Betty Fever...

[René Sterental]

Tonight I got Betty fever and decided to pay her some attention. My daughters are home from Berkeley for a week, before going to meet with their grand-parents and I'm going to see if they'll come on a ride with me and give the Betty a try. 

Poor Betty had been hanging in a corner with a flat front tire and the Nitto Touring (trekking) bars I was experimenting with. Decided to bring her down, fix the flat and reconsider the bars. All of a sudden, I found myself swapping the black Marathon tires for a pair of red Hetres I had ordered a long time ago and was thinking of returning but never had, to dress her up a bit. They look wonderful on the bike and with thus inspired, I again found myself putting the 150 Bullmoose bars and giving them a try in my backyard. The result was very surprising. Still haven't taken it out on the street, but I found myself fitting on the bike on an extremely comfortable upright position with the bar at its maximum height. Riding on the backyard/patio is not very realistic, so tomorrow morning I'm going to give her a try. If the ride is as nice as I'm envisioning, I may not even allow my daughters to ride her! And... I'm testing those bars on the Atlantis as well.

It also seems that the 47mm Honjo fenders I had never returned will actually fit on the Betty with the Hetres... While they never seemed they would fit, tonight was too much to resist and I took them out of their bags to actually test fit them around the Silver brakes. Will do some more checking tomorrow, but it does seem they'll fit.

Photos will be posted tomorrow during the test ride...

René

[René]

Here are some photos from today's test ride: http://tinyurl.com/7fr7pda.

Some initial notes:

- The 150 Bullmoose bars feel great and I believe are the most comfortable bars I've tried on the Betty. They are at maximum height and I could probably have them a bit higher still, but this was an extremely nice and comfortable setup to ride the Betty. I like them so much I'm going to try them on the Atlantis as well, where I can't yet get a perfect set of bars for me.

- These thick Brooks grips, that I had originally tried on the Hunqapillar (that's why they're black) are a bit too thick, but did feel much better on the Betty than they did on the Hunqapillar. They are most comfortable to ride without gloves, so if they stay, they are likely going to be ridden as such. Might try some better matching thinner leather grips.

- The Hetres ride very nice, but it seems to me so did the original Marathon tires. I'm going to be adding the 47mm Honjo fenders to finish dressing her up and making her truly versatile now that the rains are on their way.

- My butt can't really get used to the Brooks saddles; might try a B67 I have lying around, but will try to get all my Brooks saddles organized and offered for sale so I can get another Berthoud touring saddle for the Betty.

- Got my oldest daughter to test ride it in front of the house; she doesn't like the saddle and said she felt a bit stretched out but looked great. All the women in my house love how the Betty looks now, but I'll have to get them to ride it more.

René

[René Sterental]

Went for a third longer ride this afternoon, home to downtown Palo Alto to meet my wife and daughters who were doing some shopping, and then when I left them, took the Betty on a ride around Stanford. I have to say that the current configuration is probably the most comfortable of all my bikes, rivaling that of the Hunqapillar which also happens to be a 58... I think I'll have to have some more extended swapping between the 150/200 Bullmoose bars on the Hunqa...

The ride was fabulous, the Betty feels perfect, nimble, agile and very steady. Here are some photos: http://tinyurl.com/6vjtl8m

The fenders are definitely going to be added and I'm testing the Bullmoose bars on the Atlantis. Have done some dry runs with the 150 Bullmoose bars on it with no brakes or grips and the fit feels surprisingly nice. It's more of a hassle to re-cable the breaks, but I think I'm going to do it.

Happy riding!

René

[Smitty-A-Go-Go]

I was a bit skeptical when I read that you put B-bars on a BF, but the pics look great. The wife has expressed interest to try something other than the alba bars that are currently on her BF. Maybe I'll pick up a set of B-bars in the near future. 

What size basket is that?

--Smitty

[René Sterental]

It's Riv's smaller size Wald basket.

René

[Bruce Herbitter]

Having the saddle nose pointed up as you do aids the comfort factor greatly.

On Mon, Dec 19, 2011 at 10:31 AM, René Sterental <orth...@gmail.com> wrote:

It's Riv's smaller size Wald basket.

René

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[René Sterental]

It does, but I still find the saddle uncomfortable and the sides rub my inner thighs no matter what. A new Berthoud touring saddle is on the way. Stay tuned for a bunch of "like new" B17 saddles for sale soon. I also fit the Berthouds nose up, but being much flatter than the B17s, they are much more comfortable for me. The shape of the sides is also somewhat different and I feel they disappear under me.

The Bullmoose bars are currently being tested on the Atlantis, but I'm waiting for brake levers and for a down tube braze-on repair that will take place on Friday. Then the question will just be, 150 or 200 Bullmoose bars on the Atlantis?

[Kelly Sleeper]

Put me on your list for B17's .. I'm gonna need two soon

Kelly