Dadbike’s dadbikes

Thanks. This is certainly a Waterford made one. As I understand it, there were some years where they were made elsewhere.

This one rides really well.

The really early ones were made in Chicago but since early 80’s all were made in Waterford, same place that made frames for Rivendell and others. Sad they just closed this summer. They’re so underrated outside the US, I got a lot of love for rare schwinn’s
https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/202543/

Lovely!

Were there not a few in the 90s made in Japan?

Yeah, I'm also a Waterford fan to an extent. I very much appreciate the place they held in the hand built frame world. One of the handful of very good production shops that could do custom and production runs. In the same way that Serotta, IF, Seven, etc., were/are making great stuff and held in high regard. Waterford was definitely of the "old guard" of fine US made bikes.

Gunnar always captured my interest. Nicely made, no-nonsense frames.

I'm really glad to have something that came from that shop.

Thanks.

Compulsive tinkering continues. The Rove was a 2x8 shimergo for a time, and it worked well. Then, as it happens, I thought of the utilitarian and unused Advent X group that I had on the shelf. Compared with shimano/sram/campagnolo this stuff almost looks like an early proto rather than finished product, and the side-exit cable routing is decidedly un-modern. But.... it works surprisingly well, is really cheap, the hoods are super comfortable in the hands, and I really like its "lowly" status so to speak.

Anyway, this will probably last a few weeks before I re-tinker. For now its great.

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What was the 25.4 bar you twinned with the red ahead stem? I need a drop 25.4 bar and I like the shape of that one

Unfortunately the red stem and bars are 26.0. Nitto Noodles. Great bars. The previous bars on the Rove were 25.4 Nitto B115. Also good bars but not as nice to me as the Noodles. Ole Jan Heine has some nicely shaped drops in 25.4(high dollar) and Nitto makes a few others in 25.4 that are more affordable.

Oh yes - I already asked! Salsa stem . Is it for sale?

Hadn't thought about it. Feel free to send a message

Interesting comments on the microshift advent kit. Is your overall impression positive? Sram/Shimano kit is very expensive and often is over sophisticated. I mean that the latest Shimano 105 is 12 speed! This, makes me channel my inner Luddite.

Apologies for the essay below. I think about bikes more than I ought to...

I hear you. I have luddite tendencies myself. The over-complication and huge expense of modern mid/high end road stuff really turns me away. My parts bin is relatively deep but stops about 10yrs ago. The most modern parts are this group, and a Rival 1 mechanical group. Others are 5700 shifters/derailleurs, 5600 shifters/derailleurs, 7700 full group, some old Sora shifters, some 10sp campagnolo stuff, and an assortment of bar end and downtube shifters. Oh, and a bunch of old derailleurs that still work great.

I really have little interest in the newest stuff. Knowing myself, I like to tinker too much to make that investment, and I hate the idea of having to spend big money on consumables like chains and cassettes.

I think that's partly why I like what Microshift is doing. It seems like they don't even want the performance market. They've found their niche in the budget-but-works segment.

The new Sword group solves some of the aesthetics issues people will have with the Advent X stuff. Modern looking shift levers and derailleurs, and an additional 2x option with accompanying derailleurs. Those shifters are also advent x compatible, so perhaps I'll get some down the road to try out.

These shifters are really simple. When you pull the brake lever, and look at the shift mechanism like you might do on an older shimano, you can see how unsophisticated it is. But I like that. Really easy shifter throw and and as far as shifting feel goes, they feel somewhere between Sram and Campagnolo. Not as snappy maybe as older Campagnolo, but similarly positive clicks to Sram. They feel good, but not as polished feeling as Shimano. I like that the shift levers are independent of the brake lever.

With an 11-48 cassette I really miss a few cogs like 12, 14, etc. I think it goes 11/13/15/17/19/24/28/34/40/48. I could actually do with a cassette kinda like Shimano's 7 speed megarange with the tighter series and a bigger jump to the last one. That said, for touring/commuting/kid carrying and pulling/errand doing/etc., it's perfectly usable.

Install is very straightforward. Nothing unusual.

Having said all of that, for someone who wants something that works well enough, isn't concerned with having the most modern bits, can do with the big top end gaps, and is OK with the aesthetics, Advent X is pretty great. If big range isn't necessary, it shifts an 11-36 really well too, and that solves the big top end jumps problem. Sword further solves that problem by having a 2x10 group complete with subcompact crankset, and dedicated derailleurs. Still feels like a budget group compared with srampagmano options.

Interesting and thoughtful comments. I'll look out for the microshift sword stuff. At the moment, I'm conscious of not wanting to buy a lot of new bike kit. There is too much stuff being produced in the world. I tend to look ar second hand kit generally with the occasional foray into new bargain territory.
My favourite bike is a 40 year old Bob Jackson frame for which I have some new ie second hand kit to install. This will be my steed for a LEJOG in summer.
Long live the downtube shifter!

I've got a Waterford track. It's over in the rat bike thread or maybe hip-hop one.

That's rad. I'll try to find that.

My Cross Check has been in SSCX mode since the summer, and I threw on a fixed wheel and fenders a few months ago while keeping everything else the same. It's good like this, but we've had an unusually dry winter and my ride time is quite low these days. So I wanted to tinker a bit and make it something fun to hop on a cruise or take to the trails.

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I swapped the wheels and crank set, and put on some larger and more trail ready tires. Fixed/Fixed 39x19/22. The dropouts have enough room to handle both ratios easily and these should be decent all-purpose cruising and trail gears. The riser stem gets the tops just under saddle height for nice comfort in the drops offroad.

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The Bike Friday has been sitting unused in the shed. It previously had drops and ergo levers, and while it was nice this way it was less easily packed away for travel. So with an eye towards daily utility and easier travel, I installed some cheap risers, ergons, and NOS suntour friction thumb shifters. I forget how comfortable this bike is when I spend some time away. I'm on the taller side at 6'3", so the long seat mast and stem riser flex a good bit. Takes quite a lot of the road buzz away.

I'd like to fit some fenders and racks for even more daily utility and so (if I ever get time) I can tour on it as well. It's well suited for that.

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I love seeing folding bikes set up for tall people! Do you have a photo of this bike folded?

In its case, fully packed, and in quick-fold mode for popping into the car for a trip.

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Trip around the neighborhood to check on brother in law's kittens while he is away for the evening. Tough riding in the soft-over-almost-hard-slush. Wouldn't really have mattered what bike I chose, unless I still had my old Pugsley.

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