Death leads to Rebirth

Last night on a post work errand ride I all but snapped the head tube off my beloved Peugeot
(Seen here in happier times)


The Peugeot was by far my favorite ride and my go to bike.
So of course I'm sad but since I always knew one day it would die and considering how it happened I'm happy I came away unharmed.



So being the "bike guy" I am and loving to ride my fixed gear as I do I started considering replacements last night.
The problem with buying something new is:
1) they seem to want money for said frames
2)since I really like the 1" track fork I was running I would want a frame I could continue its use with.
After surfing the web for a while I decided the proper replacement would be last years Pake track frame.
Hawley has one that is a sweet limited edition purple I would fit my needs (1" head tube, bottle cage mount) nicely.
There are few others of last years model around that are new (for 2010 Pake added new colors & a 1 1/8" head tube but dropped the bottle cage mounts).
And once again although they are inexpensive, they cost money that I shouldn't spend right now.
So option 2 (which I should have just gone with for starters) is a frame I already own.
Several years ago a buddy purchased what he thought was a old steel lugged Bontrager frame/fork/headset off eBay for cheap.
Its not a Bontrager, actually not sure what it is. But somehow it ended up in my possession.
It was my original road bike for a while. Then it became a single speed beater bike

Which was fine but I never rode it.
I kicked around the idea of selling it or getting rid of it just for the extra room in my bike room:

Suddenly I'm happy I hung on to it.
So I've done some part swapping today & I'm fairly happy with the result:

Some work still needs to be done to it but it will have to wait until I have use of a better tool selection like the one I have at work.
Cable routing along to top tube will get filed off, RD hanger will get chopped off & the proper headset cups will get installed.
But its a great start all things considered and it cost me zero dollars.
Time to spend the rest of the afternoon getting some mileage on it to see how it does.
Who knows it might suck (although I doubt it) and I'll end up getting the Pake after all.




Cause after all, everyone knows Purple is Fast

Speaking of Fashion....

I'm already riding the bike (in fixed gear form) all I need is the kit.

Web surfing this morning I came across this page where I found the classic kit I have been wishing for...

I've always wanted a "classic" kit but didn't really think the one I wanted was available anywhere.
I was wrong.
They offer the Peugeot jersey, bibs, socks, caps and you get a better deal if you buy it all together.
The problem is that everything is Euro sized and I have no idea what would fit.
Although by looking at the sizing chart I wear a Euro XXXL...WTF?
I have a hard time believing that I wear a 3XL jersey... I know I'm a fat American but XXXL? Really?
I've seen 3XL jerseys and they are HUGE!
Granted I was looking at American sized 3XL not Euro sized. Hmmmm.... dang skinny Europeans...ruining it for everyone, or at least for me.

So that being said, mom since you are one of 6 or so people that read this blog... guess what I want for my birthday?

Until someone gets me the full kit or I manage to come up with some extra $$ (tax refund is gone baby gone) I might have to suffice with ordering myself the Peugeot cap.

Maybe two. Three to be safe.