I'm back, as promised, to hijack Jared's new Platy thread.
My promise to hijack might be the only promise I kept: even after it arrived I built the bike up sooner than planned, and in 2x1 rather than 3x1 mode. No derailer. The plan is to run 32x17 95% of the time and 22x17 in... emergencies.
While I wait for spring I will study Will's kick-shifting technique. And speaking of Will: I admit, this build is a little copy-catty! I told my friend Andrew (shout out Andrew) that I'm not a copy-cat because I single-speeded my Roadini before Will did. Andrew said he bought the explanation.
Sadly, the Susie is about to spend a lot of time in the basement. Winters here permit commuting almost all of the time with the right equipment/bike, road riding of all sorts can be had if the wind stays away and the temps are mild, and trails can be had when it's freezing, again with the right bike/equipment (I just built up a Surly Pugsley, also 2x1, for that business). Otherwise, though, the trails here are too icy/muddy/etc for the Susie, at least in this iteration, and especially this year. Sometimes there are some unicorn days. In any case, I can't wait for late-March to really introduce the Susie!
I've attached a photo from my dawdle through the park test-ride. I think bikes are kinda ugly until the tires get dusty - if you agree, then I'm sorry about the lack of dust. Swampy day! I have since adjusted the saddle tilt just slightly, but otherwise no changes. I think it's a winner! As I was saying, I was pretty much hoping for a higher bb, bigger tire Platy. That is indeed how the bike feels to me.
Building the bike was nice. I did 95% of the work in my garage last night, up until the moment I realized I was short a brake cable. After a morning windstorm here today, the afternoon turned pleasant and mild so I could do finishing touches with the workstand outside. You can spot my helper glaring through the spokes in the second photo.
Most of all: huge thanks to Jared for sparking this operation! I think we're both very happy with how things have turned out.
Cheers,