what was that? is that all there is? who is this? this is it.

before

after

Today at the bike swap I spent about 30 minutes and all of my money. But I walked away with almost everything I needed for this road bike I'm building up. Sturdy old Shimano 600 was the theme of the day. Now I 'm only a few parts short of a group, but I'll continue to be a few bricks short of a load. Even if I had unlimited funds I don't think I would have found the matching brake levers or a beautiful aero tapered 600 seatpost in a 27.0. But I did find a wheel set with 600 hubs on Open Pros, 175mm 600 cranks and rings in excellent shape, rear derailleur, 600 calipers a dual pivot set and a set of single pivots, and another rear wheel with a 600 hub on Mavic. With a few more relatively small bits I'll have myself a real bicycle with gears. I got at least 67% more product than I would have gotten on eBay sans shipping costs and auction headaches.

I also got the official guide to the 1986 Coors Classic for $2. It's priceless in my book, featuring great photos of Hinault and Lemond and some excellent advertising that will come in handy in various out-of-context contexts like this website. I've had a '86 Coors Classic T-shirt for a couple years and four years ago at the bike swap I bought the 1983 Coors Classic program. Now I have a collection.

Next time I take a picture of this bike it won't be so boring because it'll be out on the road and I'll actually be riding it.

5 Comments

I see that bike laying on the grass in someone's yard in Iowa next July. It's about 100 degrees out and we're sitting under a tree drinking a 12-pak. Across the street Lance Armstrong is riding by but we don't even look because we're staring at the team Gourmet babes dressed in spandex running under the firehouse sprinklers. It's 10 am and we got 7 days, 50 more 12-paks, 10 pork chops, and the entire state of Iowa to go.

Coors Classic program, I think you got that from Dan Nall, he works here at Raleigh. In our P&A Catalog there's a photo of him on a ride with Hinault and Lemond, he's a pretty nice guy.

word Jimbo, I would much rather look at Team Gourmet than try to catch a glimpse of Lance. I haven't had two derailleurs for years and I haven't this many gears on a bike since 1996. I am of course looking forward to Iowa

Yo Case, happy President's Day. If that was Mr. Nall he sure is a nice guy for selling me that sweet book for 2 bucks. Hey it's 11 am and I haven't had a beer for over 12 hours.

I had way too many while helping Counterbalance celebrate their 7th year. It started with 7Up and Seagram's 7 and went downhill from there. Was the guy who sold that to you a short dude with a 700c Sturmey Archer 3-speed wheel and a bunch of Avenir and old stuff?

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