Month: May 2013

The Trek 420’s handlebars were wrapped in some thin, gummed up fabric tape that was not designed to wrap handlebars. I think it was gaffer’s tape. When I started the arduous process of removing the tape, I was hit with the putrid odor of OTHER PEOPLE’S SWEAT. It had soaked into the tape, which took… Continue reading Crud

Working on all those early 80s 12-speed road bikes, I was wondering what it would be like to start with a light steel road bike in my size that was actually designed for the way I ride. (Hills!) So when this 1989 Trek 420 (heh) showed up on Craigslist for seventy (are you kidding me?)… Continue reading I Couldn’t Resist

Building up this vintage Apollo DeeLite frame is just one series of successes, followed by failures, followed by successes, and so on. I am sure learning a lot! Here is a quick sequence of events thus far: 1. The whole reason I get the Apollo frame in the first place is as a consolation because… Continue reading Failing Faster