a Trek for parts

I began digging through all the junk I had lying around that was bike related - 1500 lb rear shock for my old "Mountain" bike that I never installed and the Shimano 3x7 shifter/brake lever combo kit I also picked up for that bike I would "one day" install. And so I sat there looking at the shifters, thinking of some way to use them. I had paid for them, they were brand new and have a near perfect rating on Amazon.com as well as on other online stores that sell those. But there was one problem.

My previous bike was a 21 speed (three ring crankset with a 7 speed cassette in back, which means 3x7= 21), but this bike, though does have a triple crank, has a 6 speed cassette which makes it an 18 speed (3x6= 18). Being able to use those shifters would be awesome, and I could change over parts if A.) I wasn't actively trying to sell the old bike and B.) the parts on my old bike were in good condition and merit a swap. My father had previously owned this bike and, though and expert at working on bikes, this was a cheap Wal-mart bike that really wasn't worth the time other than a standard lube here and there, plus this was his winter commuter bike which meant road salt and water everywhere. So, yeah, these parts are pretty wore out. They, at best have a few more years on them before they crap out. I'm looking to build something that will last, not just a couple of years.

While searching blogs on people re-purposing old road bikes for commuter bikes, I noticed one thing always seemed to pop up. Internal Gear Hub. What the hell was that? And so I searched (which didn't take me long) to find out that it basically allows you to change gears without having to pedal. Why would you need that? Well, here's an example where I might.

Eau Claire is a city. A city with street lights, traffic, poor condition roads (due to our harsh winters) and pedestrians. Say, you're cruising along in a fast gear (the ones that are hard to pedal at slow speeds) and out comes a car or, if you actually follow the traffic laws like you're supposed too, a light turns red and you have to stop suddenly. Now, you forgot to get out of that gear, so what are you going to do? Hope you have enough leg strength to push off from that stop? Hobble along until you reach a speed you can manage pedaling? Exactly. Once or twice I guess is fine, but that gets old fast. With an Internal Gear Hub, you just flick the shifter into the gear you need, no pedaling required. Pretty nice huh?

So, could I still use a triple crankset with an internal hub? Yes. Can I still use a 7speed cassette? Yes. So, in theory, I could have everything I want, all 21 gears and the ability to change gear without effort. Or can I?

What I just half-assedly described is what they call a Hybrid Drive system. Basically it looks like the standard 21 speed system, derailleurs and all but you have the added complication of the internal hub. I have yet to find a good tutorial, let alone explanation as to why you would want something as complicated and expensive as this. My only guess is that you need this many gears because you are using your bike to do some hardcore hauling (I mean like with one of those Xtracycle add-on things. You can even set them up to carry a fricken canoe? Seriously?)

All I want is something to scoot about town on that has the ability to get me up the occasional hill. I'm not taking this thing on 100+ mile bike trips where I'm carrying a donkey sized cargo load. At best it will be some of my camera gear, maybe some library books/textbooks, and/or some small amount of groceries or picnic basket. That's about it. So why all the fuss and money over getting to keep those gears? For my needs, I don't need them.

Then it hit me. Combine the durability and reliability of a single crank (sometimes called a "fixie" or fixed gear) and the internal gear hub? I could have gears, but not have to worry about half the crap on the bike. But still, there too is a problem. So I jump from a triple crankset (three different cranks, large, medium, and small) to one (just large). Plus, I'm losing A LOT of gears going from 21 to about 8 (maybe 11 if I can find one that's affordable). Is 8 enough? I think so. And I can always add on to the system later to increase my gears if I want to. Here's an example of my wife's classic bike, a mid-70's Schwinn Suburban. It's a five speed geared bike but it has the original single crankset. It has a different setup than the one I plan on building for my bike, but it's a good reference point for what I plan on building for mine.

And as much as I'd like to keep all the old parts from this bike around, I'm really not planning too. The reason is because, though they are indeed in fair condition, they're also bottom shelf parts. The whole goal of this bike is to build a reliable, nearly indestructible commuter bike that rivals ones you can buy off the shelf for, at the moment, $1,000 and up. I also plan on selling them to help offset the cost of new parts. I won't get much for them, but it will go to someone who needs them. That's the point right?

And so it begins...

A long time ago in a neighborhood far, far away (or in Sheboygan, WI anyway), I was once young lad who was quite attached to my bicycle. It wasn't some fancy expensive store bought piece, more of a hodge-podge mix of parts my dad bought, traded, found and what have you and lovingly put together to create a completely custom and bullet proof bike for myself and one for my older brother. My father had always been a passionate cyclist, and still rides his Giant brand road bike daily, the same one he had since I could remember, and probably beyond that as well. It also helped that every summer our city held, what was called at the time, the Heritage Square Classic, a bicycle race populated by some of the most famous road racing bicyclists of the time. The starting line was only a couple of blocks away and our road was the "cool down" run where the cyclists took to get back to the pit area.

My brother and I would often try to race them down the road, most ignored us, as they were too tired or too focused to care, while a few gave in to our antics and quickly showed us why they did what they did, often getting to the end of our street before we could even blink.

After middle school, I never really got back into cycling. There was the odd foray into BMX, but it mostly consisted of me cautiously going over a homemade jump, just fast enough to feel like I got lift, but didn't really do much else. My brother was much more brazen and actually attempted many jumps on the poorly planned, more than likely illegally built BMX circuit in the woods behind one of the local middle schools. My brother was also much more fit than I was at this point in life, as I was...well...to be polite, quite husky.

When I got into high school, I no longer biked at all. The main goal for me at that time was to A.) learn to drive and B.) get a girlfriend. The latter of which didn't happen until nearly the end of my senior year. After graduation I moved with my parents out to central Wisconsin while I contemplated whether to work a few years or jump right into college. Considering our living area, and having grown up in the city, I really didn't see the need or appeal of a bike in the country since, to me, a bike was to get from point A to point B. I was 22 miles away from point A and 35 miles away from point B. I had a vehicle, gas was relatively inexpensive at the time, so I thought "What's the point?"

After a few years of working, I went on to college. I lived on campus in a dorm, and considering the campus was quite small and everything within reasonable walking distance, again, a bike really didn't pop into my head as ideal transport. I had two legs and knew how to walk. The only gas I had was from the chilli cheese fries from the night before.

But then came Japan. I participated in a study abroad program ran by my college which happened to be in the heart of Tokyo. A bike, aside from Japan's awesome public rail system, would be my transportation. Once again I felt the freedom and the joy I had once thought was lost.

After getting out of college I was back in the work force, and shortly thereafter, married to my wonderful wife Nicole. We've now settled in Eau Claire, WI, a wonderful bike friendly town. Which brings to me this, my blog, and my project.

I was originally going to rebuild an old Peugeot U08 road bike I had found locally via Craigslist, however, it was not meant to be as I did the final fit measurements and realized it's too tall for me (I'm 5' 10"). So I was back to the drawing board a.k.a. Craigslist.

I had looked around at the new bikes and really didn't see ones I either wanted or could afford. The ones that I could had less than desirable parts that I would later just chuck in the junk pile, and the new ones...well...just go look for yourself. So an older bike was the best choice, and I chose this:

My $60 bucket of magnificence as Jeremy Clarkson would say. It's a 1993 Taiwanese built Trek 700 Multitrack hybrid bike. For the most part, it would appear it has spent most of it's life in a garage somewhere, in a corner, unloved and unwanted. It even has the factory tires it came with off the show room floor.

So here I am, older, fatter (than I was in Japan anyway) and with ailing knees that like to announce their accent down the stairs with a wonderful popping sound. The plan is to turn this thing into full fledged commuter, fenders and all. We'll see how far this takes me. As for now, only around the block. Be nice if it stopped raining.