CaptainSpalding

That's the issue for me, sort of.

The genesis of this project arose out of a trip i took a few weeks ago to Belgium. It's cyclist heaven there, and I did a lot of riding. I took my Dahon Jetstream in a suitcase and enjoyed having it there, but I also rode lots of other bikes. My favorite by far was an old Sparta grandpa bike. Heavy steel frame, steel rims, steel fenders, full chain case, 650B wheels, North Road-style handlebars, chrome bottle dynamo, the whole works. The last time I rode a bike upright was in 1970, on the day I traded in my Stingray for a Peugeot U-08. I've had many bikes since then, but they've all been on the aggressive side.

I'm 50 now. My career of 25 years is very physical. My back and knees are iffy and my left shoulder is shot. I can enjoy 3 hours in the saddle if I pre-load the Advil, and then have another after the ride. Without the Advil my neck and left shoulder are screaming. But then I tried the grandpa bike. Ahhh. I can easily ride for six hours on that thing and hop off feeling fresh as a daisy. After I rode it the first time, that was it. I'm converted. I haven't drunk the Rivendell cool-aid yet, but I'm waiting in line. I'm not saying that I want to sell off everything and get a Dutch bike. I'm not that much of a Luddite. I'm going to do a little experimenting.

I'm going to pull the saddle, stem, and drops off my Merlin Road. I'll replace the saddle with a Brooks (either a Flyer or a B67.) I'll add a tall Technomic stem and either a flat straight bar or a flat bar with a shallow sweep. I'll ride it for a while and see how I like it. If I don't love it, I'll go for a North Road style bar. I'm going to keep the fenderless skinny tires and cantilevers. Aesthetically it could look really goofy or really cool. Time will tell. (Although heaven knows I'm no stranger to goofy.)