Riding the first fifty miles, fast and free on a mustard colored Rivendell Appaloosa

When I lived in Portland, around 2008 or so, I used to see incredible bikes on the street – bikes made by Vanilla, Ira Ryan, Ahearne, Surly, Kogswell, and Rivendell. I bought a Rivendell Mark's Rack, the little one, for my Trek road bike in the summer of 2008, and I have been a Rivendell fan ever since. I've followed the company and freaked out every time I see one in person.

So, this year during spring break I went out to California. I had only been to California once previously, and my goals were these:

1. Go see 924 Gilman Street, the legendary punk venue

2. Go mountain biking in Marin County, on Mt Tam

3. Go visit Rivendell Bicycle Works in Walnut Creek

Visiting Rivendell was the only one I accomplished. I walked over the Golden Gate Bridge, which satisfied number two on that list for me. I looked at Marin. I also went to Broken Guitars, Green Day's personal guitar store, and chatted with the dude running the store who I think was in the punk band Pinhead Gunpowder (one of my favorites).

From Berkeley, it was about a 20 minute ride on the BART to get to Walnut Creek. Walnut Creek was bigger than I pictured it. I wandered over to the warehouse where Rivendell was.

I was worried, after a mild obsession with these bikes, that this would be a case of “never meet your heroes.” Luckily, it wasn't. I just said I wanted to test ride some of their bikes, and they measured my PBH (pubic bone height) to get my standover. Instead of measuring tons of variables, Rivendell simplifies things and measures only one. I kicked off my sneakers and put my feet in horseshoes nailed to a tree stump. My PBH was 86 cm. Then they subtracted 11 and put me on a 55 cm bike. It was their newest model, the Joe Appaloosa. It had funky “choco-bars” on it. They didn't even take my wallet, but I gave them my bag, and they let me ride around. I rode around their parking lot, doing laps around their building. I really liked the bike. It felt nimble, like my LeMond cyclocross bike, but more stable. I expected to dislike the handlebars, but in a snap judgment decided I liked them.

I had been planning on buying their least expensive bike - the Clem Smith Jr. - in the 59 cm size. But, when I saw one in person I immediately realized it was too large for me! Also, the least expensive Rivendell was so successful, it was sold out. Will from Rivendell let me ride one anyway – their demo one – in the 650B wheeled, 52 cm version. I hopped on it and rode it around. My snap judgement on it was that it felt very similar to my 1984 Trek 830 (aka The Trash Bike). If I hadn't spent years riding the Trash Bike, the Clem would have been a revelation and I would have been thrilled by it!

I went back and test rode some other bikes! I rode their Hunqapillar, one with a 1x11 Shimano set up. I loved this bike! It had the swept-back Nitto Bullmoose bars. It felt like my Trash Bike but AMAZING. I loved that it had big fat 29er tires and wheels. I took a mental note of the parts on the bike. The bike cost around $3300 the way I had it. I leapt off of it. I was dangerously excited about this bike and could not afford it. (Note: it was a 54 cm model I rode)

I also rode the Atlantis. The Atlantis is basically Rivendell's flagship. I rode one in the 58 cm size. It had a Nitto Dirt Drop stem and drop bars. Safety is important to me, but this bike felt like I could ride it without using my hands. I liked it a lot.

Then I took the Appaloosa for another ride. Will, picking up on me saying I loved mountain bikes, led me off down a path and down into the trails. He led me down some side roads and to some horse paths. The bike felt very cruisery but also cyclocrossy. He led me to some paths and then turned around and went back to the shop.

I was in the tall grass on this bike. The paths were all muddy, and the bike was rolling on slicker 45 cm Kenda tires. My spring break in California was plagued with rainstorms, and the trail was all mud. I got off the bike and pushed. I was kind of baffled why this bike shop, one described on Yelp as “$$$$$ ultra high end” would let me go off through the mud with their newest, shiniest bike. My brain just really couldn't figure it out.

I decided to head back, but I didn't know where I was, so I just rode around for a while. I found a big hospital. I found a big park. I asked some dude on a recumbent where the BART station was. I rode in a big loop. The Appaloosa felt great. I really liked how the bottom bracket, and therefore the pedals, were really low to the ground. I liked the Suntour shifters, even though they just clicked and didn't index. It still felt great. I went back and forth in my head – should I just buy a Rivendell bag and thank Will, or should I buy this bike? I went back to the shop.

Yes, I decided to buy it. It was different enough from my Trash Bike and my Cyclocross bike and certainly not like my mountain bike. I was willing to spend my money. Also, I had been commuting for 3 years on a bike I found in the trash. Part of me, I felt, had earned this bike.

But then they told me the bad news – there were none left! All the bikes had sold already. Sorry. I couldn't have this bike. Even the demo I was riding had been promised to a local customer. But, Will checked in the back and he had one frame left, one in the mustard baby poop color (Pantone C132).

I handed over my credit card! YES! I was so excited. I also bought one of their Shop Sacks, a handlebar bag, some Rivendell official twine, and two strips of reflective tape! I threw everything in my bag and left.

I also test rode the Cheviot! It is their step-through bike. I test rode the Albatross bars on it and kind of liked them. I loved the deep green color of the Cheviot. If I had a girlfriend, I would buy her one of these Cheviot bikes.

PUTTING IT TOGETHER:

Waiting for the bike to come in the mail was agony. I started buying parts online. I couldn't decide a lot of what I wanted. I made a spreadsheet of parts. There were a few things I knew I wanted:

1. a “one-by” setup with no front derailleur

2. probably 2.00” x 29” tires

3. move my Paul Brakes over to it

4. Nitto rack on the back

5. Spurcycle grip rings for grips!

6. Thumb shifter!

Other than that, it was kind of up in the air. I decided to sacrifice my LeMond Poprad as a “parts bike” for this bike. I took the LeMond to the front stoop and disassembled it. I felt like I was a lonesome cowboy shooting my injured horse. It was pretty sad. I have had so many good times with that LeMond bike. It was also filthy. I'm glad I took it apart. I put each piece into grocery bags and collected them into a backpack.

I priced out everything and set a budget of $500 for all the parts to get the bike together, then promptly forgot about ever giving myself a budget.

I started putting together a collection of parts. I took the wheels from the LeMond and was disappointed that the rear wheel did not fit. The LeMond has a road standard 130mm rear hub, and the Rivendell has a mountain standard 135mm rear hub. I ordered a Velocity Dyad with a Shimano Deore LX hub wheel from Nomad Bikes.

Here's what I put together:

Nitto cockpit: dirt drop stem, albatross handlebars, stainless shim and oh so trick Sim Works “Between You and Me” nitto bar ends. Also, random colored spurcycle grip rings

Brakes: Paul silver neo-retros and matching paul levers, nitto rear hanger, tektro front hanger

Cranks: Sugino x White Industries 94bcd – an ebay find from the mid-1990s, Wolf Tooth narrow-wide chainring with 32 teeth, my favorite VP Vice pedals, Wippermann chain

Rear Wheel: Velocity Dyad, Shimano hub, 12-25 tooth Shimano cassette

Front wheel: Bontrager standard from the LeMond

Tires: Schwalbe Marathon Mundial – 35mm x 700c

Shifting: shimano 105 road derailleur and a Sunrace 9 speed thumbshifter, Jag-wire cables throughout with corresponding white cable outers

Seating: Kalloy 26.8 seatpost with Brooks Cambium C17 saddle in the “natural rubber” color

Extras: Nitto / Rivendell “big back rack” in the old style attached with Wolf Tooth purple anodized bolts

ENOUGH ABOUT THE PARTS, LET'S TALK ABOUT THE RIDE:

I stop at every bike shop I pass, and I often take new bikes for test rides. Last year, I was very close to buying an on sale Surly Disc Trucker – in size 58 cm, on sale for about $950 new. I liked the bike a lot, but it was just not that different from my beloved LeMond Poprad, and frankly not that special. The Rivendell is a cruiser, but its parts are as solid as any cyclocross bike, and light as a result.

The Rivendell is very, very different. First, the bottom bracket is lower. I scrape my shoes on turns, which sounds like a bad thing but is actually quite fun. It's like Moto GP racers dragging their knees through corners. Of course, perhaps this is due to my tires being very small for what Rivendell had in mind. But, I like the stability. In comparison with the Trash Bike, the saddle on the Rivendell is over an inch lower. That means putting my foot down at stoplights is quicker and more comfortable.

The bike flexes. Also, this sounds bad. But, after changing forks on the Trash Bike I have become sensitive to the subtle give of a gracefully curved fork. The Rivendell's fork, with its cast lugs and beautiful curve, is not for show. It gives a nice floating ride quality, which though it may sound like riding in a Cadillac, actual translates to smoothness, not bounciness.

The bike is stretched out. The chainstays are comically, cartoonishly long. It actually still looks, well, strange. The rear wheel is wayyyyyyy back there. The bike is stable as a result. The Trash Bike has long chainstays too, and it made it stable and confidence-inspiring in the snow.

The bars are raised up as if they are praying to heaven. Will at Rivendell highly recommended the Albatross Bars, and I got carried away with them. I put them up very high. It's like – I'm getting a Rivendell so let's put the bars all the way turned up. But, I'll probably lower them. The steering could be a bit more weighted, a bit less cruiser-ish. I also am planning on turning the thumb shifter underneath the bar so my hands can use the entire width, like a steering wheel almost.

FUTURE RIVENDELL PLANS:

Ride a lot

Put fenders on

Change the saddle (probably to a Brooks with springs)

Get fatter tires (probably 700 x 2.0 Big Bens)

Get a front wheel with a dynamo hub?

Put reflective stuff on it

Ride more

Trash Bike: Year 3

There is beauty in the rat bike. I've always known it, but it's been proven during this past year – year three – of riding the Trash Bike. I've changed the parts around and made a few refinements.

First, I had the good people of 718 Cyclery in Brooklyn build me a rear wheel. Because the rear spacing was initially 126mm, a 135mm hub never fit properly. I compromised and had them put in a 130mm (traditional road standard) hub, with an Alex brand touring rim and three cross spokes. Matched with a Suntour 7 speed cassette, it's been a rear wheel to completely forget about. It's solid – it's true. It cost about $200 and it's worry-free.

Shifting remains friction (not indexed), thanks to the fantastic, fantastic Suntour Power Thumbies. Though they are antiquated, these are great shifters. Again, they are worry-free.

In a huge bit of good fortune, I discovered Nomad Cycles. It was initially in Long Island City / Sunnyside, and I stopped in after seeing their bicycle made into a sign, locked to a pole, pointing to the shop. Immediately, I knew I found something special. Their founder, Damon, is an architect turned bicycle guru. He loved the Trash Bike and has a whole fleet of vintage Treks for himself. In fact, at a shop that has tons of bikes, his go-to bike is a blue townie vintage Trek. I told him I wanted to lower the gear ratio, so we added a Sugino 38 tooth (110 bcd) chainring to the front. I removed the front derailleur, front shifter, and the large and small chainrings. He ground the original middle chainring into a chainguard. It works wonderfully and has lightened up the setup (every bit helps)!

Before I discovered Nomad, I gave the bicycle the romantic equivalent of a diamond ring: a Chris King headset. I wish I had gotten one in a fancy crazy color, but I just went for silver. I changed the fork to a new 1” Tange fork I purchased from the famous Bruce Gordon cycles. It's not a fancy lugged fork – I couldn't find one. But, it's a worry-free item. It doesn't match the color scheme of the bike (as the original fork did), but after a week or two I forgot about matching.

The plan is there is no plan! The rules are there are no rules! (Actually, the only rule is: put the water bottle in one pannier and the camera in the other.) THE COLOR SCHEME IS THERE IS NO COLOR SCHEME. I found out Spurcycle has discontinued their excellent silicon grip rings. So I went on Amazon and bought enough for many bikes. I blindly selected them from a bag, in a lottery type of method, and now the Trash Bike and the Rivendell have random colored ones! I like it a lot.

The Brooks – well, tragedy has struck – the nose is loose and broken. I tried shoelacing it together, which added a very cool contrasting yellow color, and it held the seat together. But, on a ride back from an M83 concert, in the rain, I realized the Brooks is unsafe at any speed. If I ever hope to have children, I need to get another Brooks and retire this one, perhaps put it into the ground just like the cow it came from. Or perhaps I'll give it a viking burial by dropping it off of the Triboro. Is it a badge of honor? You wore out 1 Brooks – congratulations Padawan, soon you'll be a Jedi Master of crappy bike rides in the rain. I've just graduated to my third motorcycle helmet, for years of scooter riding. It's just the passing of time.

The tires! I decided to get even more vintagey, even more basic Pinterest level “sooooOOOooo rETrooo” by getting the Schwalbe Fat Frank tires in the 26” by 2.35” and the crème-de-la-crème color. Wow – was this a mistake. Maybe if I lived in some place like San Luis Obispo, it would have been a good idea. But, at home in the “Borough that Time Forgot,” the selection was just plain myopic. I rode a half a block and the tires were filthy. Bummer. I aimed for vintage, but I got old and dusty.

I have also replaced the bottom bracket with a newer sealed cartridge Shimano one. Then, most recently, at Nomad, I got the Wipperman Made in Germany chain. It cost $35, but it's silent and amazing. It's been a fantastic upgrade. (It was also the finishing touch on the Rivendell.)

The Trash Bike has been amazing. It's likely been the best vehicle I've ever owned. It's cost me nothing, except for hundreds of dollars in upkeep and replacing parts.

Here are the parts that still came from the trash:

the frame

the handlebars

the brake levers

the brake straddle hangers

the rear derailleur

the shifter

the cranks

the seatpost

maybe the cables???

Everyone should have a Trash Bike.

Joe Appaloosa by Rivendell Bicycle Works

Full review coming soon!

The LeMond Poprad: Six years of bike riding.

(October 21, 2013 - riding home from work)

Hey look it's my LeMond! It's been six years with this bike. I'm happy to report I've covered uncountable miles on this bike. I've worn out the pedals, tires, and brake pads completely.

Also, this bike has gone through lots of changes since I first bought it. I put upright bars on it! The On One Mary bars – I love them. I highly recommend it.

I enjoyed the mustache bars for giving the bike a "fighter pilot" type of feel too it, but I'm getting old and I want the upright feel now.  I also ride in a city with constant stop and go traffic.

(Jan 2014 - looking good in the living room)

Important Specs:

Frame: Reynolds 853 Steel. Black with blue graphics.

Handlebars: were Bontrager drops, then Origin 8 tiki / mustache bars, now On One Mary upright cruiser bars

Grips: Spurcycle Grip Rings

Brakes: Paul Neo-Retro Cantilevers

Tires: were Continental Touring 2000 30mm wide – now Schwalbe Marathon Mondial 35mm wide.

Drivetrain: Shimano 105 1x9 speed.

Pedals: VP Vice – love these pedals

Fork: was stock – now Bontrager Aramid Carbon

Fenders: were Planet Bike, then Velo Orange dimpled Honjo copies, now none

Front Rack: Nitto / Rivendell Mark's Rack (also love this) with Wald Basket

Rear Rack: Nitto / Rivendell Campee Big Back Rack (also love this)

Saddle: Brooks B17 Special

Lights: Knog Blinders

Luggage: Ortlieb Downtown bag

PROS:

light frame

very quick handling

all components are high quality and very durable 

looks good and gets compliments from non bike people

CONS:

Often I'm worried about it getting stolen

High bottom bracket

Needs more clearance for fenders

Needs more braze ons for racks

Alternatives:

Salsa Casseroll - no longer made - really liked this bike when I rode it though.

Surly CrossCheck 

Surly Long Haul Trucker

The Trash Bike

The Trash Bike

The Trash Bike:

Chapter One:

I spend a lot of time thinking about bicycles. So, it's strange when a bicycle just appears out of my thoughts and into real life, which is exactly what happened with the case of this bicycle. I found it in the trash outside of an apartment in Brooklyn which was the brief home of a slightly less brief girlfriend.

I did a double take, and I immediately knew what it was. An old lugged Trek, from when Trek was a small company and they were making every bike by hand in the USA. It was missing a front wheel. But it looked mostly there. Luckily, I had my car, so I picked it up and threw it in the back. Then we went back into the house and found a guy spray painting a bike. He had a Schwinn from the 1970s. I asked him about the Trek and he said it was his. He was throwing it out because he got a Schwinn, which he was painting green. Then he gave me a front wheel for the bike!

I brought it home and immediately started cleaning it. I went to the local bike shop and spent $30 on one new tire and tube. Then I rode it home. It rode great. The brakes and shifters worked.

So, I started riding it in bad weather. It became my Trash Bike. Then I bought snow tires for it and it became my snow bike. I love this bike in the way pet owners love a stray dog that follows them home and becomes their best companion.

Chapter Two:

So, I have had the Trash Bike for nearly 2 years. I still ride it every day. Most other people in the world drive their car every day and keep a bike for fun on the weekends. But for me, it's the other way around.

I've had a lot of little problems with this bike that make it kind of a pain. Still, it's a great bike, and overall the cost per mile is so low that it would be a waste of time to calculate.

First, I changed the saddle. I added a vintage Brooks that matches the patina / beausage of the bike. The grips were awful too. They were old foam grips. I remember I used to have similar grips on my Huffy Dirt Water which was my bike as a kid and probably the worst bike I've ever owned. The grips collected rain, which made them like gripping a wet towel. Awful. I changed them to Spurcycle Grip Rings, which are super comfy and clever. Of course, being a bad weather bike I had to add fenders. I was thinking of Velo Orange ones, but plastic ones do just fine.

Then I added snow tires. Wow! What a great purchase. They cost around $65 each, but were totally worth it. If you are considering snow tires for your bike, go ahead and get them. Biking in the snow is much, much more satisfying than I could have ever anticipated.

Recently, tragedy struck. I realized the front fork is bent. Of course, the original fork is gracefully curved and lugged and beautiful. I bought a regular run of the mill fork that doesn't match, but I haven't installed it yet. The steering is wobbly right now, which is very bad.

The brakes also got all worn out. I was running original Dia Compe cantilevers, which I really liked. In fact, the old mountain bikes come with really long brake levers. More like Motorcycle or Vespa levers. They're really satisfying to use, and work great even with mittens. I bought some Avid brakes on Ebay but they don't work as well as I thought. So I cannibalized the LeMond and took a Paul Neo-Retro for this bike. Right now I'm running the Avid in front and the Paul on the back.

I went back and forth on the Pauls. At first I really liked the Pauls because they are like jewelry for a bike. They're handmade and look great and custom, etc. But then I couldn't get them adjusted as well as I liked. So, I really didn't care for them any more. Then I learned a bit more about setting them up, and messed with them quite a bit. I tried adjusting the old Dia Compe brakes. Now, I'm back to loving the Paul Brakes. The setup using a 15 mm wrench is super easy compared to an adjustment screw on other cantilevers. I realized I had the straddle cable way too high for a long time (which I had done to clear my Nitto rack). When I set up the Paul brake on the Trash Bike, it was super easy and works relatively great.

The other pain about owning an old bike like this is that the rear spacing is 127 mm. No one makes hubs in this size except – you may have guessed – Paul. I considered ordering one and getting a custom wheel for the back, but instead I just squeezed the old wheel from the Gary Fisher on to this bike. The brakes are not lined up as well as they could be because the chainstays have stretched. But the newer wheel is way lighter than the older wheel, which makes a huge difference considering I often ride 50 miles a week. I debated for a long time whether to get a Sturmey Archer rear huh and wheel. Sturmey Archer makes them in 127 mm spacing. That could be in the cards for the future of this bike.

PROS:

Lugged frame

Sleeper performance and looks

Low bottom bracket

Long wheelbase

Thumb shifters are reliable as it gets

Lots of clearance for fenders, racks

CONS:

Can't find a lugged 1” 26” fork to replace the original.

127mm rear hub spacing

Absolute zero bling factor for non-bike people

IMPORTANT SPECS:

1984 Trek 830.

Color: Red Cherry Maroon

Brakes: were Dia Compe – now Paul Neo-Retro in back, Avid Shorty 4 in front

Wheels: were no-name hubs with Alex rims, now Mavic / Shimano

Tires: Nokian Mount & Ground 1.9” Studded Snow Tires

Fenders: Evo plastic

Saddle: Brooks B67(? Vintage)

Handlebars: Bullmoose (Nitto or ritchey style?)

Grips: Spurcycle Grip Rings

Rear Rack: Nitto Mt Campee 26” (love this)

Lights: Knog Blinders

Luggage: Ortlieb

Alternatives:

Surly Troll - very close in spirit to this bike, but with newer parts

Surly Long Haul Trucker - test rode one and loved it. very common in hip areas.

Kogswell P/R – I've always wanted one of these but they are no longer produced.  Email me if you want to sell me one!

Rivendell - I want one bad but they're expensive!

Rollfast Sold

On a rainy night in October 2009, I sold my Rollfast. I really liked this bicycle, but I'm more nostalgic for mountain bikes of the 1990s because I'm around that age. I didn't live as far back in the past as this bicycle did, and therefore I can't be nostalgic for it.

My Lemond: A Love Story.

I love my Lemond bicycle. It's one of my favorite things. I have been getting a ton of use out of it this summer, which I consider to be the most fun summer since the summer of 2003.


Here is my Lemond frolicking at the beach.


Here is my Lemond at the park, near the swings.

Here is my Lemond on its way through the golf course.

New Bicycles

The other day I got this new bicycle frame as a gift! I had wanted a Peugeot for a long time, and I almost bought a very similar one a few years ago. I intend to build it up as a single-speed porteur.

These old french bicycles have a distinctive long fork rake, which gives it a distinctive French ride, in comparison to newer bicycles such as my Lemond.

Here are two articles on the subject: LINK LINK

specs:
frame : peugeot carbolite 103 steel, lugged ~1981 vintage
crank: stronglight

Also, I have this lovely girlbike in my stable:
specs:
frame: Raleigh step-through, grey ~1970s vintage
drivetrain: Sturmey-Archer 3 Speed, thumb shifter
wheels: 26" with newish tires
fenders: matching body-colored painted
accessories: wald front basket



The girlbike is for sale. $200.

New Ride: Lemond Poprad

I bought a new bicycle a few weeks ago. I had been wanting a steel-framed road bike for a while, and have decided my bicycle is the one thing I will keep new-ish in my life filled with broken, vintage, and deteriorating whatnot.

I bought a 2004 Lemond Poprad off of some guy on craigslist. It was made in the USA of Reynolds 853 steel, presumably by one of Trek's bicycle factories in Wisconsin.

I really love this bike. Here are some of the parts:

Drivetrain: Shimano 105 2x9
Front Wheel: Bontrager Race Lite
Rear Wheel: Mavic Aksium
Tires: Continental Touring 28
Stem: Salsa
Brakes: Paul Neo-Retro
Fenders: Planet Bike plastic full fenders

I like five songs.

Sorry I never post on this thing very often. Dear reader, I missed the Pinhead Gunpowder shows thanks to my stupid full time job.

Songs I like recently:

"The List" by Defiance Ohio off of The Fear, The Fear, The Fear

"What is your secret?" by Nada Surf off of The Weight Is A Gift

"Time of The Season" by The Zombies off of Oracle and Odessey

"Looking for Astronauts" by The National off of Alligator

"Subject to the Ladder" by Broadcast off of Tender Buttons

Go find them on your own.

Car of the Month: My Bicycle

I traded my Raleigh Fixed Gear to my roommate Greg and I bought this, a 2003 Trek 1000. It was a 24 speed when I got it but I decided to go without a front derailleur, making it a 8 speed. It has aero-spoked wheels and an aluminium and is really stiff but nice for my commute. It's super light and fits me good. It is my first road bike and I like it.

My new ride

1976(?) Raleigh Grand Prix fixed gear.
Thank you Dan!

Fixed gears are the new skateboards.

Rollfast Bicycles

I recently bought my fourth bicycle ever. Yes, I've owned more scooters than bicycles. Here is my bike riding history:

First: Ross convertible cruiser. 20 inch wheels. Blue. Toptank model. I still own this bike and it hangs in my old "fort" at my parents' house, but is too small for me.
Second: Huffy "Dirt Water" orange. 24 or 26 inch wheels. 18 speed thumb shifters. Horrible bike. Long gone.
Third: Gary Fisher Mamba. 1997 model (I think). Flat grey. Gorgeous bike. 21 speed grip shifters. Double butted chromoly steel. Owned since new. Wheels were stolen a few months ago but I bought wheels off of some dude for $5 and just need new tubes to get back going.

Fourth: Rollfast Cruiser. I bought it about a month ago on a whim.
I love it for numerous reasons.
The paint looks rusty, but it's not. It's orange and faded and original. The decals are there and faded too. A lot of people have seen this bike and said it looks crappy, but I believe it to be a piece of art. That's why I like it. It looks fast standing still and is simple and beautiful.

Rollfast Bicycles was a partnership between the D. P. Harris company of New York City and the H. P. Snyder company of Little Falls, New York, which is where I'm from. I can't afford an Ira Ryan or a Mountain Cycle, the local bikes of now that I lust for, so I got a Rollfast.

I love the dual top tubes on the top top tube (does that make sense?). Most have the dual tube on the lower of the two top tubes. It's gorgeous. I am considering a fixed gear rear wheel for this. Would that make sense? The tires are not original, but are Cheng Shin (for Trac-Shin!) like every other crappy scooter I've owned.

I can't find a picture of a Rollfast like mine anywhere on the internet, so this is the first. I will write and post more pictures of the Rollfast as I ride it and fix it up. It is nice to have a coaster braking bike again.

Here is one of the few articles I could find on Rollfast Bicycles:
http://www.firstflightbikes.com/rollfast.htm

Track stand

Today I was walking around SW 4th Ave and saw a bike messenger at a stop light. He did a track stand, which is when you balance on the pedals of the bicycle at a full stop without putting your foot down. He had a fixed gear, single speed bike. It was pretty awesome. Then I took my bike out for a spin and tried to do what he did, and I obviously couldn't. Keep trying!