Oh man this silly bike has been an adventure, but I think it’s finally settling in to its fate. Changed shifters, rear derailleur and 9 speed cassette by robbing them from a perfectly finely functioning Trek Multitrack 700, and installing some mid 90’s era LX cranks. The last bit of the puzzle came in the form of a microshift front derailleur with a bottom clamp from the collective. Otherwise the lower bottle bolt on the seat tube was in the way. At long last this thing shifts like a Shimano bike should!
After seeing some sweet front baskets on bikes here on BF, I decided I needed one too. A cheap mini rack, a cheap kitchen basket from Walmart and some zip ties and I was in business. But something was missing, so I made a pattern, watched some YouTube videos, and spent some time in the sewing room to make a cheerful basket liner:
There’s even a pocket inside to carry my phone! I think the copper coloring on the basket adds a little class…
I may put my other rack back on because it looks so much nicer in black. Or maybe just paint this one with a spray bomb.
It actually rides really nice, and has moved up in my favor among the ranks. Think I’ll keep it around a while, maybe build a dynamo wheel for it… it never ends!
Thanks for looking!