Thursday, August 27, 2009

New NEW Bike...

Let's try this again. Before my vacation, I picked up a new bike. The goal was simple: obtain an inexpensive single-speed bicycle that would provide me with an easy-to-maintain set of wheels for infrequent biking. I wanted something that didn't require a lot of tweaking or tinkering, that I could replace tubes quickly and simply, that could be strapped on the carrier or tossed in the bed of the truck for a quick trip with the kids.

Well... As normally happens with me, right after picking up the new bike referenced above, I found the bike I really wanted. This one:

Schwinn Del Mar

Still a single-speed. Still a coaster brake. However, this one's a little nicer - it's a Schwinn, the same brand I had throughout my childhood (and have three ancient ten-speeds in my basement...). It's even got a rack!

The Huffy I got lasted exactly two rides. The second time I took it out, I noticed an uneven ride which I localized to the front tire after about a ¼ mile. The tire - not the tube, mind you, the actual tire itself - had split and deformed. Brought it back to the shop, paid the difference between the Huffy and the Schwinn, and got the exact bike I wanted.

Sometimes things really do work out...

That is all.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah Dude, You be stylin' now, no more of that funky old huffmobile for you!

TOTWTYTR said...

Nice rack.

B Smith said...

I'll up you one:
For some time now, I've been wondering if someone had/would manufacture a "penny-farthing" type bike (the really old type, with the gigantic wheel in the front and the tiny one in the back) with a three-speed worm-gear in the hub, for climbing hills and such. As you noted, I probably wouldn't need more than three gears anyway, and it would look SOOO cool...

DAve said...

Doesn't having the front of the seat higher than the back like that cause you an achin' in da ding-a-ring?
*Internet bicycle diagnostician*