A Bumette's View

I was such a bum today.  Actually "bum" has kind of a male connotation to it.  At least, I don't recall anyone referring to a woman as a "bum."  Are there bumettes?  Hmm...That sounds like the name of a band or something.


(Speaking of bands:  I actually played drums for a local punk rock band when I was in college.  Back then, it was perfect for me because I didn't have to be very good at it, and I could do it drunk, which I often was in those days. But I digress.)


So how much of a bumette was I?  Well, for one thing, I slept very late.  And when I opened my door, I felt as if I'd stepped into a blast furnace.  That destroyed my incentive to do much of anything.  So I didn't ride today.  


And what do they say about idle hands?  Well, actually, I had stuff to do, but I procrastinated a bit.   I finally listed a few things on eBay, including a couple of parts I pulled off the bike I just bought.


I find that I prefer photographing most bikes and parts in daylight.  So I find myself moving into all kinds of weird spaces and position to get the light or space I'm seeking.  Sometimes, I'll go into the driveway next to where I live, as it is partly covered.  And it offers some interesting views:

Once I leave the confines of the driveway, the shifters turn  into deadly weapons:

Tomorrow morning, I'm definitely getting up early and going for a ride!

Where All Of The Pie Plates In Brooklyn Went

Believe it or not, someone has actually come up with a use for those "pie plate" "spoke protectors" that were found on so many Bike Boom-era ten-speed bikes.

I saw this display at Brooklyn Bikes and Boards, which is located a couple of blocks in back of the Brooklyn Academy of Music.


It's located in the same storefront as a shop I used to frequent:  Bicycle Station, which was owned by Michael Rodriguez.  Before he owned that shop, he owned Open Road, just around the corner from the Bergen Street apartment where I lived.  A former lover was convinced that I moved there for that reason.  I deny it.


Mike was one of the better mechanics I knew.  And, as it happened, his build and his riding style were much like mine, at least in those days. So his recommendations usually worked well for me.  As you might expect, I bought a couple of bikes and a bunch of parts and accessories from him. And, we did more than a few training rides together.


Brooklyn Bikes and Boards is, like many other shops in this town, cluttered.  And they seem as if they know what they're doing:  They seem to be catering to a clintele that's younger and more self-consciously, or at least more aspirationally, hip than I am.  


Anyway, the owner--whose name I didn't get--was happy to let me take the photo.  And, I have to give "props" to someone who can do anything at all with those "pie plates." In one of the shops in which I worked, we used them as Frisbees.  But I think that BBb display is a better--and safer--use for them!

First Glance at MM II

OK, Velouria.  I'm going to give you, and everyone else reading this, a quick "just out of the box" look at Miss Mercian II.

I didn't fully assemble it because I am going to change a few things.  I plan to keep most of the components because they're all good, if not at the same level as the ones on my other Mercians.  


The cranks, hubs and brakes are from Shimano's Deore DX line.  When it was introduced in 1987, it was one step below Deore XT, making it Shimano's second-best mountain bike set.  (I hate using the word "gruppo.")  When the Deore XTR came out in 1991, it moved the DX to third in Shimano's mountain bike line.  Then Shimano introduced the Deore LX line in 1994.  It was priced somewhat lower than the DX but incorporated some of the more desirable features of the XT and XTR lines.  Some time after introducing LX, Shimano discontinued DX.


So, I've gotten a first-rate frame with second- to- third-tier (but still perfectly good) components.  That will work fine for me if I'm going to commute on this bike. I'll just ride the components until they wear out.  

The head-to-downtube lug on this bike has a noticeably longer point and larger cutout window than the same lug on my other Mercians.  There's nothing wrong with this; it's just a different kind of look.  I think the lug on this bike works well with the color and the fact that the "top tube" is two parallel tubes.


Finding this bike was utterly serendipitous.  I was looking for something else on eBay and, for fun, I decided to type "Mercian" in the search box.  Mercians don't show up often on eBay and, when they do, they tend to command good prices.   What made this bike even more of a find is that it's a mixte--only a small percentage of Mercian's productions is this model--and it was in a large size.  And, if Mercian didn't offer the finish that's on my other bikes (Number 57, a.k.a. "flip-flop" purple to green) or lilac, I would have chosen "British racing green," which is the color of this bike.


I didn't assemble it completely because of the changes I plan to make.  As an example, I didn't bother to put on the front fender, which was removed for shipping.  Instead, I'm going to strip the Velo Orange "Zeppelin" fenders off Marianela.  (The ones that came with the bike are plastic.  I think they were painted, because the black seems to be coming off in spots on the side you see when the fender is installed.  The underside is gray.)  And, as I mentioned in a previous post, I'm taking Marianela's saddle for this bike. 

Poor Marianela!  I'm so mean, stripping her that way!  You'd think I was a guy or something. ;=)


At least the handlebars, brake levers and chainring I'm putting on this bike are new.  


Don't worry. No bikes are being harmed in this process.