One speed is all you need

I have become interested in tinkering all of a sudden. This is very unexpected. Never in the past have I been what you could call "hands-on" when it came to mechanical stuff. When I was younger, my dad tried unsuccessfully on several occasions to interest me in the internal mysteries of my car. I couldn't get into it back then, and I never really did learn much beyond installing a spare tire and replenishing fluids (which I am still not very prompt with, as my wife will attest). I just never cared about it. Now suddenly with bicycles I have this urge to take everything apart and learn how it all works.

To that end, I have acquired a cheap old bicycle that I can rip apart and play with to my heart's content without worrying about ruining anything. I found a beat-up Batavus Monte Carlo (made in Holland!) on Craig's List yesterday and drove into Uptown to pick it up. The seller's two car garage was half-filled with cruisers and fun bikes, including a Rockhopper hanging up on racks.

My new bike is a real winner. The frame actually is pretty cool looking, maybe with some rust spots here and there, but that's the extent of the damage. Some rusted nuts and bolts and stuff. One of the pedals is squashed in like it got melted somehow. The rear tube is thrashed beyond repair, but the tire seems okay. Cables are duct-taped and zip-tied onto the frame. Half of them don't go anywhere and the ones that are connected to something tend not to be in working order. He thought there was at least one functional derailleur and one brake, but we tested it and only the rear brake works; no shifting capabilities.

So, basically what I've got is a single-speed bike. Since this is what my bicycle obviously longs to be, I have taken it upon myself to complete the transition from crappy wrecked geared beater to a hopefully less crappy and more efficient machine. First thing, I took off the rear rack for my Strada to acheive the full touring/commuter effect on that bike. Next, I'll take off both of the Monte Carlo's derailleurs and shifting levers since they aren't doing anything anyway. Just to get it in basic riding condition, I need to reroute the brake cables and fix the flat and probably make a couple dozen other adjustments. Then, it's single-speed conversion time!

Categories: bicycles