My New Truck

On Sat, 23 Sep 2006 16:36:56 -0700,
(Tom Keats) wrote:
\
This next week I plan to try it on the mixte frame and later on the
Maruishi polo-bike with its radically sloped top tube.

But I'd forego the convenience of the step-through, or _almost_
step-through, for one of those horny lookin' Norcos or Konas.

So howzit workin' out? Have you settled on a config that suits you
to a tee, or are you experimenting, seeing what works best? And have
you encountered any XtraCycle -- bike frame compatibility issues?

I've been lazy about swapping around the frames since I was planning
to overhaul and rebuild joe-bike that's now down to bare metal.

The Xtracycle/Scott combination, with 63 speeds, has become my
primary mount. It feels a bit small though. I robbed fenders from the
SS MTB and put joe-bike's Brooks on it. It's got some shifting issues
that might be caused by the cable routing or the extra length chain.
That's going to require attention tomorrow. I'm not fond of the
noisey twist click shifters either.

When I'm running light on rain slicked streets the back end breaks
free under braking sooner than normal bikes. It also steers heavier
in a cross wind. Some days I feel like a weather vane on bridges The
long wheel base makes for a smooth ride and it _feels_ faster on down
slopes. There's no computer on it.

I'm not confident in the SRAM 3X7 hub's axle for the heavy loads an
Xtracycle can carry. But, I like having 21 speeds on any chainring
and the ability to downshift while stopped.

I'm pretty sure this bike is going to be red like a fire truck.

I'd bet this snap deck thing is pearl white :-)

I'm not much into gold (colour,) but sometimes to my eye a
tasteful li'l smidgeon of it looks pretty good against hot red.
As does a little bit of black and/or insanity-yellow detail.
Or pearl white.

To carry off the fire truck thing almost demands gold leaf lettering.
A few brass highlights would give it a certain appeal. The snap deck
could end up red like the frame.

The hooks off the spare snap deck are attached to a big, red,
locking, plastic tote box. It snaps in place just like a snap deck
now. That makes it handy for loading. I can take the bike outside and
then carry out the loaded box. Or, carry in a load before bringing in
the bike.

Handling the Xtracycle through doorways and on stairs is easier since
I discovered the built in "Gravitational Advantage Juju". It lets
you pick up a lightly loaded Xtracycle by providing a convenient
place to grip the unit at its new centre of balance. Grab it and dead
lift while using the front of the bike as a lever to counter the
load. It's a fairly impressive looking trick.

If ya wanna create a dramatic, heretical colour clash, a certain,
careful amount of olive (shaded) green + dull black might do the trick.
On second thought, maybe not. Green isn't a dynamically violent
colour, since it prefers to either siege & attrit, or to guerilla,
while hot red comes at'cha like a battle-axe wielding Berserker
or Baron Von Richthofen.

A "tiger stripe" jungle camo might look okay in those colours.
The paint scheme of my dreams is based on the WWI fighters. I'd like
to see a repeating lozenge pattern night camo finish on joe-bike. A
mix of blacks and greys could look great in a metallic paint with
maybe a red head tube and squadron flashes. I also like the early
underside lozenge or hexagon patterned day camo with its mix of light
muted hues of blues, greens, pinks and greys.

I guess the workability of hot red + olive green depends on the
implementation & approach. Maybe it's something to mess around
with, and see if it works or not.

Rocky Mountain's "Flow" is painted drab olive. The formed top and
down tubes are massive at the head tube. It's got a red rondel with
white outline painted there. Your brain has to complete the circle
across the open triangle. It's very suggestive of the "meatball" on
Japanese WWII planes but a little too militaristic for my tastes.
--
zk

In article ,
Zoot Katz writes:
On Sat, 23 Sep 2006 16:36:56 -0700,
(Tom Keats) wrote:
\
This next week I plan to try it on the mixte frame and later on the
Maruishi polo-bike with its radically sloped top tube.

But I'd forego the convenience of the step-through, or _almost_
step-through, for one of those horny lookin' Norcos or Konas.

So howzit workin' out? Have you settled on a config that suits you
to a tee, or are you experimenting, seeing what works best? And have
you encountered any XtraCycle -- bike frame compatibility issues?

I've been lazy about swapping around the frames since I was planning
to overhaul and rebuild joe-bike that's now down to bare metal.

The Xtracycle/Scott combination, with 63 speeds, has become my
primary mount. It feels a bit small though. I robbed fenders from the
SS MTB and put joe-bike's Brooks on it. It's got some shifting issues
that might be caused by the cable routing or the extra length chain.
That's going to require attention tomorrow. I'm not fond of the
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
noisey twist click shifters either.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Heh. Yeah, they do tip one's hand when doing a li'l friendly
competition with other riders on the street. The silence of
artful friction shifting can be quite an advantage.

When I'm running light on rain slicked streets the back end breaks
free under braking sooner than normal bikes. It also steers heavier
in a cross wind. Some days I feel like a weather vane on bridges The
long wheel base makes for a smooth ride and it _feels_ faster on down
slopes.

There's no computer on it.

Aw, ya don't need that crap anyways. Bicyclists have already gotten
by pretty good for over a century with the wetware between their ears.

I'm not confident in the SRAM 3X7 hub's axle for the heavy loads an
Xtracycle can carry. But, I like having 21 speeds on any chainring
and the ability to downshift while stopped.

I think all the times I've killed axles were in low gear/high torque
situations. Now when I start, I try to ensure I'm in the next highest
gear up from the one I feel most comfortable with, so I slow down
a little on starting. That also helps stop my bike from spontaneously
wheelie-ing. IME, it's jackrabbit starts that kills axles.


cheers,
Tom

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