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 Red Rocket

(Pictures from original owner / via Craigslist ad for this car)

In Summer 2013 I bought a 2000 Volkswagen Golf 1.8T. I was very pleased to find one on Craigslist for a reasonable price. It had a replaced suspension and all service records.

In the year 2000 I was a senior in high school. My dad had a 1999 GTI 2.0, which I drove a lot and really really liked. So, looking for an affordable new daily driver, this Golf really appealed to me.

Volkswagen only made 4 door Golfs with the turbo engines for a very short time. I think it was one year only. One site I found on the internet said they only made 7000 of these for the US market.

This car is super zippy and understated. When I bought it, it had only 105,000 miles, which I think is very low for a now 15 year old car.

As of Jan 1, 2015, I have 116,000 miles on the car. Still going well.

PROS:

Quick!

Great storage space!

Nice style – one of the best looking cars VW has ever made

Suspension is a nice compromise – not too firm but not too soft where it makes me queasy
You can fit a Series III Lambretta in the back, when you find one broken down on the side of the road and you have to rescue the scooter and rider, which actually happened over the summer.

Seats are really nice

Sunroof works and doesn't yet leak
Fits in questionable parking spaces in the city!  Only Smart Cars are smaller.

iPod hookup in glovebox

1.8 Turbo has a lot of power!

CONS:

Little things break (glovebox, arm rest, plastic bits)

Parts and maintenance is more expensive than VW Bus 

Brakes could be better

No fog lights or heated seats

Alternatives Considered:

Jetta Wagon – I was really close to buying one of these.  I like how they remind me of the old Type III Squareback, but I couldn't find one I liked.

Passat Wagon – used market is good! But it's too big for my tastes.

BMW 3 Series Wagon – More expensive, complicated, more “serious”

The New Vespa

 

The New Vespa

2009 Vespa S150:

In 2014, for my birthday, I bought myself a new Vespa. I was still riding my old Vespa P150, or rather, struggling to fix it. I looked at the calendar and realized it had been 10 years of a Vespa P series, so I decided I'll just buy another.

What a difference 30 years makes. Sometimes when riding it, I think this new Vespa is my favorite vehicle I've ever owned. But, sometimes I just don't love it and I spend a lot of time thinking about going vintage again.

I've ridden it for less than a year, so I have mixed feelings on it. Check back in 2025 for a 10 year update on this Vespa.

Pros:

No Rust!

Super reliable engine. Piaggio has been making scooters for like 70 years and knows what they're doing.

Electronics all work!

Seat is way more comfy than a vintage P series.

Front disc brake

Acceleration is fantastic – just twist and go!

Electric start is so easy

Little trunk under the seat is actually useful for hoody/padded jacket storage and stuff

Tons of curb appeal – I get lots of compliments and looks from people on the street.

Cons:

High center of gravity

Odd sized front tire (11”) with no spare

Speedo does not light up

No trip odometer

Lots of plastic parts

Little glovebox tray is completely useless

No removable side panels like the P series. Dents and scratches are here to stay.

Luggage hooks are plastic. It would have been really cool if they just kept the exact same metal hook from the PX.

Paint quality could be a bit better. Why not powdercoat from the factory?

Not vintage

Alternatives to Consider:

New Vespa GT series: bigger and faster

Stella

2005 Vespa PX150 – one year only P series reissue

Vintage Lambretta

Vespa 946 – really expensive

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!

VW Bus Update

 

I thought it might be funny to update this blog, years later, with various thoughts on my vehicle collection. Some things have changed, I've bought a few new rides, retired a few. My perspective has changed a bit, and I've covered thousands of miles.

Once, I think it was Brad, who joked about starting a music review site and reviewing albums such as the Postal Service. “This album has been out for ten years, and I'm finally ready to tell you that it has some catchy numbers on it, and really it's a nice listen.”

The Fun Bus – my 1971 Bus – is now in storage at my parents' barn. I drove it from Portland, Oregon to Alfred, New York (about 2900 miles or so) in the summer of 2010. I loaded it down with everything I owned. I camped in it in Colorado. It didn't break down, but I did need to buy new tires along the way (the preowned tires I bought from a hippy for $50 in North Portland in 2007 weren't as reliable as I thought).

I still drove it once I moved to Alfred. It was a band van. I enjoyed driving it in the snow. The engine died in winter of 2011 and I bought another engine and had it installed. I drove it around more around 2012, and started driving a hand me down Ford Ranger pickup (aka the Ford Anger) as a daily driver instead.

I've considered selling the Fun Bus, but instead I went and bought a VW Golf.

I just saw an ad for the new Alfa Romeo 4C sports car. In no subtle terms, the ad says that if you buy an Alfa, beautiful women will jump into bed with you. Buying the VW Bus has been similar to this, although instead of attracting women it attracts weirdness, adventures, and breakdowns.

The VW Bus is a case of DO meet your heroes. I had always wanted one back when I was in middle school and high school. Driving one for years was as fun as I thought. Too bad prices on them are through the roof now.

PROS:

Interior space is amazing – I literally fit everything I own in this van.

Incredibly fun to drive

Actually reliable, durable, and cheap in the long term

Absolutely everyone thinks the VW is really cool and wants to talk to you about it.

Roof rack fits almost anything up there.

People ask me to sell it to them a lot – resell value is actually going up

Fweem engine sound is really cool

Handling is great, even off road.

CONS:

Lots of rust holes

No safety features whatsoever

Slower than 150cc Vespa.

Door locks only kind of work

I hate the horsehair seats. What was VW thinking?

Moonroof kind of leaks every once in a while

“Give me the luxuries of life and I will willingly do without the necessities.”

- frank lloyd wright

getting out of school and getting out of hand.

big first snowfall in western new york today. listening to this and cap'n jazz, walking in the slush:

http://www.stereogum.com/mp3/the-gum-drop/4w3q%20Mark%20Kozelek%20-%20Celebrated%20Summer.mp3

Love and hate were in the air, like pollen from a flower
Somewhere in April time, they add another hour

I guess I'd better think up a way to spend my time
Just when I'm ready to sit inside, it's summer time
Should I go fishing or get a friend to hang around
It's back to summer, back to basics, hang around

Getting drunk out on the beach, or playing in a band
And getting out of school meant getting out of hand

Was this your celebrated summer? Was that your celebrated summer?

Then the sun disintegrates between a wall of clouds
I summer where I winter at, and no one is allowed there

Do you remember when the first snowfall fell
When summer barely had a snowball's chance in Hell?

Why buy new?

Four speed manual transmission, engine was swapped for a 2.8L. Comes with several boxes of extra parts, and a spare set of wheels with studded snow tires. This car is driveable but the alternator output is weak. Requires a couple minutes to warm up in the morning. Shifter is loose and the gears are a little tricky to find. You have to stand on the clutch to shift gears. This is really a parts car - unless you truly want a project.



This Mercedes has no seatbelts in the back, and the ones in the front are of the airliner lap-best variety. There are safer cars out there for sale. Cars with thick slab like steel pillars cocooning you from the outside world. Cars with 7 airbags. Cars with airbags for your knees. They have fancy GPSs that will tell you where you should go; they have systems that will brake for you, before you even notice that the car in front of you is slowing down.

This Mercedes has none of those things. This Mercedes barely even has brakes. This Mercedes doesn't even have a conventionally operational heating system, or a radio. There are no power windows, locks, or mirrors. This car does not have seven airbags.

And those other cars, Their horns make cute little beeping noises, so considerate to not be rude. They don't have horns that sound with the arrogance and fury of some long dead Mongol warlord. They don't come with apocalyptic snow tires, all spikes and brutal tread. You cannot fix those cars on the side of the road, using a wrench as a hammer. Those cars will never force you to think, never allow you to exercise your own ingenuity. In those cars you can't stand up illegally through the sunroof from the back seat, and watch the moon with the cool night air blowing through you air.

Richard Nixon once said "Human existence is in the struggle." You could buy a car that will try and hide you from all the dangers of the world, but it won't save you; all the alarms, all the air bags, and the low sodium lattes in the world won't save you. Some day you will die. But at least you can die with the wind in your hair.

Alternatively it would make a good parts car.

(via Craigslist via Jalopnik)

Mike Skinner aka The Streets reemerges

Mike Skinner apparently just turned his phone back on after having it off for a year:

http://the-streets.co.uk/2010/10/i-loved-my-phone/

I'm really looking forward to another Streets album.

PODCAST 2 "here's where the story ends..."

FUN DEFICIT (podcast)
presents PODCAST #2
"... here's where the story ends... "

1. Sky Ferriera - "Animal (Miike Snow cover)"
2. Belle and Sebastian - "A Century of Fakers"
3. Fun Deficit - "Believe (smashing pumpkins cover)"
4. Bandits of the Acoustic Revolution - "It's a Wonderful Life"
5. Kings of Convenience - "Love is no big truth"
6. The Sundays - "Here's where the story ends" (live on french radio)
7. Styrofoam - "Couches in Alleys" feat. ben gibbard
8. Fun Deficit - "Love Won't Wait"
9. Blueboy - "So Catch Him"
10. Youth Group - "Forever Young"
11. Fun Deficit - "Van, by yourself"
12. Defiance Ohio - "Road signs always look better looking over your shoulder"
13. Hauschka - "Heimat"
14. Club 8 - "Spring came, rain fell"
15. The Radio Dept. - "A Token of Gratitude"
16. Small Factory - "If you hurt me"
17. That dog. - "Being with you"
18. Fun Deficit - "Karla"


Here's a podcast for you, a mix. I made this to put my songs in a lovely context. This mix is road songs and love songs about not being in love right now.


1. Sky Ferriera - "Animal (Miike Snow cover)" - I love this girl's voice. She's only 17 years old and she sounds like Cat Power.
2. Belle and Sebastian - "A Century of Fakers" - One of my favorite belle and sebastian songs. "If you ever go lardy or go lame, I will drop you straight away."
3. Fun Deficit - "Believe (smashing pumpkins cover)" - I've been listening to a ton of Smashing Pumpkins lately, inexplicably. I just love them and I've always loved this song, so I decided to cover it and it ended up sounding a lot like the Radio Dept.,
4. Bandits of the Acoustic Revolution - "It's a Wonderful Life" I just saw Streetlight Manifesto play live and this is them acoustic. They're so relentlessly positive. I can't listen to it enough.

5. Kings of Convenience - "Love is no big truth" Not really sure if we should listen to Billy Corgan and The Pumpkins for love advice, but I listen and believe in the love advice from Kings of Convenience.
6. The Sundays - "Here's where the story ends" (live on french radio) Brad says this is one of two decent songs they'd play at the department store where he used to work. I love this song and I love the girl's voice. The lyrics are fantastic and the song is just two chords.
7. Styrofoam - "Couches in Alleys" feat. ben gibbard - This song is an open letter to Jack Kerouac. I recently proposed to one of my friends she start a band of all open letters, like this and Leonard Cohen's "famous blue raincoat."

8. Fun Deficit - "Love Won't Wait" - A new song I wrote in one day. Written for my new album, but not written about me. A response song to Radiohead's "True Love Waits."
9. Blueboy - "So Catch Him" - love blueboy. Sarah Records twee from 1995
10. Youth Group - "Forever Young" (alphaville cover) I love the Jay Z song sampling this, but this cover speaks to my indie aesthetic. Classic.
11. Fun Deficit - "Van, by yourself" - a response song to Small Factory's "if you hurt me" - reference to a car, sensitivity, and a sly joke and lack of seriousness at the end.
12. Defiance Ohio - "Road signs always look better looking over your shoulder" - I saw DOH about a month ago and I loved it. I try to pitch them to my friends as the "Arcade Fire of the Gutterpunks" but I'm still the only person I know who likes them. Maybe they're more like a "yelling Weakerthans."
13. Hauschka - "Heimat" - beautiful prepared piano. Jaw-droppingly beautiful.
14. Club 8 - "Spring came, rain fell" - I love her voice so much and when I listen to this I imagine she's only singing to me.
15. The Radio Dept. - "A Token of Gratitude" - I love minimalist love songs. All it needs to say is "Do I love you? Yes I love you. But easy come, easy go..."
16. Small Factory - "If you hurt me" - Simple and emotional, what I like. "If you hurt me I'll be angry and I'll be sad."
17. That dog. - "Being with you" - the radder girl-weezer from the 1990s. I feel like I'm their only fan now.
18. Fun Deficit - "Karla" - With all the songs about love lost, this is the song in which I get the girl.


Further Reading

Braid - "I keep a Diary"

Club 8 - Spring Came, Rain Fell

I just love their bossanova/indie pop vibe and breathy girl vocals. If you are in a band and you want me to like your music, just get a girl to sing about the weather and I will likely love it.




Also ask a poetic question like "Are we still nowhere?"

My Favorite Japanese Cars

I've always loved VWs and other European things, but lately I've been really interested in Japanese cars. Here are the ones I love:


Toyota Celica - first generation. Every time I see one of these I like it more and more. My neighbors a block away have one under a tarp. I passed one every day going to work. They look like Mustangs in 2/3 scale. The headlights look awesome. This car just looks fantastic.



Miata - first generation in British racing green. I've always liked Miatas. Ever since I read Kafka on the Shore I wanted one bad. They're rwd. They're dirt cheap. I'm not crazy about convertibles but I love this small car.


Nissan S-Cargo. A freaky psychedelic reinterpretation of a Citroen 2CV delivery van. It's name means "Small Cargo." Also it means snail in french. This car rules.



Nissan Pao. Another one made at the same time by Nissan at their Pike factory. This looks like a Mini, a Renault R5 and a VW Squareback, but made cheap and awesome. This does retro right. This car looks like it's made out of plastic, but it looks 200% better than any new car sold in the USA*. I wish I could rock one of these now.


Toyota Land Cruiser circa late 1970s. How could you not like the original Toyota Land Cruiser? This vehicle is so boxy and awesome. The rear windows are so fantastic. One time in Costa Rica I got picked up hitchhiking by a Land Cruiser like this full of nuns. I've wanted one ever since (the Land Cruiser).

* - maybe new Porsches still look better.

Vespa flashback, summer of 2005

After I graduated college in 2005, I took a road trip from my parent's house about an hour west of Albany, all the way across Massachusetts, to Rhode Island on my poor-running 125cc Vespa. Here I am mid-trip stopping for lunch in one of those college towns sort of in the Berkshires. I wish I could remember where it was. It might have been Northampton or Amherst. I wasn't really paying attention to where I was. I remember I had directions written on masking tape on my speedometer. I didn't keep track of how many miles, but there's no way it could have been less than 500. I went to a scooter rally in Rhode Island and rode a 50+ mile ride that Saturday. So, the entire trip was most likely more than that. I had a great sandwich for lunch at some organic food co-op type place. I put my camera on timer on a picnic table and took this shot. The shirt says "Geneseo" something or other, one of my many free Geneseo shirts I picked up as a student there. Those Pumas I'm wearing wore out and got thrown out after I used them while washing dishes in a restaurant about 2 years ago. The Vespa and helmet currently sit unused in my garage.

Nissan Pao

Is the Nissan Pao the coolest car ever? I want one bad.

Vespas must go.

1975 Vespa Rally 200 for sale:

This is how it looks now. It's disassembled and ready to be restored, like it needs to be.

This is the same model and color of Sting's Vespa in Quadrophenia.


The engine is in decent shape. It started and idled fantastic when I bought it, but VIOLENTLY leapt out of third gear. So, I dropped the engine and installed a new cruciform. I put it back together and it still jumped out of gear. I lost interest.

It has the original 6V FEMSA electronic ignition. This is the European specifications model, with no premix, higher compression head, bigger headlamp.

A previous owner rode this scooter from Seattle to Sturgis and back. While in Sturgis he had the scooter signed by many motorcycle luminaries like Arlen Ness and Mike Corbin. The article was reportedly in V Twin magazine, but I don't have a copy.

Includes some Rat fink stickers.
Includes new pieces like a brand new correct Euro taillamp.
Cowls are straight!

Clear Oregon Title. I bought this at a yard sale 3 years ago and have not done anything with it except buy new parts and disassemble it. It is in pieces in my garage in NE Portland. This bike needs and deserves a full restoration. I was quoted $1500 on a full paint job.

I have all the rare Rally 200 bits, like the cowls, and the glovebox.

Price is $1600 OR BEST OFFER.

Please no hatemail on my price. They are not popping these out in Pontedera anymore.

Will consider total/partial trade for a Stella, Ruckus, other Vespa, or Lambretta, BMW or VW car. I'm a gearhead and I like those sort of things.


The worst part is some bad rust on the floor. I wish I could weld and repair this, but I can't so I'm letting it go.




I'd prefer not to ship this Vespa, but if you pay me for boxing and shipping, I could ship it anywhere. I have shipped scooters in the past.

Here's a picture of both of my Vespas. I might sell the white P Series too. Email me if interested.


This is what the Vespa looked like the day I bought it.

This will be a great Vespa for the right person. I am sad I can't give it the attention it deserves.