New Hoops

Here's El Diablo with the new black wheels. I peeled off the garish Weinmann decals when I trued and tensioned the rims. The unadorned flat-black rims and high-flange hubs lend a Soviet-era Russian tractor vibe to the bike.

I like it.

I threw the velcro-attached pump mount on, yesterday, because I had a flat on the front wheel when I got on it to come home from the coffee shop. Even with the tire liners and sealant tubes, two big thorns had managed to let all of the air out of the tire for me. I was offered a ride home, so I took it.

I had some errands to run, so I pulled the thorns out, and aired the tire up, to see if it would seal. It did, so I just got the pump in case the tire decided to do the slow-leak thing on me while I was out. I didn't want to have to use my CO2 cartridges to firm up a soft tire.

It has held the air, just fine, since yesterday morning, though. So, while it was aggravating to have (yet another) flat, it was nice to not have to replace the tube.

The wind has been howling, for the past couple of days, due to an approaching cold front. Tuesday's commute may be a little chilly and wet. That's why one of the errands I ran was to the Army Surplus store to get some ripstop nylon cargo pants (BDUs). These are a bargain at $20.00 per pair, and should get me through the winter better than the cotton manpris I've been wearing all summer.

That's all for now. Time to build a bike I've been putting on the back burner for way too long (Sorry, Mark).

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