The *BIG* Bike is Almost Done!
It’s been about more than six months, but I finally got the BIG bike on the road! I’ve been very busy and it took me a long time to get around to ordering the parts, and even longer to hand polish every little component that was staying on the bike!
Before:
From the Craigslist Posting that I Responded To
After:
After First Ride To Work
Cockpit With the Bell
Cockpit
SideViewWithoutBags
I still have some work to do… I want to order a nice bottle cage, probably this one: http://www.velo-orange.com/vomoststwabo.html and will probably substite a brass bell for the chrome one that I have installed in the picture above. It also came with a front rack, but I haven’t finished polishing it, so it’s not installed yet.
It’s a joy to ride and rides VERY smoothly, and even better it FITS!
It’s an ‘82 Schwinn Voyageur SP and I upgraded the wheels to 700C with cartridge bearing hubs shod with 32C Panaracer Pasela TourGuard tires, 7 speed rear derailer, Suntour barend shifters, Planet Bike Cascadia fenders (without the ugly purple logo that’s on the new ones), Brooks B17 leather sadle, and Nashbar Moustache handlebars wrapped with yellow cotton tape with 4 coats of amber Shellac and twine trim.
I want to ride it in the upcoming Wildflower Century, but will probably swap out the inner chainring for a 26 tooth or so for those hills. 
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3 Responses to “The *BIG* Bike is Almost Done!”
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Where did you get the handlebars? They are very cool. How do they ride?
The handlebars are these:
http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product_10053_10052_175275_-1_200303_200276_200388
They’re nice… at first they actually hurt my hands a little bit, but interestingly I find that while they bother me more on short rides, they are actually better on long rides, not sure how that can be. I had to play with the angle a little bit to avoid pressure on my median nerve.
That’s a great looking bike. Did you buy this from the Bay Area? I tried to buy a Voyageur S/P, 27″ frame, from Fremont back about a year ago, but it had already sold.
Anyway, I had a question for you: do you find that this bike shimmies or is too flexy? I ask because I *like* flexy bikes (and I ride 68cm bikes, like you), but am wondering if double-butted standard gauge tubing (as opposed to the oversized tubing one finds on modern steel bikes) flexes too much under a tall rider? I’m 6′6″, about 190 lbs., so not very heavy. I’m thinking of getting a custom, but can’t decide between standard and oversized tubing, so any data you could give me would be helpful. (what is the exact tubing, if I may ask?)
(and if you decide to sell the bike, contact me first!)
regards,
Art