Tag: bicycle

Su-Bike-Ru

The weather in DC could not have been better for a late-winter bike ride. It was well over 60 degrees for most of the day. It is also the last day of spring break for my two kids who are home from college. We had planned to give our nine-year-old Accord to our daughter but that plan fell apart when we learned that the car needs $3,000 in repairs, mostly to its steering. So we spent the day test driving cars. We drove a Honda Fit which seemed okay. Then a Civic which we all liked. Next up was a Subaru Impreza which we all really liked. When school is over we plan on driving a couple more cars before making our decision. We picked up a brochure from the Subaru dealer and saw these interesting pictures

. IMG_0481 IMG_0480Can you imaging a Specialized or Trek bicycle brochure with pictures of people driving Subarus instead of riding bikes? Unbeknownst to Subaru, my daughter, like many new drivers, thinks bicycle are lame. We liked the car because it was fun to drive, well-designed and priced right.

Old Saddle Made New

If you look at the picture at the top of my blog, you’ll see The Mule, my Specialized Sequoia bicycle. The saddle is a Brooks Flyer, a leather saddle that costs over $100.  Look at how the saddle sags in the middle. It’s not supposed to do that. Underneath the nose of the saddle is a tensioning bolt that you can use to tighten the leather and remove the sag. You can use it, if it isn’t broken. Mine was.

I finally decided to replace the saddle. My new saddle is another Flyer and it works fine. On a whim I search the Interwebs to see if I could get my old saddle repaired. I found this place in Seattle and decided to give them a try. I mailed them my saddle and in a couple of days I received an email from them saying it was done. I sent them the money for the repair and return shipping and a few days later it arrived.

IMG_0420
Old saddle with sag removed. Looks like new except for the matte finish to the leather
Underside of saddle with new bolt installed
Underside of saddle with new tensioning bolt installed

Other than the fact that the leather is no longer shiny like a new saddle, I can hardly tell the difference between the two. The leather on the old saddle is softer to the touch and since comfort is king, it went back on the bike. I’ll ride the bike and see how the repaired saddle holds up.

The repair shop does other repairs to Brooks saddles. Sadly if the leather is torn you’re out of luck. Also, there is the possibility that the leather will tear during the repair. Caveat sella.

By the way, I now have two extra Brooks saddles. It would be a shame for them to go to waste. There is only one thing to do….buy two new bikes. 🙂

Big Nellie Turns 32,000

I hadn’t planned on riding at all today but the weather was so nice, I couldn’t help myself. I took Big Nellie, my Tour East recumbent, down to Mount Vernon with a quick loop around Fort Hunt Park. In my travels I got a good bead on the Fort Hunt bald eagle nest. It’s easily the biggest one around.

On the way back home, I stopped to take a picture.

Big Nellie Turns 32

Big Nellie finally made it. Now she’s only 400 or so miles behind The Mule, my Specialized Sequoia.