Archive of March 2011

March 12
cannondale.jpg

I have been itching to post on this subject for a while, but having discovered just what a contrast in ride quality we are getting and how solid the investment will hopefully be I can resist no longer.  Some time ago we found a potential successor to our rather venerable "steel wheels" imperial tandem ("Daisy"),  Better yet I managed to purchase a second hand roof rack carrier for a song, and suitable equipped we eventually managed to get out to test ride and, after a brief negotiation, purchase and bring home what we think is a Cannondale MT1000, though thanksfully not in the lime green colours on that link! In fact the bold aluminium frame is finished in a rather fetching almost irridessent purple, a colour not done justice at all in the picture above, which was taken by the previous owner so shows none of the modifications we have made (and more are planned next week when Nigel at the wonderful Brixton Bicycle Co-Operative will overhaul and rebuild the rear wheel for a hub brake and nine speed cassette). Oh! And we still cannot decide if one of these will help in the quest for saddle comfort on the rear!  It would however take the cost of tandem plus modifications to well over £1,000 which does feel quite a lot to me at least!

She went here, to Wheels for Wellbeing,an interesting charity heping to make cycling accessible for everyone, with some quite interesting machinery to help with that!  i was surprisingly affected, it says a lot about me that I could be moved to tears almost at the loss of a bicycle.  I guess the reason is in large part how it was this bicycle that played a part in my fiancee and me discovering a whole new area of life to explore....  Perhaps also because I was veyr happy about where Daisy was going and thinking of other sight impaired riders made me confront slightly the future prospects for my stoker when the RP progresses....

I am hoping to post a better picture of Daisy with all her enhancements and adaptations (not least of which a saddle set suitable for our forthcoming challenge of the London Nightride, again more of which at later date!).

03:26 AM | 1 Comment | Tags: , ,