My mid-80s (and purchased new!) Peugeot Canyon Express is a war horse. After my "ridin' bike" was stolen, I got it out of the lean-to shed, dusted it off (and pulled a few weeds and cobwebs off), aired up the tires, put WD-40 on the rusty chain, and rode.
Today I'll hit 200 miles, since that day. I've oiled the chain (with real oil, rather than WD-40). I patched a tire - goathead! (It had been so long since I last disassembled the tire that it and the tube seemed "chemically fused" - I had to gently peel them apart.) I've had to tighten the seat bolt a couple times. The post is much newer than the rest of the bike and has some sort of "shock absorber" built in, but that bolt (just under the saddle) has unexplainedly loosened. (Next time - Loc-tite.) Other than that... no problemo.
It's a little harder to roll those 2.1-inch tires than the 1.1-inchers I'm used to. My wrists are telling me they're not accustomed to the hand position, although it doesn't feel uncomfortable. The nostalgic "friction shifting" (remember?) isn't as precise or fast as the click-shifters. But I don't shift a whole lot.
I really miss the trailer! I can't pull it without the special Bob skewer, and the Peugeot has a solid axle with bolts, rather than the quick-release. Mackie is both patient and sympathetic. She tells me, "I'll get you a new bike, ba-dah." (She can say "grandpa" now - in fact she talks nonstop and can say 'most everything... but still calls me "ba-dah.")
Regarding the new bike - I've paid my $500 deductible. I'm supposed to get a replacement Cannondale touring bike with all accessories pre-installed, shipped to my front door. I'm antsy. (Hoping I'm not tempted to "break it in" when the roads are mucky.)
Tireless advocate for the most efficient form of
human transportation ever devised - bicycles!
11 comments:
B.O.B. actually makes nuts for solid axles that will allow you to hook up the trailer for a very minimal cost - check it out. Val
Oh, [Bob] Nutz!
Thanks, whoever you are! I see 'em on their website! And I should've known!
I will definitely check and see if the REI has 'em in stock.
You could pedal out to BOB HQ on the Gowen Loop to pick them up.
My first MTB bike was a red Peugeot Orient Express. Seemed like a good bike back in the day.
Looks like they moved or I didnt know what I was talking about. They are close to St. Als.
Can somebody walk in and buy stuff at their HQ, Clancy?
(I knew they were out there, off Irving St., but had no idea they operated retail out there. I've emailed them several times to recommend they build a bigger/heavier version of the Bob trailer for motorcycles! They could call it the "Robert"!!)
The Canyon Express is probably the "upscale" model from the Orient Express. I believe it was around $450 new. (Which was a LOT of money in '85!)
The frame was built in Japan, out of good quality cro-moly butted steel. But I bet the thing weighs 35 pounds! It just seems amazingly heavy, compared with a good-quality '09 model mountain bike.
I thought somebody did from "here" once before. You can buy from there website so I assume they would not mind saving time and labor with a walkin sale.
Glad to hear you've got a new bike on the way. I meant to ask this before, do you have some kind of bike insurance that's covering this, or is it auto or homeowner's insurance?
It's the homeowner's insurance, Apertome.
The way it's been explained to me is... homeowner's will generally cover personal items that typically aren't covered by some other form of insurance. Even if it's stolen from someplace else. I once had a dirt bike (motorcycle) stolen; it was NOT covered because insurance is routinely purchased to cover motorcycles, recreational vehicles, etc. But since bicycle insurance policies aren't a common thing, the homeowner's covers it. (Subject to the deductible, of course. Mine was $500.)
I figured it was worth it to submit a claim since replacing my bike with one of similar quality would be significantly more than that. If the bike would've cost $750 to replace, I probably would've skipped it.
Strangely and coincidentally, the insurance company had just written to me with my '10 rate... which went WAY UP over '09... and that was before I filed the claim. If their handling of this claim ends up happy for me, I'll probably stick with them for at least another year, despite the huge increase.
In the mid-70's when I was in junior high I had friction shifters on my 10-speed. It weighed a ton but I rode it everywhere. The shifting wasn't really so difficult once you got used to it.
Hey, thanks for the information. I will have to see if my renter's insurance covers this sort of thing. Hopefully, I'll never need it, but it's something I should probably know.
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