The SS Project: Work in progress

The wheel is about to turn a full circle (for me).  The "gears" have slowly given way to "SS" by losing pleurality.   This is how the things started when the bicycles were first invented.  One cog, one gear was the way to go and it remained like that for a really long time, until someone thought about a simple manual transmission for the bikes.  It was a revolutionary idea, but it had it's drawbacks.  Simplicity for one, was not one of it's features.

As the gear race got more and more competitive, Shimano, Campagnolo and SRam poured all their heart and energy into building the most efficient.  And they came up with impressive results.  Seven, eight, nine, ten and now we're almost about to get eleven speeds.  But that wasn't enough, at least for some.  They were thinking retro, they were craving simplicity.  And so the single speeds and fixed gear bikes started gaining popularity.

Having only just gotten into serious recreational biking with a 9 speed bike (yes, I am happy with that many speeds for now), you would think that I would not get the SS bug.  Surprise surprise!  This has been on my mind, for just a little bit less than the 9 speed bike I had been dreaming years before I actually could build one up.  The thing is, almost nothing in life has come to me easily and without prolonged wait, but let us leave that to another day and another blog.  So yeah, the single speed is going to be my next project.

Earlier this month, I came across this track frame/fork groupbuy on bikeforums.net which was a killer deal.  I jumped right on it.  Rest of the parts are yet to come, but here is a couple of photos of the frame and fork.

Single Speed Project Statistics

Frame:        Eighth Inch 51cm                 $125 (incl shipping)

Fork:           Bontrager 1" carbon            Included

Headset:     Unsealed bearings              Included

Seatpost:    Ascent carbon                     Previously bought

Wheel:        Front campy                       A beater wheel

Total so far: $125 plus previously bought parts

Parts needed:

Bullhorn handlebars

Rear wheel with single speed hub

Stem

Brake rear (yes I am only going to use one brake)

Brake lever (rear)

Saddle

Single speed crankset

Platform pedals

Sealed cartridge bottom bracket English threads

Tires front and rear

Freewheel

Cog

To be continued....

Reminiscent of the scissor style biking

Do you remember the first time you learned to bike on your own?  Remember how ecstatic you were?   My first experience was in fourth grade.   I had just inherited my late grandfather's very old, almost antique bycycle.  Of course it still felt like a brand new, really expensive gift at the time.

I still vividly remember the first time I was able to ride on my own.  My other grandfather was visiting at the time and I made him come out on the street to watch how a  4 foot tall boy rides a full size adult bike.   If you grew up in India, you would know how.  All kids use this trick called "kaichi" or scissor.  You just put your right leg through the triangle of the frame to reach the pedal on the other side and try to balance the bike at the same time.  Imagine that!

It is quite a trick for a child to learn and I was so proud to have learned it.   Countless beatings and rashes that both my knees had taken didn't matter any more, because you know what?  I was the master of my domain. :).

Cycling has stayed with me ever since.  Let me count... two, three......, hmmmmm, well, wait......yes, I have had eight bicycles so far.  Eight bicycles in four countries.  Interesting enough for you yet?  During last 2-3 years, I gave my cycling life a new twist.  No, it was not Lance Armstrong.  It was inspiration from my local bikers.  I also wanted to zip zap at 50mph (downhill of course) like them, clad in lycra, looking all cool.   I didn't have the equipment, but I had the drive and the dream.  And so I joined Harpeth Bicycle Club in Brentwood, Tennessee.  Pretty soon, one could see me trying despearately to hang at the back of the pack with my tongue hanging out of my mouth.

Almost a year into riding, I had accumulated more than 2000 miles on my hard-tail mtb.  I had been slowly inching my way to realizing my dream of getting a real road bike.   With no $$$ to shell out on a brand new one, putting one together myself or buying a used one were my only bets.  I preferred the former.  And so was it that I bought my first road bike frame used on Ebay.  A 1996 Cannondale 2.8 lbs frame for $178.00.  I was stoked.  That Xmas, I bought most of the remaining parts for the bike.  In January 2007, Candy was born.  She's still with me, ever so strong, ever so light.

Continued....

Just added (September 19, 2009):

Apparantly my parents remember more than I do about my bicycles and my mischiefs.  Don't they always?  They read my blog and pointed out that the bicycle I had inherited was a Hudson model from 1930s.  Boy, do I wish it was still with me.  That would have been one helluva bike.

Another snippet I was enlightened with by my mother was, how I used my only tricycle, a gift from my aunt.   As it turns out, I would take it to sand, put it upside down and play "mill" trying to grind sand with my new found mill driven by pedals.  I am sure you're like, what?  Yeah, I still have no clue why did that.

By now, you probably think I am some kind of nutcase.  There may be some truth to that, seeing how crazy I still am about bicycles.  Stay tuned for more bike p0rn. Wink wink!