The singlespeed conversion of my Creme Cycles Vinyl bicycle took weeks until everything looked like how I wanted it to be. Of course, my excitement level to take the bike out for a first ride went straight through the rooftop…
I decided to go on an easy spin through the neighborhood to see, if everything works as it should. I was especially worried about pretty much the whole brake system and the positions of the brake levers on the handlebar in detail. Everything used to work on the bike stand, but that doesn’t mean anything for on-road use. So, the first few times I hit the brakes were very exciting moments to say the least.
Somehow though, the brakes were working just fine and I’m happy about that.
On top of that, the way the bike looks made me even happier. The chrome-like brake levers on the black handlebar, the velcro on the toptube holding the brake cable and of course … the pizza saddle! Everything looked exactly the way I imagined.
However, looking at the bike as a whole, I think I would maybe go with two rims of the same color next time. The new rim at the rear looks great for itself…but the rest of the bike is black, so the silver of the rear rim looks a bit weird…
I don’t know, next time I would probably try to get a black rim or two silver rims. But in times like these I’m happy that I got a single new rim at all. Ordering and waiting for the new parts took way longer than I thought. The local bike shop almost ran out of spare parts and looking for parts online proved to be a nightmare too. This rim was basically the only singlespeed hub – rim combination available, so I’m pleased with what I got right now…
Besides of this, the customized version of the bike is running so smooth, I sometimes have to look twice to see that this is the same frame as before. Of course, the 47 – 17 gearing has its pros and cons. My first impression is, that it’s perfect for riding on city roads. I’ve got a nice acceleration, so that I can easily flow with the traffic.
Unfortunately, this city ain’t too big… As soon as I hit the suburbs, I find myself fighting on every climb. I just hope to get some nice training effects out of this…
After all though, I’m pretty satisfied with the result of my work. The bike is far more fun to ride than it used to be and I learned a whole lot of new things about the mechanics on a bicycle.
Plus, I’m already thinking about a next project…
-Dennis
In case you’d like to see a bit more of the customized bicycle, here’s my YouTube video about it:
Thanks for reading, watching, liking and visiting!
DennisTheCyclist 