25 March 2010 - 7:51New “esque” Sled for Mandy

The One 9 that Mandy rode at SSUSA is now re-configured in it’s new and final form.  And some of you may be thinking “you mean the one she rode to SSUSA victory?”, well no, because she actually did that on Surly Nick’s brown Karate Monkey with no brakes. Gone are the parts borrowed from her beloved Jabberwocky. Well, they aren’t gone, they are actually going back on the Jabber just as soon as I can get to it.

Anyway, it got a couple of the new things that I have been playing with on my own bikes over the last year, and it sort of represents the new school in the way I’m putting our  team bikes together.

First up are the wheels. These are the handbuilt Bike 29 I9 Classics, single speed specific rear hub laced to 355s with DT Aerolite bladed spokes. Pewter hubs, black rims, purple nips, silver spokes except for the black speed stripe surrounding the valve stems. These sexy fast wheels are held to the bike with DT RWS skewers. Eventually, the hubs will see some ceramic hybrid bearings…

The brakes are the next thing that you might notice, what with their obnoxious short bus diameter white housing. They are the Hayes Stroker Grams. She likes the brakes, and this is her bike. Not my choice, but they feel pretty good. No more Avids for this gal.

Also note the limited edition Cane Creek 110 headset in turquoise. She had to have it. Also, super awesome Bike29 bottle opener is present. I’ve already opened like 4 beers with it.

With pedals, a Rock Shox Reba, this bike is weighing in at 21.4 lbs. Only 1.4 lbs heavier than Dickie’s Meat Plow. And that bike is rigid! Imagine how much heavier his bike is going to be once I send him his crabon fork with the steerer cut 1/16th” too long and filled with ball bearings and spray foam insulation…

The only thing that was lacking is a name for this bike. We’d settled with the idea of “Striker”. Surely I’m joking! But I never joke, and stop calling me Shirley. Ted Striker was the unlikely hero from the Airplane movies with a drinking problem – he couldn’t get the drink into his mouth. But he did come through when it mattered most, and I feel this is the sort of quality one should look for in a bike.

He also got down and partied too. I may be mistaken, but I’m pretty sure that’s Ron Jeremy all the way on the right…