Troy's Bike Light- The "Stella"

My boyfriend Troy doesn't share my thrifty bike nature. He's practical, for sure and loves a good deal, but he also makes a lot of money and therefore can afford really nice bike toys. (I'm a mixture of UGLY jealousy! and being happy for him. :)

He decided that he wanted a bike light that could illuminate the road in front of him. It's getting dark at like 4:30 now and there are leaves piled up all over the place getting slippery and hiding branches in their piles of doom. So I don't blame him at all for wanting to shell out the money for a nice light. Hell, I wish I could.

He looked all over the internet and we eventually went to REI and looked at all their wares. They had a good selection and after shining lights all over the store and out the windows to the ground below, we found a winner.

The Light and Motion "Stella" light. Here's a link to a website that talks about this light WAY more intelligently than I could...

The Competitive Cyclist

If that link doesn't work, then cut and paste this address:

http://www.competitivecyclist.com/mountain-bikes/review-lights/Light---Motion-Stella-180-N-Light_222.html




This one is shown in blue but Troy's is gold or silver, I think. Anyway, they're a bright LED with a battery pack and even though it's kinda dorky and big, it's also awesome and functional. It also straps to your helmet if you want.

I can't help myself... More Bike Bells!

Now I'm looking around and I'm finding all these adorable fun bike bells made by Dimension!

There's the "Bell Pepper" that comes in green, red, and yellow...






There's the little soccer ball with foot:












There's the tea pot bell: what a weird idea for a bell... haha. Tea pots? At least they're cute...






It's hamburger time!














Random head of a guy with a hat bell, always a favorite:




















Sexy little analog clock bell which I might totally buy someday because that's a great idea and it's cute:





















The Baseball Bell:





Well, that's all for now. But there are some crazy bells out there. Apparantly bells are the flair of the bike world. They are just so darn quirky!

Oh! Almost forgot! *Jester* bars and bike bells!

What I meant before about the Jester theme is that the bike now has two colors of tape on the handlebars. I just couldn't take the whole thing of glow in the dark bar tape off. I LOVED that idea!

So, I just took one side off. One side is white glowy, and the other is the black. It looks kinda cool actually. I'll post a pic eventually when I find my lost digi camera...lame.

Then, I found this bell at the City Bikes store located one block south of Burnside on Ankeny. They're a worker owned and operated store that has a lot of second hand bike stuff, repairs, and racks that you can fix your own bike on and get some good advice. This place is pretty rad.

City Bikes Workers Cooperative
www.citybikes.coop
Bicycle Repair 1914 SE Ankeny.503-239-0553

Bicycle Sales 734 SE Ankeny.503-239-6951

Open Weekdays 11-7 Weekends 11-5

ANYWAY, I bought a few things from them because I needed reflectors, a bell, and some brake components which I will get to in a later post. They had these cute little Taj Mahal looking bells with gold and black on them and I couldn't help myself. I had to have one. It's called the Dimension Beehive Bell for $6. Not bad.

What the EFF?!!!?? I was looking for a picture of my bike bell online and I ran across this little gem: Chrome Plated Bike Bell. Made with Genuine Swarovski Crystals.

You can take this little bad girl home for $68 bucks. (Uh, not my style but there's SOMEONE out there that wants it.)

Or if you're like me and from Portland, you can have this oh-so-appropriate coffee cup bell. Dimension Coffee Cup Java Mug Bell Bicycle Bike that sells for $4.99 on Amazon.com


Cute!


Next on the Goldie blog: "The Saga of Getting the Fenders On" and "The Eternal Sunshine of the Brakeless Mind"

Theme change!

Okay, so I had the original idea to keep Goldie's color theme white/gold/a little black/ MOSTLY pure white as the driven snow. People at bike stores laughed at me and shook their heads in bemusement and my friends all thought I was turning into a fascist bike snob.

I am NOT, you guys! I don't even own a messenger bag! (yet... heh heh)

I decided to change the theme to black/gold/a little white here and there/JESTER! Haha! Goldie is looking a little mockish right now.

What I mean is that when I changed it to black (thanks to the tiny amount on fenders sold at REI that fit my bike) That made any white details look weird. So, I got some new grip tape from the REI brand Novara, which added up to only $9. Nice.

Here are the grip tapes that I bought. What I like about them was the fact that they don't have adhesive tape on the backs to stick to the bar, they have a thin layer of gel. So, they can be reused without falling apart and getting ripped up when you take them off. Cool! (mine are black with little brown flecks in them, they came with black end plugs.




Here are the fenders: SKS brand. Only mine are in a different color. Mine are a dark cloudy grey with hardly there stripes down the back. Only $32 bucks. Sweet.



It also had to do with the fact that all the ladies seats with the cut outs had price tags that made my toes curl. I just couldn't afford to buy that super spendy seat. So, I started looking lower down the $$$ levels. What I found was that the lower the price, the harder it was to find a seat in white that was also girl friendly.

So, I ended up with this seat that cost $44 and has been working alright. I haven't given it a good hard ride yet, so we'll see. But thanks to me being a member at REI, I can return the seat at any time. AWESOME! It's the Look In ATH Bike Saddle for Women at a 30 degree angle. (They have choices in this apparantly...)

Made for road or mountain bike riders, the A1 3Density™ saddle enhances padding in the front of the saddle.

• Features more Royalgel™ in the front to accommodate a bent over, athletic riding position
• Royalgel adapts to your anatomy by moving vertically, horizontally and diagonally in order to reduce pressure peaks on the sit bones and genital area
• Royalgel also absorbs shock for further comfort; does not break, harden or leak with age
• 3Density saddles are padded with three layers of material with different densities and visco-elastic properties
• This allows the Royalgel more space to move and distribute pressure uniformly, increasing its shock absorbency
• Innovative saddle cover fabric keeps saddle cool in the sun

Anyway, it gets her done and doesn't make me go broke. Good enough. I'm sad that I can't afford my original dream of my sexy little white and gold bike. Oh well, she'll look good in black too.

Frogs!

I found this little light set at the Bike Gallery today while driving home. I got a wild itch to polish all the chrome on my bike and stopped to pick up some shine-in-a-bottle.

Then, while I was in there, I saw these cute little wrap around bike lights that work great and wrap around almost anything! The plastic is kind of soft and stretchy and the light is powerful enough to get some attention. The best part is that they save your life and look really cute doing it. They're also easy to take on and off if you're worried about stuff getting stolen (like I am).



I got a red one for the back light and a white one for the front. They have a steady beam setting and a blinky setting too. I feel like they look a lot cuter than the normal black screw-down type that have Velcro or something equally as dumb.

These were $11.95 each at the Bike Gallery, or www.bikegallery.com and they're called the Knog light, and this model is the frog.

Bike Helmets!

Protect your noggin!

Bicycle helmets are usually ugly as sin, but I found some super cute ones a few years ago and received one as a gift.

The typical helmet: UGLY.





Nutcase Helmets: SO cute!
I have the one with the rainbow dots all over it. 3rd row down, 2nd from the left. I love mine. I was paranoid after I got hit by a drunk driver and wanted a helmet that really stood out. Be prepared to have everyone stare at you though. That gets a little annoying after a while.


www.nutcasehelmets.com

And they're a Portland company! Cool! Support local!

Night time safety!

Safety is a big thing for me. I hate it when bicyclists break traffic laws. I think that when people run red lights (and act like all cars should move out of their way and get bad attitudes about sharing the road) they are asking for trouble. We all have a right to the road equally. Also, we should all be aware and look around at all times.

In order to better do that, we should all take healthy safety precautions and make it easier for others to see where we are and predict what we are going to do based on a common set of traffic rules that we all follow.

Lights on your bike are a MUST. They're cheap, easy to install on your bike, and COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE!!! I had these on my old bike and loved them:

Planet Bike Blinky Safety Light Set

They were strong, noticeable, and I never once changed the batteries even though I used them every night when I rode home from work. AND, they're only $11. Nice.

Here's something so rad I might just have to go buy myself some RIGHT NOW:

Cinelli Lumen Glowing Synthetic Road Bicycle Handlebar Tape - White

O.M.G!!!! They are white and GLOW IN THE DARK!!!!! How awesome is that?! $23 ish

Pocket Book Sore

After tying in "women's saddle" or "women's seat" or some variation of it, I've learned a lot. And so has the bike industry, apparently. They have finally come to realize that women *gasp!* have different anatomy than men!

There is a market out there that caters to women's bums- even if it isn't as big as the selection for men. I'm glad it exists. However, I'm stunned at seat prices! I realized after some reading that the Brooks saddles do come in women's variations, however, even THEY would most likely hurt for women to ride on them much. Especially in the road bike position of leaning forward and pressing our pubic bones into the front part of the seat.

The new thing in women's saddle is the ergonomic shaping. Read: wider seat in the back for the wider "sit bones" to rest on and a little groove down the middle of the seat for lady parts. There's no getting around the conversation of talking about lady parts when it comes to talking bicycle seats. You just plain have to be okay with the fact that lady parts happen where your body sits on the seat and there needs to be awareness that, unlike men, we NEED cushion and a groove.

Many companies are coming out with some seats that fit lady bums, but the color selection of all seats is not that spectacular. Black, Carbon, White in some rare cases, and (hello sexism!) pink. Yes, that's right. Bike companies are making seats for women that come in pink to satisfy that lady urge to be a vapid idiot. I love that the men's never come in anything but black and occasionally (and I mean once here) blue. PINK! I'm shaking my head as I type here. I guess I should just be happy that they make seats for us at all...

Well, I like the white ones. In fact, I'll post some pics here of some nice lady seats that I found on www.bikesomewhere.com.

Terry Women's Zero X Bicycle Saddle - Metallic Pearl

This one is the front runner so far. It rings in at $120 (ouch!) Simple, cushiony, nice.

• Flared rear platform gives you increased leverage on climbs
• Flat overall platform and slightly wider nose increase the forward riding surface
• Vanox rails are as light and strong as titanium but less prone to seatpost clamping failure
• Length/Width: 10.6/6 inches
• Weight: 238 grams / 8.9 ounces

Terry Women's Butterfly Carbon Bicycle Saddle - White

Also from the Terry line for ladies, this one will have you eating rice and beans for weeks: $160

• Lightweight, shock absorbing, extremely expensive and beautiful
• Signature cutaway for relief up front; wider rear for sit bone support
• Low profile, flat top with multi-density, injection molded foam
• Length/Width: 10.3/6.1 inches
• Weight: 218 grams / 7.7 ounces

Terry Women's Rosie Bicycle Saddle

(Oh HO! Ladiiiies, here's your ULTRA girly seat!) This little beaut goes for a decent $71

• Best for: Riders preferring width & comfort
• Cover/Features: Leather w/ride like a girl graphics
• Rails: FeC Alloy
• Weight: 326g / 11.5oz
• Length/Width: 10.3 x 7

Fizik Women's Vitesse HP Wing Flex Bicycle Saddle - Titanium Rails

Sexy! Sexy! This little stream-lined number goes for $99 and the gold one's a sassy little seat! Doesn't look as comfy with the narrow front part and no groove.

• Cover: Microtex
• Rail: Titanium
• Weight: 265g
• Length: 270mm. Width: 150mm

Selle Royal Women's Respiro Relaxed Touring/City Bicycle Saddle

The flying saucer of seats! This looks ridiculous. $74.99

• Touring/City
• Cool Microtex Cover
• Weight - 754g
• Length: 256mm/ Width: 227mm
• Rails: Steel

Here you have a mix of them. There are tons more with some groove, not a lot of groove, more padding, gel, springs, all kinds if crazy gadgetry. Some with "ride like a girl" written on them to appeal to the more brainless of us. Sigh. There were the leather ones in brown from Brooks, but on the website I got the rest of these off of, they were close to $350 clams. No dice.

Is it normal that the seat cost more than the bike??? Are these seats only for professionals and road warriors? I couldn't find any cheaper than this that fit my girly anatomy, Fred Meyer (our local "get everything" store here on the west coast) didn't have anything but cheapo seats and the rest of them out there are for boys only. OUCH. I'd rather buy one expensive seat than have a cheap one that causes me to NEVER ride my bike.

The search continues... wish me luck!

Saddle Sore

Well, I took her out for another spin today and it's become very clear that I need a new seat. Ouch!

I guess those little skinny black shaped leather seats are for people that are without actual nerve endings or skin on their body. I hear Brook's is the best seat maker around but their seats are very expensive. But they sure are pretty...

www.brookssaddles.com

These seats are touted as the best, but I've never tried one before. I'm a pretty curvy girl and need a seat that supports wider set hip bones. I guess I'm not alone in this. It seems as though there's a huge market out there catering to the sore bum. Doctors write articles about nerve damage and even impotence thanks to ill fitting bike seats and poor riding form.

Turns out that when I looked at the web page they offer a whole list of official Brooks dealers. River City Bikes and City Bikes here in Portland both sell them. The one pictured above is the B72 in brown, it's also offered in black. I'd like to keep the color palette shades of gold and brown and other fall colors.

I wish I could afford that seat! Maybe I can if I don't buy gas any more... heh heh, I can work this out if I fineggle. I need a seat that feels comfortable in order to ride the bike all over the place.

Wooden Fenders!

I've learned about some awesome new fender accessories made by hand our of wood!
They're gorgeous and super expensive, but they are sure pretty...



You can get them for a road bike as well, and choose what colors of wood you would like.
I want some!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Some websites that have cool handmade wooden fenders:

www.woodysfenders.com

www.sykeswoodfenders.com

www.fastboyfenders.com

www.velocebicycles.com

Leave it? Or paint it?

My roommate's boyfriend came over today and took a gander at Goldie. Benjamin is also learning how to fix bikes and has been eyeballing some off Craigslist as well. It must be Portland, we're all obsessed with bikes. I read a statistic that said that 7 out of 10 people who live here own at least one bike. I know so many people that own more than that, myself included. I couldn't bring myself to sell my old cruiser with the bear bell and the cushy seat.

Anyway, Benjamin comes over and we're talking bikes. He thinks I should leave the color just like it is. He says it gets mega points for style. I don't disagree, after all, I named her Goldie for a reason. But there's something in me that wants the pristine finish of a not-scratched-up bike.

We both agree that there needs to be some improvements, a new seat for instance. New brake wires for sure. Some metal things to hold the brake lines to the bike instead of the plastic zip tie things that are holding them now.

Apparently there's a place in town that will paint your bike for you for a mere $120 bucks. They dip paint it and you don't have to worry about the massive sanding and painting job yourself.

But painting the bike myself doesn't seem like it would be that bad. The worst part would be taking it apart and putting it back together. As for paint, I'd just take it step by step.

1) take bike apart
2) use paint thinner to clean bike of grease and all weird foreign things and dirt
3) dry it
4) sand it with fine grit and then use white primer
5) dry the primer, then sand the bumps
6) repeat last step
7) wet sand it with super fine grit
8) let dry
9) paint with desired color
10) let dry then finish with a clear epoxy

It's not rocket science. But Benjamin kept whispering "and don't paint it" between every little conversation about what needs to be done. Haha, she is cute, but I think I still want to paint her gold. Maybe a rose gold with a pearly lustre to it. Yeah. With brown accents for grip tape and seat...

Picture of Goldie

Here is a picture of Goldie! The only thing I did to her so far was to take off that aweful white grip tape that had cemented itself onto the handlebars. Annoying... I read that lighter fluid can take off adhesive residue really well, I'll be trying that.

Things I know I need so far:

* grip tape
* new paint job- stat! (Goldie's looking kinda orange gold, not GOLD gold.)
* maybe a new seat, we'll see
* fenders for when it rains like CRAZY here
* a tune up

I'll keep you informed!

In the Beginning...

In the beginning, a young woman named Jen wanted a road bike. She lived in Portland and one fine day she woke up and turned her comput... okay, enough with the third person crap.

I bought a bike off Craigslist this morning. It wasn't my dream bike. My dream bike is a Peugeot Tour bike in black with little orange rainbows. I want it in my size and I want it in a men's style bike. This doesn't exist, I've decided. Or at least, I can't find one in my size at my price (dirt cheap).

After looking for months for the *perfect* bike and not finding it, I finally decided to just build my dream bike from the ground up. Well, that plan had problems too. I don't know how to work on, fix, build, or really do anything with a bike.

So, I decided to find a middle ground. I searched Craigslist for an old bike that didn't cost too much, that I could fix up to look and ride like I wanted. I still wanted a man's bike, but I wanted it to be my size.

Then, this morning, I found her. She is *gold*, manly, a 10 speed, and isn't a Peugeot. That means I can strip the paint to my hearts desire and not feel like I'm defacing an artifact. It's a Dayton, which I've never even heard of and apparently doesn't exist online. (But it does in England; it says so on my new bike.) She was $75, which isn't a small amount of cash for me, mind you. But, I found some FRAMES for at least $50 clams and for a mere $25 more, I got the rest of the bike! AND, the frame fits me. Yay. I'm 5'8" by the way.

So, I've decided to repaint her, keeping her gold though, because I love that color. I've decided to do all the work myself, and fix her up to be a fine city bike that I can use every day from school to work to the bars and back home again.

Thus begins the saga of GOLDIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And, I'll talk about my process and the steps and everything I encounter here so if some other girl wants a Goldie for her very own, she can do it herself and feel proud!