The Bluebird’s long-lost sister?

You meet the nicest people if keep a bike blog. This is from a man in Sydney, Australia who sells great bike trailers. Buy one if you can. You can get them in the U.S. as well. See his web site for details (just don’t expect to find any els on his CTA). I don’t have one yet. But I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before I will.

He also built a bike. I like the old parts, rear brake placement, and mixte (lady’s) frame. That’s the kind of frame that I was looking for for Zora’s Bluebird bike. But I couldn’t find one when I was looking. They’re easy to find everywhere in Amsterdam and around the world, but for some reason much harder to find in America. This style has two smaller parallel bars that make up the cross bar.

In fact, add fenders and this is pretty much exactly what I wanted when I started thinking about Bluebird. A wonderful simple light 6-speed lady’s bike. But then, being a novice and being lazy (or at least as lazy as someone willing to build a bike can be) and feeling flush because I just started getting a regular paycheck, I went and bought a lot of new parts and put together a much more expensive bike than I originally planned.

I finally after months of house renovation have had time to get my wife’s mixte back on the road. It is pretty much as bought except for the Brooks saddle, Sakae peddles, and a new stem. It went into serious disrepair during construction due to improper storage. So I waxed the frame and overhauled the bearings all around. I took the wheels apart, buffed up the chrome steel rims and hubs(old Shimano high flange steel) and rebuilt the wheels with the old steel spokes. That was fun. They came up really well.

So here is picture I took tonight while on a test ride –

It ride like a Cadillac. Very plush, great cruiser.

Thought you might like a picture.

Of course I like a picture. Thanks. And he even waxed the frame. I’ve never even thought of waxing a frame. I don’t do anything to my frame. Or care if it gets scratched. Maybe that’s because I think it’s less likely to get stolen. More likely it’s because I just don’t care. I like to think I look for inner beauty.