Formula One Is Going Away

The ebay auction is ending, tonight. It has bids on it, so I know it's going away. If it goes at its current price, somebody is getting a heck of a fun bike, pretty cheaply.

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Selling the Formula One

I have put the fixed gear F1 bike up on eBay.

As much as I hate to let it go, I am so excited about this new project that I am trying to fund that it makes it worthwhile.

More on that, later.

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To Sell Or Not To Sell...

...that is the Formula One question.

The couple of long-term readers I have might remember that I bought this unfinished F1 frame from Rockfish Cycles and then removed the vertical dropouts and brazed in track-ends to convert it to a mini-velo fixed gear. (Of course, now you can buy frames like this from Sillgey, purpose-built.)

I originally had a set of bullhorn bars on the bike, but I ended up putting them on a buddy's bike. Since then, I have had a couple of different bars on it, none of which looked too good to me.

Today, I pulled the bike down and installed these old BullMoose style bars on it, and I like it. This looks pretty similar to the setup that Formula One bikes had from the factory. The proportions look good, and it's quite comfortable to ride.


Kinda hard to see the bars from this angle...

and this angle gives you a feel for the drop from the seat, but not of the shape of the bars...

Ahh, there we go. The curve, and the one-piece aspect show up pretty well in this shot.

Now, the problem is that I was changing bars out as preparation to sell the bike. I was going to put it up on eBay, starting at $125 plus shipping, and see if anybody bit.

I am trying to raise some cash for a pretty cool upcoming project, so I could use the dough. But now, I'm not sure I should get rid of it. I suppose I could always get a Sillgey frame, later, if I felt I had to have another small-wheeler...

Opinions?

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Metisse Is Gone

Click for big, and you should be able to see the nice Exage Mountain rear shifter, which matches the rear derailleur.

I slightly re-specced the Ghetto bike and listed it on craigslist at a reduced price, along with a novel-length description of the bike and the build process. After having listed it twice, and having 10 people make appointments to come see it (yet, no one ever showed up), I was anxious to make it clear that this bike was a bargain at the price, and a nice-riding bike at any cost.

It sold in two hours, to a really cool guy named James. James and his girlfriend just moved here, after having lived in Prague for years, and he had no transportation. A short train ride and a half-mile walk got him to my house, and he rode away on the bike, apparently happy as a clam with it.

I kinda hate to see it go. It was the longest-lived of my commuters, and I thought it made a cool cross bike. But, I am trying to raise funds for a new project, and I need some quick cash. So, things are getting sold...

The changes to the bike: I set it up with a 6-speed freewheel (rather than the freehub wheel which was on it), and mounted a nicer 6-speed indexed shifter so that I could dial the shifting in. Removing the Dura-Ace hubbed wheel cut my cost, and allowed the reduction in price.

Different rear wheel...

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Association Of Caffeinated Wheelmen Pins Are Available

I have about 15 pins available for sale, if anyone is in need.

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