what a piece of crap!
 

yesterday was pretty foul...so, i rode my db comfort bike for the first time since i bought my felt z35. yikes, what a piece of junk! yes, i'm just a tad spoiled now...but, seriously, i only rode 10 miles because i thought the thing was going to fall apart on me (and i've only got about 100 miles on it since having it tuned up and the bb replaced).

here's some irony....again, its a comfort bike. before i owned a roadie, i couldn't begin to imagine or predict that a non-suspensioned, skinny tired, thin saddled, low handle-barred bike could possibly be more comfortable than my comfort bike. damn, after 6 miles, most body parts below my waist were numb or tingling (in a bad way). and my cts was acting up worse than ever.

so, i decide to take the bike completely apart and decide what to do from there. perhaps clean and rebuild with the same parts. perhaps not. well, either the rear hub or cassette is warpped. it doesn't spin true. and i don't have the bb or cassette tools to take the bike apart any further.

so, i think i've determined my next "just for the helluvit" project. i'm going to strip the bike down completely (even the paint), and rebuild from scratch. i'm excited about the project. AND it will give me experience so that i can better work on my trek 7300 and felt z35. it has a 6062 dbl butted aluminum frame. pretty heavy. i think i'm turn it into some sort of peformance mtb or cross bike.

Comfort bikes vary considerably in the comfort level!

My Raleigh mixte, which is set up with a more upright stance than the other mixtes, isn't too bad actually. However, the retro Schwinn cruiser is a terror. I can't ride it for more than ten miles without squirming. Don't ask me why :) .

East Hill

FWIW, I rode my old Bianchi Squadra for 46 mi. yesterday. My first real ride of the season here in CT and it was kind of hilly. It's a Columbus SL frame with a mix of components and 700X28 tires. It probably weighs 25-26 lbs. as compared to my 17 lb. Masi Gran Criterium S. It was kind of fun, although slower for the first hour. After that, it just started wearing me down. From now on it will be used only for bad weather 20-25 mi. rides.