

Building a new bike (part 1)

Everybody knows the rule concerning the ideal number of bikes one should have, the ideal number equals N+1, where N represents the number of bikes one currently has. Ever since the invention of the bike, mankind has been trying to solve that equation. Surely there must be a point after which the N+1 rule becomes invalid, although no one has yet discovered it.

Le Tour de France

I remember the first time I saw the Tour on television. It was the Alpe d’Huez stage, the year was 1984. A couple of years later I saw it again, I was a little boy, but all the adults in the room were expecting a show down between Hinault and Lemond, tension had been building up between the two in the days before the stage, but they ended up crossing the line together (the photo above is from L’Equipe), much to the frustration of everybody that was watching (I though it was kinda cool).

Building a set of wheels

A few months after the purchase of a new bike, and I guess no matter how complete that bike comes, or regardless of the high end specs it may have, you start to feel a compulsive urge to upgrade something. In my case, the upgrade symptom manifested itself in one of its most complicated varieties, the “wheelset upgrade”.