After selling the pigeon I went looking for a bicycle with a derailleur. The first reason was that I wanted to be able to ride all of the way to work instead of dismounting and walking several hundred meters. I felt that the gears would enable me to do this; and I was right, I can now ride all of the way to work. The second reason was that I felt that a derailleur would address the potential chain line issues.

I was unable to find anything with, what I would consider to be, quality components. Most of the bikes are, at best, department store grade. So, I decided that I would be better off with friction levers so that there would be less adjustment worries. I have no idea about the details of the components, other than they are not very good; I included some pictures of them. I am thinking of getting another basket like the one seen on top of the rack and attaching them both to the sides of the rack and using this bike, exclusively, for trips into town and longer rides.

The current bike, it really doesn't fit me well; however, there is not a lot of choice.

the friction shifters





That is right, I am considering another bicycle; actually, I am considering two. The first I am considering is a folding bicycle for taking on trains. The second I am considering is something more suited to riding on campus. The road bike, while very good on longer rides, is not well suited to riding on campus. It is an issue of nimbleness and comfort while riding through dense crowds.