Bicycles

tpelle · 07-01-2022, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FastDoc

It is indeed a beautiful saddle. Yes, good eye. My Motobecane is indeed from Bikes Direct. If a person knows a lot about bicycles, frames, components, geometry, and what his or her needs are, Bikes Direct is an excellent place to get a wonderful value on a bicycle. You also have to know how to do some basic assembly and tuning, but for a China Rider, that comes easy. Although it is a French name, that is The only part that is French. The bicycle, like most nowadays, is made in China. I guess that makes me an active China Rider! Excellent.

I was on an extended out-of-town assignment about 10 or 11 years ago out in California east of LA in the Moreno Valley area - actually on what used to be Lucille Ball's horse ranch.

Anyway, the company rented an apartment for me that was only a couple of miles from the job site, so I purchased a Bikes Direct Motobecane road bike. Steel frame. Very retro. Had frame-mounted shifters and the whole deal, but had mountain-bike gearing, to be delivered to me out there. I carried a Brooks B17 out there in my luggage because, once broken in, there IS NO more comfortable saddle. Rode it a lot in the evenings and on Sundays.

My original intent was, when I was finished with the job, that I would just find somebody to give it to out there (minus the Brooks, of course). But I liked it so well that I packed it up and shipped it back home. I rode it a lot back here, but then stopped for a while. Last summer I got it back out and tuned it up, then took it out to the multi-use trail that I had been riding on, but the black top was so frost-heaved and broken up that I put it away.

I used to ride on the side roads near my house, but the distracted drivers have gotten so bad that it has scared me off.

But the Motobecane is still out in my garage, along with my old Trek MTB and my Surly Long Haul Trucker.