it took this long to realize that freewheel takes all the fun out of
cycling. i built an eccentric flipflop rear wheel, stripped off all
the crap, loaded her up with a ultegra crank, ultralight one-piece
tribars/bullhorns, one front brake, and a seriously tall gear. this thing
is blazing fast, but not much of workhorse so it currently spending most of
its time in an attic.
from 2002:
The Stealth Bike is new. I only finished her, after months of
internet discount bargaining, in March. She is comprised of a
Sora/Tiagra group given to me by a friend who's C-dale was wasted
by a would-be thief, and got a new bike for free. The frame is a
brandless carbon that I got the sweetest deal on. The seat is stock
coda that a Yale racer didn't want (fits me fine!), and the aerobars
came courtesy of a pro-purchase deal from Profile. The wheels were stock
cannondale with expert hubs and cxp21 rims that I got an amazing deal on.
All told, I think this bike cost me 500 dollars, which I think is pretty
good, considering that it is light, fast, custom built, and new.
Although I enjoy a fixed bike ten times more than anything with a
freewheel, I let this bike have gears with the idea that it will allow
me to go as fast as can. Although roxy will always be the bike I reach
for first, the stealth bike will blast downhills (and let me coast to
rest) for that extra bit of efficiency and speed. Taking the stealth bike
out for the first ride was pretty inspiring. The freewheel bites, but
switch her into a tall gear, and you can feel the raw speed this bike is
capable of.