a few months ago, i moved to a new neighbourhood and decided to buy myself a bicycle in order to get a bit more physical activity in my daily life. as with every one of my hobbies, i quickly started hyperfocusing on bikes and getting obsessed with customizing my new steed. i got my bike on facebook marketplace from a couple who had upgraded to more modern bikes a few years ago. it's a 1981 Vélo Sport, a classic Québécois brand that made quality steel frames from the seventies to the late nineties. it was basically just sitting around their place as decoration with some flowers in a basket on the rear rack, so no rust or seized parts, which was great!
it had been quite a while since i had last tinkered on bikes. having grown up in the countryside, i mostly rode/worked on cheap mountain bikes when i was a kid, so this type of city/road bike was quite new to me. i found the previous owner's setup very uncomfortable (extremely wide upright saddle, very high narrow handlebars, terribly slippery grips...), so i quickly got to work changing out the parts. initially i got a cheap flat bar to see how it felt, but it was a bit unwieldy with the bike's short stem (which probably like 20mm long), so i got a cheap adjustable stem as well to figure out my preferred position before committing to a nicer stem.
my next step was to change out the saddle. i tried a basic narrower padded saddle from my local bike shop and quickly learned that i DESPISE padded saddles, so i tried out a very narrow Selle Italia XO i got on marketplace and finally settled on a much fancier Brooks C17, which is truly my ideal saddle.
i also wanted a comfier handlebar, and i ended up getting the Blue Lug/Nitto M's Bar (which is based on the Nitto/Rivendell Albatross). it is MAGICAL. it handles so much better than it looks, especially in a more aggressive setup like i have. i taped up the corners to have a second hand position, and i got some padded cycling gloves to make it even comfier. for long-distance rides, and for climbing, i tend to use the corners more, and for shorter-distance rides in the city, i keep my hands close to the brakes.
i ended up choosing the Nitto Technomic stem (22.5mm tall, 90mm long) to go with these bars. initially i thought i preferred a more upright position, but after experimenting for a while, i figured out that a slightly aggressive position suits me better, so i flipped my M's Bar upside down, keeping the tall stem (which allows me to keep both my bell & stem bag on the stem, even with bars this low).
one of the cooler things about this bike is its old Shimano three-speed internal gear hub! apparently these don't have the best reputation in terms of reliability, but this one has been working since 1981, so i'm not too worried about it breaking anytime soon. i tried fully servicing it, but part of the threading on the axle is stripped, so all i could do was to add some new oil, which seems to have worked well. the bike didn't have any shifting components when i bought it, so i had to track down some vintage Shimano parts and set it up by myself. it works quite well for now, but i suspect i'll have to get new wheels sometime in the future (possibly 700c) since i can't fully service the hub (and since my rims are a bit banged up).
if i do end up converting the wheels to 700c, i plan on making this bike a fixie or singlespeed, because the frame doesn't have a derailleur hanger. i mostly use the direct drive (2nd) speed, so it wouldn't be that much of a jump for me. the gear ratio is 46:18, which i find suitable for pretty much any riding condition.
i love getting to haul groceries in my rear panniers. i've never had a car, so having a functional vehicle that can carry multiple bags of stuff really incredible. i also have a very handy Blue Lug stem pouch which i use to carry my 1-liter water bottle.
a few weeks ago, i was carrying two panniers full of veggies from the market and my left crank fell out! i had serviced my old bottom bracket before, but the threading on the spindle was very worn from 40 years of riding. it didn't look like particularly high quality material, so i wasn't too mad about it. i replaced the old BB with a modern shimano cartridge BB the day after, and it's all good now. do remember to inspect every part of your vintage bikes!
what else, what else... i've been doing group rides with my local bike shop, and it's been really amazing! i love to see how bike nerds customize their bikes, and i've met some like-minded people with whom i've had great conversations. it's been one of the best parts of starting to bike again this year.
welp, that's it for this post, thanks for reading!! would love to see some more cycling nerds out there on neocities. i hope this post will inspire someone to write about their bike(s)!
