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The fleet grows! 

1/25/2015

5 Comments

 
My mom's friends mentioned to her that they had an older but good Trek tandem sitting in their garage and wondered if she knew anyone who might want it. I called about 20 minutes later and asked if I could get it. 

"Oh, you'll be coming by bike. I guess you can't bring it home. Do you know anyone with a truck?"

"It'll be fine, I'll be able to take it home, if that's okay." 

Who needs a truck when you have a Cycle Truck Caddyrack! It was a long load but I made it home just fine. The tandem needs a bit of work so I'll be stopping by Edible Pedal for a tune up in the near future. 
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The second bike that joined our fleet this week was Little Brother's first Islabike! Big Brother has almost outgrown his 16" CNOC so we were getting prepared to pass his down to LB but this 16" CNOC popped up on Craigslist and I immediately emailed the owner, begging for the bike even though I couldn't get to the Bay Area until later that week. He said he had someone coming sooner but would let me know if they passed. I was bummed! Yeah right anyone would pass up this amazing deal for a gorgeous Islabike! This one had been imported from the UK so it bypassed the US standards of needed a coaster brake and it was blue! I was drooling. Amazingly, the first buyer was a no-show so I immediately paid via Paypal to reserve the bike. My parents picked it up later that week on their way down the coast. The seller had about five other families hounding him for the bike and for good reason, too. I'm thrilled that Little Brother will get the opportunity to learn to ride with proper brakes and upgrade from the beast of a bike he's been struggling with. 
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Power Pedal position!
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It's funny to see both boys on the same sized bike. Big Brother was eyeing the bike but was very happy for LB. He's going to need to practice using his handbrakes, too.
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The comparison: 12" wheels vs. 16" The Chickadee weighs about 15 lbs more (at least). Little Brother has been struggling to keep up on short rides and tires out easily. He will be able to improve much quicker now as he gets used to the Islabike.
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Wowee!
I'll be swapping over Big Brother's fenders to Little Brother's bike then we'll be putting our order in for Big Brother's first touring bike complete with a kickstand and rack! I can't wait for him to be able to carry some of his own weight finally! 
5 Comments
Michelle link
1/26/2015 07:49:28 am

That blue isla is gorgeous! We are kid bike shopping too, and running into some similar issues. One option (not that you need it with your Craigslist score) is to rebuild the rear wheel without a coaster brake. It is a requirement that they be sold with a coaster brake, but there's nothing that says you have to keep it...

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Elle Bustamante
1/26/2015 10:44:15 am

True, but Islabikes in the US don't even come with mounting points for rear caliper brakes. A friend has rebuilt a coaster brake wheel to have a tiny non-coaster brake bike but I'm not that talented.

Reply
DaD
1/26/2015 01:39:40 pm

Nice report! How do you always manage to catch those first ride bike drops?

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Markphilips link
2/20/2015 06:53:51 am

Somehow when there is a void in the bike fleet. The universe conspires to fill that gap.

Reply
Elle
2/23/2015 01:39:33 am

Or sometimes the universe conspires to make you aware of a void when you didn't realize there was one. Case in point: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/4897383568.html

But, alas, I'm not going to get this one... Sigh...

Reply



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