LIFE SUPPORT

{words & images brian}

Seattle winters are hard. There’s a serious lack of sun, the rain and cold can be oppressive, and the beer is Darn Tasty. These conditions can be particularly hard on your bike during this time of year. The grit that comes off the road grates harder than Fran Drescher’s voice, while the beer plays havoc on my bikes ability to stay upright. Recently the grey snapped, the sun broke and I decided I’d give my Rush Hour a little TLC in preparation for winter’s final push.

Being an “old” mechanic the Rush Hour caught my eye when I started working here. Walk into almost any bike shop, grab a mechanics bike for a test ride and they’ll give you the “make sure you watch out for/be careful when you” speech. Why? After working on bikes all day long who wants to work on their own?!

The Rush Hour’s lack of derailleurs, no cassette/multiple chain rings to wear though, no fancy brake system or integrated anything is perfect. It’s a simple single speed with caliper brakes that’s been a maintenance free dream.

My Rush Hour love’n involved some chain scrubbing, the pulling my BB to purge the rusty water from the frame and much needed new bar wrap. It’s amazing how something as simple as bar wrap can change the attitude of your bike and your disposition when riding. Yup, my bar wrap is pink but I’m not so vain anymore and I defy you to find anything better than FREE!

I did this last week…

I bought new head phones to cover up the noise that my bike now makes. Apparently the grime that had worked its way into my bike had become an integral part of function and silence. Damn it.