My friend Stephanie recently purchased a bike thru ebay (which she eventually sent back) and she was pondering what to name the new bike. I scoffed at this practice as I was rewrapping the bars on her old bike--Barbie.
So I started thinking of my bikes and realized that they all--but one--already have names. So here they are:
The first two are not very exciting, but I think they are fitting. The first is my Raleigh One-Way. I just think that One-Way is an apt name. It is a one-speed commuter with a flip-flop rear wheel. I like the color and look of it with the Brooks features and fenders. The name also reminds me of the character name Rerun from the old TV show What's Happening.
The second is my Gunnar Roadie. Gunnar is the name of Richard Schwinn's dog and a characiture of him is the logo of the company and it is on the front of the headtube. We always refer to it as the Gunnar, so it kinda stuck. Like man's best friend, it is the truest bike I have--smooth ride. I just wish I rode it more...I should, but that is the way it goes sometimes.
The third is probably the most unique bike I have because of its origins. The frame--we believe--is an old Shogun from the late 70's. A friend had it repainted and realized it was too big for him and offered it to me, but at the time I didn't need a new bike. Three years later, he claimed he got rid of his bikes and said I could have the frame. So I started piecing it together with old parts of mine, old and NOS parts from Olympia, and a few new items. I always referred to it as "the Frankenstein bike," and EdBiLLy coined the moniker FraNkEnBiLLy--perfect. Had I known I was going to build this one up, I probably would have not invested in One-Way. However, this bike is not comfortable past 10 or so miles, whereas One-Way can go quite a distance.
FraNkEnBiLLy is unique when one first sees it, the next is one that needs a closer look. There was the remains of an old, 1989 Bianchi Campione hanging upstairs at the shop and I had once entertained the thought of putting new components on it as a new bike. Ed talked me into investing in a Gunnar instead--so I did. But I couldn't get this one off my mind. One day I was riding my old mountain bike around Lake Zorinsky and I realized I was using only two gears: the front middle or big chain rings and one gear in back. I thought that this would be a neat way to recreate this Bianchi: as a double-single. Knowing that I would need a chain tensioner in the rear, I found the one I ordered in the catalog--the description said it was perfect for a "dingle" set...just as I was doing. So "Dingle" seemed to be a prime way to refer to this ride. We discovered something else about this bike: in the fork there is some metal shaving, so when one tips the bike up a jingle is heard. Thus, it is the "dingle with a jingle."
Here's the story on the last named bike (for now). Last summer I sold my mountain bike; last winter I won a spot in the Leadville Trail 100-mile mountain bike race. I needed a bike. I really didn't want to buy a new bike for one event and probably not ride it much again, but I still needed a bike. I was wandering the shop and saw this IronHorse hanging in the back. "Can I have that one?" and Ed said "Sure." The story is that a "customer" rode in and this mavhine looking to test ride one of our bikes. We usually do not hold on to a license or credit card for test rides, but Ed did ask this guy for one (he just had a bad feeling). But the guy said, "You've got my bike right there"; so Ed let him go and he was never seen again. He stole one of ours and we assume he had stole this one as well and now i was going to ride it in onne of the most grueling bike races ever (which I never did). I think that there is only one name for this bike: Rob.
The last bike pictured is my Trek 2300. It is the bike that I have had the longest, and I can think of no name for it. Any suggestions?
The new Kestrel does have a name, but I am waiting for the big reveal to disclose its label...but I think you'll like it.
You have a "Dingle with a Jingle".
ReplyDeleteYou need a:
"Dongle in the Jongle".