Bottle holder, baskets and bar grips (part 5)

Bottle holder

It was almost closing time again when I got to the bike shop. I was supposed to be picking up the bottle holder adapter and maybe a bottle holder to fit to it. I’d been looking at some for sale elsewhere but hadn’t bought one because it felt somehow ungrateful since he was ordering the other parts for me to look at.

The bike shop guy met me at the open door with a grin, “I’ve found you something much better” he said, holding out a bottle holder. “The clip’s built in so it attaches directly; you said you’d need to take it off for bus journeys, so I had a look at other options. I think this is a good solution……?” He looked hopeful.

It was the kind of look that in a different situation might have persuaded me to be kinder than I felt, but here it was entirely unnecessary: if it’s possible to fall for a bottle holder, I already had. Even without the hopeful look. 🙂

The holder is made with the same principle as my (now probably redundant) phone holder and has the same kind of quick release screw my wheels have. And that means I can mount and unmount it whenever I like in seconds and without tools.

Awesome.

Especially compared to the other option. He showed me the parts he’d ordered at the weekend. It would probably have worked, but it would have felt temporary, like I’d be on the look out for something better. This feels like the ‘better’.

(I might have to follow his lead and show more initiative at work, it’s great being on the receiving end).

Baskets

I asked, on the off-chance, if he had any rain-covers in stock that might fit my baskets. He didn’t but he looked at them approvingly, “genuine Electras?” I assumed so (they have a label saying Electra ;p) and asked if they were a known make and admitted that I hadn’t heard of them a week or so ago. “Californian company. Make cruisers. Hard to come by here, not many stockists. Expensive. Good though.”

If that isn’t justification I don’t know what is.

Handlebars – part 5

On my way out I thanked the bike shop guy for being so helpful and specifically mentioned how great the handlebar grips were…

“Yup. They came in a while ago. I was going to put them on one of my own bikes..” He shrugged. “Have a great trip!”

🤭

Only feeling slightly guilty now 🙃

Later:

Saddle sor(e)ting

Once upon a time I had a great saddle.

Then the surface cracked and it lost it’s bounce and took on water when it rained.

I bought a new saddle when I got the cassette changed.

It was apparently a wonderful saddle, on several top ten lists for women’s saddles, but it wasn’t my shape. And it wasn’t slippery. In fact, it was especially non-slippery. That’s possibly a good thing for some lycra-clad internet commenters, but I don’t appreciate leaving my (non-lycra) skirt on the saddle when I stop at traffic lights as much as some drivers do..

The bike shop very kindly offered me a couple of alternatives to try instead. The first of which I’d given back after a couple of kilometres – the edge was sharp/scratchy – and would have given the third back if I’d been free at the same time as the bike shop was open. It’s not exactly uncomfortable, it’s just super long and means I can’t stand up straight (on the ground) without it poking me.

And now they’d been closed at the weekend and would be closed again on Wednesday and I wouldn’t be able to give it back before my trip.

Riding ~1,500-2000km on a test saddle seemed a little unfair, but not to be changed..

..and then I woke up later than expected and as I waited for the traffic light to change I decided that late was late and took the road to the bike shop instead of to work.

I have now paid the difference in price (to the first of the three test saddles) and own a Selle Royal something-or-other. I will know it pretty well by the time I get back. Maybe we’ll be better friends. Maybe I’ll decide to go on a new hunt.

New handlebar grips (parts 1 – 4)

Part 1

You know those things you’ve been putting off, and then need doing urgently just when it’s least convenient?

This is one such thing:

They’re rubber and old and have been getting progressively stickier for quite a long time. I’ve been to bike shops and held various handlebars. I’ve looked at handlebar grips online. I’ve read articles about different shapes and sizes and materials. I’ve talked to the people I know about what they have and to people I don’t know about their experiences with horns.

I spent a lot of time thinking but zero time replacing.

And now the rubber is actually broken and I’m going on a 4 week cycling tour in less than a week…

It’s Saturday. I’ve been at work or otherwise busy during normal opening hours all week and had a list of things to talk to the bike shop about. I was comparatively prepared, considering how unprepared I actually am. And then they had the audacity to be closed. Seems I’m not the only one to go on holiday.

*sigh*

Time to look for a new bike shop.

Part 2

The search was slightly nervewracking but ultimately successful, which is the way things usually are..

The guy was great and even though I rolled in 10 minutes before closing time, he obligingly answered all my questions (I can still ride with scratched tyres, my chain was making weird noises because I threaded it the wrong way through the derailleur, saddles are weird but he doesn’t know where to get narrow woman’s saddles or short stubby-nosed man’s saddles) and sold me all the things (a spare inner tube – the last one in my size – and new(ish) handlebar grips with horns 😈) ..and he’s ordered a thing for mounting a bottle holder without drilling holes in the frame 🙂

The grips are ‘newish’ because they’d been taken off a different bike and put in a drawer of spares. They’re mostly fine, the horns are scuffed on the ends and they’re a bit grubby, but the rubber’s still good, almost new, and they were ridiculously cheap, cheaper than the cheap rubber hornless ones he had on the display and much cheaper than the leather or wooden ones I’d been considering.

The bike shop guy only pulled them out when he saw how miffed I was that he didn’t have any with horns for sale. I figured I need something asap and it can’t hurt to try these out. So here we are…

Part 3

They’re now mounted and ready to go 🙂

What a difference!

(picture taken and added later)

Part 4 – test ride(s)

Wheee!!

They took some adjusting – the horns and the grips are semi-independant, so setting them up involved multiple stops in a handful of kilometres to change all the angles – but they are so worth it.

I don’t remember reading an article about how much difference having the right handlebars make to speed, not that I’ve looked specifically, but I’m convinced they’ve added a couple of km/h.

Still got to get the hang of the horns though 🙂