The last bike I assembled for a friend is the Hot Karl. It was a SRAM shifter and it just isn’t very good. Shifting problems keep re-happening and the foot hits the guard. The former is exactly the kind of pain-in-the-ass I don’t want to deal with. The latter is a basic design flaw that…
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There are problems with the shifting in the Hot Karl. I should have bought a Shimano hub. I’m not quite certain what the problems are (beyond slipping), but I have no real desire to figure it out. It’s not my bike. But maybe Karl will buy a Shimano Nexus and I’ll build him a new…
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I’m pretty pleased with the Hot Karl. Total cost, around $550. That’s within pennies of Katie’s Del Ray. But with the internal hub, I think the Hot Karl is a nicer bike. It’s light, rides great, makes a nice old-school clicking sound as you peddle, and has some flourishes from the Mexican-run bike store (purple…
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I went over to Jersey City today. N to the PATH train. It really is easy to get to. It’s kind of like what we say about Queens, I suppose. And I picked up the bike that will become the Hot Karl. $270. It’s a perfectly sized frame. Light. Steel. Lugged. Two excellent wheels. Bottom…
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