The family commuter
11-05-11, 05:15 PM
#1
Fat Guy on a Little Bike
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The family commuter
My wife and I use this bike almost every weekend when we head out for brunch. There's a long story about it, which can be viewed in the C and V section.
Race Street Pier, by the Ben Franklin Bridge:
By the Liberty Bell
Love in Love Park
Race Street Pier, by the Ben Franklin Bridge:
By the Liberty Bell
Love in Love Park
11-05-11, 05:16 PM
#2
Fat Guy on a Little Bike
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Our bike is occupying Philadelphia!
Art Museum
Obligatory Rocky Photo
Rittenhouse Park
Art Museum
Obligatory Rocky Photo
Rittenhouse Park
11-05-11, 05:19 PM
#3
Fat Guy on a Little Bike
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We're planning on more around town scenic photos in the coming days...
Clarke Park (I'm thinking photos of the bike in all of the major parks might be fun)
Near the clothes pin
The china Town arch
The new paint brush sculpture near the convention center
The prison in Fairmount
Philadelphia's library (one of the first)
A synagogue designed by Frank Lloyd Wright (though it's a bit far for this bike
Various concert venues (the tower, TLA, Trocadero to start)
The stadiums
Penns Landing
WE ARE NOT DOING PATS OR GENOS, both are revolting tourist traps.
Clarke Park (I'm thinking photos of the bike in all of the major parks might be fun)
Near the clothes pin
The china Town arch
The new paint brush sculpture near the convention center
The prison in Fairmount
Philadelphia's library (one of the first)
A synagogue designed by Frank Lloyd Wright (though it's a bit far for this bike
Various concert venues (the tower, TLA, Trocadero to start)
The stadiums
Penns Landing
WE ARE NOT DOING PATS OR GENOS, both are revolting tourist traps.
11-05-11, 05:23 PM
#4
Slogging along
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Location: San Fernando Valley, SoCal
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Bikes: Cannondale Synapse '06, Mongoose titanium road bike '00--my commuter. Yes, Mongoose once made a decent ti road bike.
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Thanks for sharing this story and photos. Wonderful. Who sits in the rear seat?
11-05-11, 05:25 PM
#5
Fat Guy on a Little Bike
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I captain, my wife takes the rear, anyone we can convince to ride it with us takes middle (smallll cockpit in middle).
11-05-11, 06:39 PM
#6
Senior Member
Very nice. Looks like you could use the HOV lanes with that bike.
I lived at Rittenhouse Square and worked at Washington Square several years ago for about 2 years. The pics bring back nice memories.
I lived at Rittenhouse Square and worked at Washington Square several years ago for about 2 years. The pics bring back nice memories.
Last edited by alan s; 11-05-11 at 06:43 PM.
11-07-11, 10:19 AM
#9
Fat Guy on a Little Bike
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I'll just reprint it - I didn't think many would be interested in the back story:
When I was 12, my family was out driving to breakfast and we passed a tandem that was out with the trash in our neighborhood. I said I counted three seats and my dad said I was imagining it. We argued briefly, and much to my mom's annoyance, we backed up to settle the dispute. I was right...it was a Schwinn Triplet being thrown out in the trash. My dad and I looked at each other smiling, while my mom groaned, knowing the garage just got messier. We knocked on the door to make sure it was being thrown out, and the owner told us it was our's if we wanted it, but that it had a lot of problems. We walked it home while my mom and sis sighed and rolled their eyes. Women!
We found that it was difficult...the bike was rough and had a dented rim. This happened in 1986'ish, so there was no internet for used parts. We weren't bike people...we just thought it was a cool bike and worth fixing up. The rims are 650b, almost unheard of in most bike shops circa 1986 and we're pretty sure that's why the previous owner tossed it out. We took it to a local shop, who insisted we couldn't get tires for it and he changed out the bad rim with a 26 inch MTB rim...it BARELY fit. Again, we weren't bike people and didn't know any better. We had the misfortune of going to a lousy (and dishonest) shop which, for some reason, had a good rep then. Keswick CYcles in Glenside. My dad decided to check other sources for the tire before we replaced the other rim.
The next month involved about $100 (1980s dollars!!!) worth of long distance phone calls looking for parts and information. This is pre-wireless, when you had to pay for calls. We even ended up on the phone with Richard Schwinn. Finally we learned about a new shop called Via in center city that sold old parts. That was the beginning of a beautiful relationship. Curtis, Via's owner, had recently sold a triplet to a gentleman some of you might know from the CR list...he was updating his to Phill Woods hubs, Dura Ace parts, he had Bilenky weld on an extra top tube...and he generously gave us many of his old parts for use on our bike's restoration. We found we could get the tires from Via and that they weren't nearly as difficult to source as Keswick had led us to believe. My family had a lot of fun with this bike and it was the gateway drug to my current addiction.
I left for college and the bike sat in their garage for 20 years. I finally got it down to philly and the Via gang did a fantastic job on it...far better than we had it running back then. All the bearings overhauled, chain guards, new chains, new tires, restored rim...it rides like a dream. Which brings us to today...
A dream fulfilled. My wife now actively enjoys riding it and we took it all through town today. It almost felt like we were spreading joy - everyone who saw us just smiled and many commented how fun it looked. It was amazing, and I hope you folks appreciate some of the photos!
When I was 12, my family was out driving to breakfast and we passed a tandem that was out with the trash in our neighborhood. I said I counted three seats and my dad said I was imagining it. We argued briefly, and much to my mom's annoyance, we backed up to settle the dispute. I was right...it was a Schwinn Triplet being thrown out in the trash. My dad and I looked at each other smiling, while my mom groaned, knowing the garage just got messier. We knocked on the door to make sure it was being thrown out, and the owner told us it was our's if we wanted it, but that it had a lot of problems. We walked it home while my mom and sis sighed and rolled their eyes. Women!
We found that it was difficult...the bike was rough and had a dented rim. This happened in 1986'ish, so there was no internet for used parts. We weren't bike people...we just thought it was a cool bike and worth fixing up. The rims are 650b, almost unheard of in most bike shops circa 1986 and we're pretty sure that's why the previous owner tossed it out. We took it to a local shop, who insisted we couldn't get tires for it and he changed out the bad rim with a 26 inch MTB rim...it BARELY fit. Again, we weren't bike people and didn't know any better. We had the misfortune of going to a lousy (and dishonest) shop which, for some reason, had a good rep then. Keswick CYcles in Glenside. My dad decided to check other sources for the tire before we replaced the other rim.
The next month involved about $100 (1980s dollars!!!) worth of long distance phone calls looking for parts and information. This is pre-wireless, when you had to pay for calls. We even ended up on the phone with Richard Schwinn. Finally we learned about a new shop called Via in center city that sold old parts. That was the beginning of a beautiful relationship. Curtis, Via's owner, had recently sold a triplet to a gentleman some of you might know from the CR list...he was updating his to Phill Woods hubs, Dura Ace parts, he had Bilenky weld on an extra top tube...and he generously gave us many of his old parts for use on our bike's restoration. We found we could get the tires from Via and that they weren't nearly as difficult to source as Keswick had led us to believe. My family had a lot of fun with this bike and it was the gateway drug to my current addiction.
I left for college and the bike sat in their garage for 20 years. I finally got it down to philly and the Via gang did a fantastic job on it...far better than we had it running back then. All the bearings overhauled, chain guards, new chains, new tires, restored rim...it rides like a dream. Which brings us to today...
A dream fulfilled. My wife now actively enjoys riding it and we took it all through town today. It almost felt like we were spreading joy - everyone who saw us just smiled and many commented how fun it looked. It was amazing, and I hope you folks appreciate some of the photos!
11-07-11, 10:24 AM
#10
Bicycle Repair Man !!!
That is so sweet... am looking forward to being able to ride the tandem with my wife (it was my engagement present to her).
Can see us taking it out for many excursions together.
Can see us taking it out for many excursions together.
11-07-11, 10:51 AM
#11
Fat Guy on a Little Bike
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Sixty Fiver...I had a grin ear to ear the entire time riding it. In many ways it was the culmination of a lot of dreams - both about having a loving partner and restoring this bike. Having not only the bike, but also a super fantastic wife who enjoys riding it is amazing to me. Taking this through Philadelphia was just so fun...it was time with my wife, it was time riding and it was a talking point in meeting some cool people.
