Re: Doin' the (Kona) Dew: what to keep, what to upgrade?

On Sep 3, 9:53 pm, Ozark Bicycle
<bicycleatel...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Sep 3, 8:48 pm, landotter <landot...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:



My Dew should be in next week. Got the basic model as I'm mounting
fenders and racks, and Tektro LP brakes are just fine on a utility
bike. Bike will be used to fetch things, like beer, dog food, and 2
pound mackerels within a five mile radius, so I don't need "passin'
through Fife Alabama" type reliability.

I already got a Deore rear mech for peanuts($15, Nashbar), although
I'm sure the chintzy Altus would have been fine, as I've got to at
least have an allen bolt holding the cable--cuz that passes for class
in these parts. ;-)

Pedals will be MKS Sylvan Touring. Strapless for fall.

Not even worried about the post, as I'm riding a larger size for my
inseam, so no towering post.

Wheels are what concerns me. They have single wall Rigidas:http://www.rigida.com/eng/produits/mtb_single/cyber_10.html#

So I'm thinking about immediately lacing to some brutal Alex DM18s and
forgetting about them. Then again, after bringing up to tension and
destressing--it's sort of interesting to see if I can manage to dial
them in enough to stay round. I'm 175#, btw. 36H I sold my last
utility bike a couple days ago. It went a year on some Alex single
wall X404s with no touch ups needed. Hand built. So I'm thinking the
Rigidas might be good with some love. They're 100g lighter than the
Alex rims, so obviously they'll get the mackerels faster.

Why not 'tune up' the Rigidas and give 'em a go? If they don't last,
the DM18s will still be there.

That's what I'll do. The DM's are just tempting due to my wonderful
experience with them, and the sub 20 buck price tag. ERD is the same
as the Rigidas.

Heh, this will give me an excuse to drink beer and get the Rigidas
super-dialed! Then I can go all Johnny Knoxville on them and see what
happens.




Also, it's got the ubiquitous cheap cupncone Formula hubs. I'd imagine
that a repack with 25 grade balls first thing would be wise? I've had
great luck doing this with Sora hubs in the past, a prophylactic
bearing job and cone adjustment has kept them from pitting. Think the
Formulas will appreciate it?

Hey, BBs, even Gr25s if you get them from the right source, are pretty
darn cheap, so why not?

$5 for front and rear from the LBS--I shouldn't even be asking. But it
was more about casting pearls before swine,even if the pearls is
cheap. My feeling is that the biggest problem with cheap hubs is
simply horrible cone adjustment and lack of grease out of the box.
I'll reball 'em with the same attitude I've got towards the Rigidas. I
can always whack together a great set of utility wheels for a hundred
bucks or so if I hose these. I even think I got a hub or two in the
fuckit bucket.


Other than that, it looks to be a fine fetcher of things. The EZ fire
shifters should prove to be just fine and cheap to replace if I whack
them against something. Bars will likely be too wide, but I've got a
fresh hack blade.

I'll post my mini reviews of that nifty front rack from Nashbar and
the Knog city panniers when I get it all bolted up.

That little Nashbar rack ain't half bad, despite what some rack snobs
might say. If the Knog panniers fit well on it's wide-but-short
shelf, it should be a nice combo - frugal, funky, functional. ;-)

Rack's for the six pack of High Life under a bungee, pannier's going
on the classic Bor Yueh rack in back. I stick with that brand for an
amusing reason--my old city bike had one that came stock, and it was
indestructible. Once, I got clipped by a Subaru north of Belmont in
Chicago, which was my fault as I'd pulled out a little preoccupied
with a mackerel or something, and he bent my fender stays and racks a
bit. He shrieked as he was a theater-actor dude--but none to worry, a
small mob of Chinese exchange student were nearby, dusted me off, bent
my bike back in shape, and had me on the road in seconds. No kidding.
It was hysterical and sweet. The Bor Yueh rack survived the Subaru, so
I stick with the brand in tribute.

.