New Bikes, New Builds, and Awesome Love

Since I’ve been spending the last few days horribly recapping the 6 Hours of Warrior Creek, I didn’t get a chance to talk about the shopping trip that Little Miss Sunshine and I took da udda day. She’s been talking for a while now about getting a road bike, and I’ve been unable to find anything in her size on the cheap. I had considered building one up for her, but I was having a hard time finding an extra small frame anywhere.

After fishing in The Bay, looking on The List of Craig, searching my local Internets forums, and even asking around, I was stumped. We finally decided to go visit a local shop to see if they had anything.


After a short drive over to the University area in NE Charlotte, we ended up at Bike Line. We went there because my usual shop, Middle Ring Cycles, is closed for the week. She needed some new shoes anyway, so a shop close to the house was very convenient. Anyway, it didn’t take long for her to find one she liked. They had a nice size 47 Trek 1.2, and she immediately fell in love with it. Shane (the HMFIC over at Bike Line) came over and asked if we needed any help. Little Miss Sunshine asked if she could take it for a spin. A few minutes later she was tear-assing through the parking lot on it. She rode around a bit, and told him she liked it. We talked it over for a few minutes, and she decided that we would add one more bike to our stable. What the hell, right?


When we walked out of the shop with the new bike, Little Miss Sunshine was as happy as a pig in shit, and it was nice to see. While she will still ride the mountain bike, she will probably enjoy the road just as much. I’d like to give a huge thank you to Shane and the rest of the crew at Bike Line for all of their help (and for putting up with us.) It’s a pretty nice shop with a great selection, and the staff is very friendly and helpful. Check them out if you’re in Charlotte.
Here is the new addition to our familiy:



There is yet another new bike addition here at B-43, and it’s time to let the cat out of the bag. Ever since I announced that I was giving big wheels a try, I’ve been busy scrounging up parts and trying to put something together. The last piece of the puzzle came yesterday via the The Big Brown Truck, so I got busy in the shop. I’ve had this thing pretty much built for the last two weeks or so, but I was still lacking a wheelset. Well, since that’s what was delivered to the B-43 Worldwide Headquarters last night, I was ready to complete the build.



The Big O is ready to hit up a trail near you (if you live near me, that is.) I didn’t get to do much driveway testing last night, but I think I might like this thing. It is a huge bike, with it’s 22 inch frame and all. I guess I don’t have to worry about Little Miss Sunshine taking it out for a spin, do I? I didn’t spend a ton of money on this “project”, but I put some decent parts on it. Easton EA50 Bars, stem, and handlebars, RockShox Tora Solo Air fork, Shimano XT shifters, cassette, front and rear derailleurs, WTB seat and rims, Hayes Sole hydraulic disc brakes, Lizard Skins lock on grips, and Kenda Nevegal tires. Not too bad for a “budget build” 29er I guess, especially since it has better crap on it that the original specs. Don’t believe me? Well then, check out the 2008 Diamondback Overdrive specs.


I’ve jumped into the world of 29ers without breaking the bank, and I did it better and cheaper than I thought I could. I’m not knocking Diamondback bicycles in any way, since I obviously have a lot of love for them. Everyone ends up putting better parts on their bikes (no matter which brand it is), so I just did it during the build. Those guys out there in Washington state at the Diamondback HQ have put together a nice entry-level 29er, but I needed a little more. I’m sure they understand. Here is an ad for the Overdrive just in case:




Speaking of the lovely state of Washington, I got a little more love from the good people out at Backcountry Research. No, it wasn’t more Awesome Straps (I have plenty right now), but they did put my pathetic reviews on their website. The link for it is on their front page under the instructional video, but I’ll save you the trouble of looking for it and just tell you to click the image below.



If you’ve been here a while, you’ve read my reviews. However, the millions of people who are out there considering purchasing their first Awesome Strap can use my reviews (plus Dicky’s and another guy I don’t know) to help them make up their minds. Just stay away from the sharks and bulls, please. Animals are our friends. See y’all Monday.