I finally came to understand the ideas behind bikes at the co-op. It is a lot like the pound, or animal shelter. It exist in a way that compares to a bike shop like the shelter relates to a pet store. The bike there have various issues. Some are diamonds in the rough, and some are too far gone to be saved. Although not overrun, kids bikes are like puppies and kittens, everyone loves them. Older bikes, adult bikes, they don't move as quickly. Even fixed up, some may not be the same as when they were younger. The idea isn't to fix them up the same as new, but to make them as good as they can reasonably be. And while I have been somewhat spoiled growing up and having access to good bike shop bikes, (pedigrees in the analogy) there are many who don't care if the pedals are not quite right, or the brake cable housing doesn't match, if the levers are not a real pair, etc. They don't care if the bike has Shimano or Sram, if the bike came from Walmart or a Bike Shop. They care that they can hop on it and ride from point a to point b.
One bike I worked on at the Co-op was converted to a single speed, removing the gear shifters and the cables, while using the RD to hold the chain on a certain gear and add tension. The person getting the bike will be thrilled with it like that. I actually think they will like it. I found some longer BMX grips that matched the bike really well in the back parts area, and the bike rode well enough. (I don't think anyone got a pic of me riding it, I think it was a 20", maybe a 24". Small either way.)
It is true that I prefer new bikes over used. My current stable contains two bikes I bought new (one I assembled myself) and two older bikes. One I did some work on and a LBS did a lot of work on, and that was from 1974. The other is the Mongoose frame that I built up, and it is one of my favourite bikes in memory. And while I plan on trading in the vintage and the current road bike (2011) for something a bit more in line with how I prefer to ride, my Mongoose isn't going anywhere. I know every part on that bike, and I can fix just about anything that could go wrong on it. (I can't do anything about the frame if that goes though.)
Saturday, November 8, 2014
Friday, November 7, 2014
Finished, minor sacrifce
The bike is done. Maybe a little fine tuning, and need to do a final test ride tomorrow, but it is done. Picked up a used FD, added a shim, realigned it when I realized it was too close to the wheel, and swapped out the twist shifters for trigger shifters. (They were on sale for $25 or so when I stopped by Performance Bike last weekend, and I like them better.)
Getting the FD to shift correctly was a real headache. The RD shifted almost perfectly from the start, and took a mere 30 seconds to have set up. Since the trigger shifts have the brake levers as well, it did take a little bit to set up. I might still need to adjust the brakes after I try them out on the road though.
Of course, it is not stock. (The shifters are closer to stock, might even be better than stock) One key difference is the crankset. I am using a 48t big ring, where the original only used a 42t. Now, I like this, because (while I forgot the specs on the rear freewheel) it gives a performance boost. Assuming from the spec list from the Mongoose that it has a 14-28t freewheel, the stock ratios would be 1.5x~3x and the 48 gives me 1.7x~3.4x or about 13% more distance per pedal rotation. (Considering the top gear before I got the FD installed was a 38, I had a 10% drop from stock when in the middle gear vs the original top gear, and about a 26% increase with the large ring compared to the middle.)
Not accounting for wind and rolling resistance, the bike still won't have quite the speed of my road bike (4.3x ratio, and 700c wheels instead of 26") but should be on par with my fixie, which runs a 3.14 ratio at the moment.
Now, moving from a 42t to 48t did have one issue. Because of the larger chainring, the FD had to be moved higher. In doing so, the second bottle cage can not be mounted. (Well, it can, but it blocks the FD from the lowest gear.) I still have one bottle cage mounted, and it really shouldn't be an issue for most rides. The sacrifice of a second cage against the gear increase is worth it to me.
I plan to put the bike though its paces again tomorrow, before it gets much colder. Being Ohio though, the cold is coming either way.
Getting the FD to shift correctly was a real headache. The RD shifted almost perfectly from the start, and took a mere 30 seconds to have set up. Since the trigger shifts have the brake levers as well, it did take a little bit to set up. I might still need to adjust the brakes after I try them out on the road though.
Of course, it is not stock. (The shifters are closer to stock, might even be better than stock) One key difference is the crankset. I am using a 48t big ring, where the original only used a 42t. Now, I like this, because (while I forgot the specs on the rear freewheel) it gives a performance boost. Assuming from the spec list from the Mongoose that it has a 14-28t freewheel, the stock ratios would be 1.5x~3x and the 48 gives me 1.7x~3.4x or about 13% more distance per pedal rotation. (Considering the top gear before I got the FD installed was a 38, I had a 10% drop from stock when in the middle gear vs the original top gear, and about a 26% increase with the large ring compared to the middle.)
Not accounting for wind and rolling resistance, the bike still won't have quite the speed of my road bike (4.3x ratio, and 700c wheels instead of 26") but should be on par with my fixie, which runs a 3.14 ratio at the moment.
Now, moving from a 42t to 48t did have one issue. Because of the larger chainring, the FD had to be moved higher. In doing so, the second bottle cage can not be mounted. (Well, it can, but it blocks the FD from the lowest gear.) I still have one bottle cage mounted, and it really shouldn't be an issue for most rides. The sacrifice of a second cage against the gear increase is worth it to me.
I plan to put the bike though its paces again tomorrow, before it gets much colder. Being Ohio though, the cold is coming either way.
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Smooth riding
I have to say I am impressed with the Mongoose. I still need to replace the FD, which appears to be a top pull (ignoring that bikepedia suggest otherwise) which I still need to replace. Hey, 7 gears is better than none. (Even if all 7 are lower than I am used to)
I moved the kickstand and rear rack from my road bike to the mongoose, and rode to Pizza Hut for lunch. (Lunch buffet, and I get my money's worth.) It wouldn't have been to bad calorie-wise if I got to ride around the bike path after, but as I was finishing my meal, I got a call to pick up my oldest from school.
Riding home, I was pushing speed on the bike as much as I had so far. It like to roll, and that is great, but then it began to shake about three blocks from Pizza Hut, and a good mile and a half away from home. I finally figured I would try something dumb, and reach back to the rack and pulled up on the bike lock. Fixed it. (Part of the lock had gotten into the rack far enough to rub the rear wheel.
Overall, a successful ride. Short term, I still need a water bottle cage on the bike. I have at least one spare one, but I am actually lacking the screws for it. The bike I scrapped during the build didn't even have the brazeons for a waterbottle, so that was no real help. They are cheap though, maybe next week I will hit a shop and get a few. Or just go to home depot and buy a few bags of them, it isn't like they are expensive.
I still miss the trigger shifters I had on the Schwinn, and I have seen reference that the Mongoose had them to begin with. I have seen some online for about $30, but that will have to wait until next year. That isn't really high on my list, as in it won't make the bike work when it wasn't before. (The FD is on the list, but not sure when I will get around to it.)
All things considered, I love the bike though. It feels nice and smooth, even though it doesn't have any suspension. It makes me miss my old Mongoose Transport, though that was a really heavy bike. Maybe next week I will see how it handles on the mountain bike trail in Troy. That should be fun. (Or cold. This is Ohio.)
I moved the kickstand and rear rack from my road bike to the mongoose, and rode to Pizza Hut for lunch. (Lunch buffet, and I get my money's worth.) It wouldn't have been to bad calorie-wise if I got to ride around the bike path after, but as I was finishing my meal, I got a call to pick up my oldest from school.
Riding home, I was pushing speed on the bike as much as I had so far. It like to roll, and that is great, but then it began to shake about three blocks from Pizza Hut, and a good mile and a half away from home. I finally figured I would try something dumb, and reach back to the rack and pulled up on the bike lock. Fixed it. (Part of the lock had gotten into the rack far enough to rub the rear wheel.
Overall, a successful ride. Short term, I still need a water bottle cage on the bike. I have at least one spare one, but I am actually lacking the screws for it. The bike I scrapped during the build didn't even have the brazeons for a waterbottle, so that was no real help. They are cheap though, maybe next week I will hit a shop and get a few. Or just go to home depot and buy a few bags of them, it isn't like they are expensive.
I still miss the trigger shifters I had on the Schwinn, and I have seen reference that the Mongoose had them to begin with. I have seen some online for about $30, but that will have to wait until next year. That isn't really high on my list, as in it won't make the bike work when it wasn't before. (The FD is on the list, but not sure when I will get around to it.)
All things considered, I love the bike though. It feels nice and smooth, even though it doesn't have any suspension. It makes me miss my old Mongoose Transport, though that was a really heavy bike. Maybe next week I will see how it handles on the mountain bike trail in Troy. That should be fun. (Or cold. This is Ohio.)
Saturday, October 18, 2014
How not to lock a bike
I don't know what the worst thing about the above picture is. I came out of the mall a few days ago and saw a Cannondale Quick CX (disc brakes, so not the cheapest model) with rack, bag, and smart phone holder, locked up. Or.. not.
Ok, sure, the letter locks are good for something. Maybe not locking up a $700 bike, but something I am sure. Perhaps to help keep your bike seat attached?
Beyond that, only the front of the bike had the flimsy looking chain lock on it. Since the front wheel is the easiest to remove for most thieves, and with a QR to boot, someone could just pop off the wheel, and put the frame into a truck. I mean, sure, the front wheel is locked to the rack, but the frame isn't. Oh, sorry, no, the chain only passes around the form arm, and the rack. It doesn't go though a single spoke or component. All a theif, or bored teenager, would have to do is open the QR, lift the frame up so the wheel comes out of the fork, watch as the chain falls to the ground, now only attached to the bike rack, and then put the wheel back on the fork. Not a single thing was secure on that bike. If I see the bike there again, I will see if I can find the owner and explain this to them, or at least leave a note in their bike bag.
Seriously, someone needs to teach that owner how to lock up a bike. Sure, a thief will steal a bike if they really want to no matter what precautions you take, but seriously, if your bike is expensive to the point where having it stolen would probably get reported to your homeowners/renters insurance, (depends on the deductible) then maybe you should at least try. Deter with a U-bolt, or a Kryptonite chain. Not a chain that doesn't look like a serious brand, and looks more like a toy than a tool.
(Note, I actually wrote this the same day, but set it to auto publish a few days later.)
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Test ride, working well
 |
| Leaning against the tree, because no kick stand. |
There were a few issues, minor mostly. I had to raise the seat up a few inches, and keeping my feet on the pedals correctly was a bit of a challenge. After a year of riding Fixed, not having toe cages or straps was a new challenge.
The other big issue, which got worse as I rode, was that the seat clamp was loose. Not the post, but the coupler for the seat to the seat post. This made for an interesting ride at points. There was a point where I found the seat to be the most comfortable seat I had ever ridden on. (Much to my surprise, since the seat wasn't always that nice on the road bike.) Sadly, as the clamp was loose, the seat would rotate up and down based on my weight distribution at that time. In effect, it would quickly go from super comfortable and worth the money I shouldn't have spent a few years ago to attempting a prostate exam. That was not fun. At all.
When the seat did behave though, the bike did quite well. Shifting could be a little nicer, but still very good. I expect that might be more the older free-wheel than anything. It cornered well, and with tires about twice as wide (I swear they look wider than that) it easily took any bumps I hit. (Unfortunately, those bumps messed with the seat position)
A more minor issue was that I felt like I was just wasting power. I needed a higher cadence than I am used to, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. In many ways, it is expected from a Mountain bike. Looking at the top gear ratio and tire diameter, and comparing it to my fixie, I am getting about 15% less distance per pedal rotation. Factor in the wider tires and increase drag they present... On the plus side, being used to moving the fixie from a stop meant that keeping the top gear (of 2-7) was still easier to start from than I am used to.
Even so, the ride wasn't that bad for speed considering the route I used, getting used to the bike, and the seat issue. Part of the power issue might just be from using straight platform pedals. I have spare toe cages that I might be able to adapt. I will also move the rack from the KHS, and I think the kick stand, next week.
I tightened the seat when I got home, but I won't be taking a second ride until probably Monday or Tuesday. With the Marathon coming this weekend, I won't be doing anything else major in the way of exercise for a while.
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Day 7 - "Done"
The build in almost done. The FD is the wrong one, but that will be a cheap fix later. For now, the bike is ready to be ridden. I did spend a little more than I had hoped, but I will get my moneys worth from the bike, I have no doubts.
Tomorrow, I will give it a whirl. With the front dérailleur stuck on the middle gear, it won't be fast, but it should be fine. I don't know the tooth count yet, I haven't counted, but I expect it to be around a 32~34 ring, a bit slower than my Fixie's 44. I do still have access to all 7 gears on the free-wheel, so it will still perform.
I sat on the saddle today, balancing in the doorway to the living room. It is much easier to balance on 26x1.95 tires than it is to balance on 700x25 tires. The top tube is about an inch or two lower than the Royce Union bike I used to have, and the fit feels almost perfect. I will add climbing bars eventually. I swear it seems like the kind of thing I should already have laying around the house somewhere.
Still, everything left is largely fine tuning. I might wait a while to fix the FD, and I am happy with the outcome of my first self built bike.
Pics and such after the first ride.
Tomorrow, I will give it a whirl. With the front dérailleur stuck on the middle gear, it won't be fast, but it should be fine. I don't know the tooth count yet, I haven't counted, but I expect it to be around a 32~34 ring, a bit slower than my Fixie's 44. I do still have access to all 7 gears on the free-wheel, so it will still perform.
I sat on the saddle today, balancing in the doorway to the living room. It is much easier to balance on 26x1.95 tires than it is to balance on 700x25 tires. The top tube is about an inch or two lower than the Royce Union bike I used to have, and the fit feels almost perfect. I will add climbing bars eventually. I swear it seems like the kind of thing I should already have laying around the house somewhere.
Still, everything left is largely fine tuning. I might wait a while to fix the FD, and I am happy with the outcome of my first self built bike.
Pics and such after the first ride.
Souls?
I personally believe that bikes have souls. Not quite like a person, but a soul all the same. The soul of a bike rest in the frame, and remains there until the frame truly dies.
I think I first really saw this in an old Huffy Howler that I had back years ago, bought in '03 after my father died. The bike had a lot of issues, and would never cooperate with me. It left a foul taste in my mouth towards Huffy, though that is a bit unfair. Going from a $600 Mongoose from a bike shop to a $100 bike from K-mart is a rough thing.
My next bike was a Royce Union, R400 I think. I can't remember off hand the designation of the frame. I got this frame in 2006 I think, and I called the number on the frame for the maker, and got Airborne Cycles. (Odd note, I know the former owner of Airborne, which is now owned by Huffy.)
This bike was big, heavy, and strong. It had a front suspension on it, but the LBS didn't have the tools to adjust it. The problem for me was that the frame felt too tall for me. I pulled the kid's in the bike trailer with it for a while, and it also played a part in the great domino bike spree of 2011. (That year, I loaned it to my FIL, who realized the difference in a Next (Kent?) bike and a Bike Shop bike. He then went out and bought a Giant. My MIL was borrowing my wife's Murray that I had fixed up a bit, and it was great, but it spurred her into getting a Schwinn from Performance. My wife had ridden on my Schwinn once, and bought a Cannondale two days later. Somewhere in all this, I bought a new road bike.)
The RU bike was stoic and proud. That bike felt like it would take on any challenge, and I sold it for near what I paid for it a few years later. I hope the new owner appreciates it as much as I did.
After the RU, I bought a 2007 Schwinn Voyageur. It was a previous year model, from Smittys. (Aka, the bike shop I am banned from. One day, I plan to sit down with Chris, the one I don't like, and hash things out.) This bike was great, I completed a metric century on it, and it was the bike I used the first year I did the Tour de Donut. Right before the Donut, I had 700x25 tires put onto it, blue ones. It clashed a little with the frame, but I dubbed it "Smurf Killer", and rode it. I did have the tires sink into sand during the race once, at a rest stop. I found that amusing.
Smurf Killer was a good bike though, but it didn't have the heart to push speeds all that much. It was a hybrid, and a good bike, but as I progressed in cycling, it no longer met my needs. I sold it a few years ago, and it sold quickly. A family drove about an hour just to pick it up. Their daughter had the exact same model, but it had gotten stolen while she was in college. She loved her bike, and getting the same model/color/year was something the excited them. I do hope she enjoyed the upgraded trigger shifters. I think the bike would have liked the commuter life better than racing and touring.
Next I purchased a used (of course) 1974 Schwinn Varsity. One thing I noticed quickly was this bike demanded speed. It did slow at times, but in its heart, it wanted to race. Sadly, it was much too old, and heavy, to make to any races, but I did have it up to 28 MPH at one point. (I only got the Voyageur up to 32.5 MPH) The bike is old, and a lot of the components are stock. I actually went to ride it a few weeks ago, but I need to replace the front tube, which I don't have at the moment. Still, for an old, and probably bomb proof, bike, it can hold its own.
Shortly after getting the Varsity, I actually had the spare money to purchase the KHS. (2011, Flite 223) This bike it kind of solemn. Sometimes it wants to go, and it will keep going, but it has some quirks too. Somehow, this bike has no name. (Granted, the Varsity doesn't officially have a name either, but is usually referred to as a variety of green things.) It has done decently, for me, at some races, but it always feels like it needs tinkering with. It has been the most finicky bike I have ever owned. Is some ways, it is like a B-list actress that acts like an A-list Diva. Also, there is something weird about the chain stay, the wheels have had to have nuts added to prevent chain rub. Even a mech from Performance said something was weird with it, but he couldn't figure out what. This bike will likely leave my stable next year.
Glowie, my Purefix Fixie, likes to do whatever. It was tense for the first month, where it did try to kill me. (This is unfair, riding a fixie is not the same as a multi gear road bike. Cornering, in particular, was a skill I had to relearn.) After that, it became the primary bike for me to ride this year. I have more miles on it than I do my other bikes for this year so far, and I have used it for 4 time trials. I still use the KHS for tours, partly because anything over 20 miles is a bit rough for me still on a fixed gear. There was no way I would do the Double Donut on that bike. It is a nice, simple, and clean bike. I love that bike. I just need to check the tires, and out the door I go. Simple.
This leads me to the Mongoose. I haven't been able to ride it yet, obviously, but I felt it's soul when it was just a frame hanging on the wall. It wasn't dead, it was almost dormant, loosing hope. Building it, I feel it coming back to life. Even with some parts better and some worse than when it was stock, it wants to go. I envision this becoming my around town bike when I need to get things. The rack from the KHS will be moved to this bike once it is on the road. Upgrades will come to it, and I think that I will have this bike for a long time. Even if I get a full suspension mountain bike for racing, it won't take this bike's place.
The poor Next. It was suffering, it had seen rough times. The headset, BB, just not doing well. I felt bad stripping it, but I know that even the parts I don't use on the Mongoose will still go on to other bikes, and make life better for others. I do not pray often, but I did pray for the soul of the Next, that it may come back in the next life as something better, more proud. Maybe like a Kestrel, or a Harley.
I think that deep down, souls are the real difference between bikes. You can walk down the aisles of Wal-mart, or Target, and there are a lot of bikes screaming out in pain. Fancy paint covering a tortured soul. Some of them suffering, wishing to be better bikes. Some know that they will be bought, and abused, left to rust on some porch until they are thrown in the trash. (Bikes in bike shops rarely scream out like that, aside from 'trade ins' perhaps.)
And some bikes in the big box stores seem content. Some of them look like great bikes, and may serve well for a long time. Especially if they get rebuilt by someone with the time and money to do it right. Sadly, most of those people would just end up buying a bike from a bike shop in most cases.
There is something to be said for the bikes in the Co-op. Some of them are near the end, some of the ones that are donated are in such poor shape that there is nothing worth removing from them. Those will have their suffering end soon enough. Others, however, are mostly full of hope. Some may never work the way they did when new, but they all know that they will go to someone who needs them. Their primary existence is that they will make someone happy. They get fixed up, and serve a purpose. Sure, some may still end up getting rusted, but they still seem to enjoy their new lease on life.
The Mongoose had a disadvantage. It had hung on the wall for a few years, just a frameset. There are a few other framesets there, and they don't have as much hope. Few are going to pick out a frame set, and build it up. The Mongoose got lucky, and it knows it. I saw that the bike was from the Brunswick days, and that it was not the modern Discount Store line that you see now. Too many would have ignored it for that alone. It will be a great bike, and I can't wait to ride it.
I think I first really saw this in an old Huffy Howler that I had back years ago, bought in '03 after my father died. The bike had a lot of issues, and would never cooperate with me. It left a foul taste in my mouth towards Huffy, though that is a bit unfair. Going from a $600 Mongoose from a bike shop to a $100 bike from K-mart is a rough thing.
My next bike was a Royce Union, R400 I think. I can't remember off hand the designation of the frame. I got this frame in 2006 I think, and I called the number on the frame for the maker, and got Airborne Cycles. (Odd note, I know the former owner of Airborne, which is now owned by Huffy.)
This bike was big, heavy, and strong. It had a front suspension on it, but the LBS didn't have the tools to adjust it. The problem for me was that the frame felt too tall for me. I pulled the kid's in the bike trailer with it for a while, and it also played a part in the great domino bike spree of 2011. (That year, I loaned it to my FIL, who realized the difference in a Next (Kent?) bike and a Bike Shop bike. He then went out and bought a Giant. My MIL was borrowing my wife's Murray that I had fixed up a bit, and it was great, but it spurred her into getting a Schwinn from Performance. My wife had ridden on my Schwinn once, and bought a Cannondale two days later. Somewhere in all this, I bought a new road bike.)
The RU bike was stoic and proud. That bike felt like it would take on any challenge, and I sold it for near what I paid for it a few years later. I hope the new owner appreciates it as much as I did.
After the RU, I bought a 2007 Schwinn Voyageur. It was a previous year model, from Smittys. (Aka, the bike shop I am banned from. One day, I plan to sit down with Chris, the one I don't like, and hash things out.) This bike was great, I completed a metric century on it, and it was the bike I used the first year I did the Tour de Donut. Right before the Donut, I had 700x25 tires put onto it, blue ones. It clashed a little with the frame, but I dubbed it "Smurf Killer", and rode it. I did have the tires sink into sand during the race once, at a rest stop. I found that amusing.
Smurf Killer was a good bike though, but it didn't have the heart to push speeds all that much. It was a hybrid, and a good bike, but as I progressed in cycling, it no longer met my needs. I sold it a few years ago, and it sold quickly. A family drove about an hour just to pick it up. Their daughter had the exact same model, but it had gotten stolen while she was in college. She loved her bike, and getting the same model/color/year was something the excited them. I do hope she enjoyed the upgraded trigger shifters. I think the bike would have liked the commuter life better than racing and touring.
Next I purchased a used (of course) 1974 Schwinn Varsity. One thing I noticed quickly was this bike demanded speed. It did slow at times, but in its heart, it wanted to race. Sadly, it was much too old, and heavy, to make to any races, but I did have it up to 28 MPH at one point. (I only got the Voyageur up to 32.5 MPH) The bike is old, and a lot of the components are stock. I actually went to ride it a few weeks ago, but I need to replace the front tube, which I don't have at the moment. Still, for an old, and probably bomb proof, bike, it can hold its own.
Shortly after getting the Varsity, I actually had the spare money to purchase the KHS. (2011, Flite 223) This bike it kind of solemn. Sometimes it wants to go, and it will keep going, but it has some quirks too. Somehow, this bike has no name. (Granted, the Varsity doesn't officially have a name either, but is usually referred to as a variety of green things.) It has done decently, for me, at some races, but it always feels like it needs tinkering with. It has been the most finicky bike I have ever owned. Is some ways, it is like a B-list actress that acts like an A-list Diva. Also, there is something weird about the chain stay, the wheels have had to have nuts added to prevent chain rub. Even a mech from Performance said something was weird with it, but he couldn't figure out what. This bike will likely leave my stable next year.
Glowie, my Purefix Fixie, likes to do whatever. It was tense for the first month, where it did try to kill me. (This is unfair, riding a fixie is not the same as a multi gear road bike. Cornering, in particular, was a skill I had to relearn.) After that, it became the primary bike for me to ride this year. I have more miles on it than I do my other bikes for this year so far, and I have used it for 4 time trials. I still use the KHS for tours, partly because anything over 20 miles is a bit rough for me still on a fixed gear. There was no way I would do the Double Donut on that bike. It is a nice, simple, and clean bike. I love that bike. I just need to check the tires, and out the door I go. Simple.
This leads me to the Mongoose. I haven't been able to ride it yet, obviously, but I felt it's soul when it was just a frame hanging on the wall. It wasn't dead, it was almost dormant, loosing hope. Building it, I feel it coming back to life. Even with some parts better and some worse than when it was stock, it wants to go. I envision this becoming my around town bike when I need to get things. The rack from the KHS will be moved to this bike once it is on the road. Upgrades will come to it, and I think that I will have this bike for a long time. Even if I get a full suspension mountain bike for racing, it won't take this bike's place.
The poor Next. It was suffering, it had seen rough times. The headset, BB, just not doing well. I felt bad stripping it, but I know that even the parts I don't use on the Mongoose will still go on to other bikes, and make life better for others. I do not pray often, but I did pray for the soul of the Next, that it may come back in the next life as something better, more proud. Maybe like a Kestrel, or a Harley.
I think that deep down, souls are the real difference between bikes. You can walk down the aisles of Wal-mart, or Target, and there are a lot of bikes screaming out in pain. Fancy paint covering a tortured soul. Some of them suffering, wishing to be better bikes. Some know that they will be bought, and abused, left to rust on some porch until they are thrown in the trash. (Bikes in bike shops rarely scream out like that, aside from 'trade ins' perhaps.)
And some bikes in the big box stores seem content. Some of them look like great bikes, and may serve well for a long time. Especially if they get rebuilt by someone with the time and money to do it right. Sadly, most of those people would just end up buying a bike from a bike shop in most cases.
There is something to be said for the bikes in the Co-op. Some of them are near the end, some of the ones that are donated are in such poor shape that there is nothing worth removing from them. Those will have their suffering end soon enough. Others, however, are mostly full of hope. Some may never work the way they did when new, but they all know that they will go to someone who needs them. Their primary existence is that they will make someone happy. They get fixed up, and serve a purpose. Sure, some may still end up getting rusted, but they still seem to enjoy their new lease on life.
The Mongoose had a disadvantage. It had hung on the wall for a few years, just a frameset. There are a few other framesets there, and they don't have as much hope. Few are going to pick out a frame set, and build it up. The Mongoose got lucky, and it knows it. I saw that the bike was from the Brunswick days, and that it was not the modern Discount Store line that you see now. Too many would have ignored it for that alone. It will be a great bike, and I can't wait to ride it.
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