So I've been mentioning in other threads that the Shogun Cr-Mo 500 was almost finished, and that I have some issues with it. True enough. Here's the story.
shogunrestore3.3 by
snarkypup, on Flickr
So the lovely Abarth and I have got the bike to near doneness. It still needs tape, and theoretically, were I going to ride it, the fenders and bell installed. But once we had it lubed up, with the saddle on, we discovered something rather disappointing: it doesn't fit me.
shogunrestore3.2 by
snarkypup, on Flickr
I have a borrowed Nitto Technomic stem on it for the moment, but even with the shorter, higher reach of this stem and my ladies Turbo pushed forward all the way... the top tube is waaaay to long. The top tube is longer than the downtube (my brain is saying it's 53cm x 56cm, but maybe it was 54cm x 56cm). Since the bike is borderline too tall for me anyway, as my "particulars" brush the top tube when I'm standing over it, having it be longer than it is tall is not good. Abarth and I worked hard to get me to fit it, but there just was no way.
shogunrestore3.5 by
snarkypup, on Flickr
I went home very sad and frustrated. I have poured waaaay more time and effort into this bike than it deserves. I didn't want to have to turn around and sell it, as there was no way to get out of it what I had put in. Look at the shininess of the crankset! I did that! With my own elbow grease!
shogunrestore3.7 by
snarkypup, on Flickr
Then it occured to me: the BF, who is 6'2" tall, has the shortest inseam known to mankind, and very long arms. His pants inseam is 31", and when I measured him with the whole book-in-the-crotch thing, he came out at 32" or 33". This bike is a 31" standover...
So I made him mount it the second I got home, of course. It fits him... perfectly! The height leaves him with about an inch of clearance for "the boys," and the reach will be ideal, once I put the normal height, 100mm stem back on it. I can get him a manly saddle, bartape, those VO fenders I got on sale last month, and the bell, and he'll actually have a pretty sweet ride.
shogunrestore3.6 by
snarkypup, on Flickr
So what are the chances: I buy a bike with freakish geometry (Abarth will attest: it's really strangely proportioned), and I happen to have a boyfriend with freakish geometry!
Perfect!
As soon as I'm feeling well enough to take the bike back over to Abarth's house, and can drag the BF with me, we'll finish it up. He needs a good bike, and this is a very nice bicycle.
I discovered a couple other things about it: the brakes are reversed, which means it has crazy cables, which Abarth wants all of you to know is NOT HIS FAULT. I don't like friction shifting, no I don't. I don't like wrenching, as it hurts my hands and messes with my head. And finally, I don't need this bike anyway. My next bike will definitely be more upright. One set of drop bars in my life is enough.
I'm off to blog about it. Rideblog could use some new material!