Previously, I wrote about how much I liked this bike off the bat. That didn't change. I have really enjoyed this bike.
The one major change that happened almost immediately was that for some reason, I decided to make the move to a square taper crank. I bought a bottom bracket spindle that was just a bit too narrow between the bearing shoulders so the adjustable BB cup had to be screwed so far in that I couldn't use the lock ring. No worries, as the cup got hung up on something just enough where it wasn't yet stuck but was very difficult to turn. It hasn't come loose in two years. I have been meaning to deal with it properly, but haven't gotten around to it. The current gear ratio is 44/20.
Other immediate changes were the addition of a Velo Orange fork stabilizing spring, because the basket kept causing the bike to flop over, and the Pletscher double kickstand that I'd been holding onto for a few years. I'm pretty sure these changes were done so early on that I didn't even remember the bike ever being without them. I had to double check that the double kickstand wasn't there from the start.
The Raleigh Sprite handlebars, with a shallower bend than traditional Raleigh Sports handlebars, are what got me to start appreciating flatter handlebars such as the Uno AL-030 and BMX handlebars. I realized that flatter handlebars made it easier to use my hands and arms as leverage to put down more power, but keeping a shallow bend afforded more comfort to my wrists. I thought this bike handled just great, even with a lot of stuff in the basket. It was nimble and so easy to control.
These pictures were taken in the summer of 2018, at which point I thought I had already gotten rid of this cheap bullet-style headlight. It looked good but the clamp was pretty ugly and it was just kind of a low-quality unit in general. I switched to a bolt-on rechargeable LED light soon after, attaching it higher than the headlight is shown, where the basket tabs are bolted to the larger braces.
As shown above and in the previous picture, I had to change my tires. I was doing a bit too much skidding and ended up flatting one of the Continental Ultra Sport tires. I also ended up getting rid of the front one as well, since there were quite a few cuts and slices in it from all of the broken glass in my neighborhood that somehow didn't cut all the way through.
The current Panaracer Pasela front tire and WTB Thickslick rear do not have a lot of miles on them and both are 28 mm. In dry weather, the Thickslick has a lot more traction than the Ultra Sport.
The Sturmey-Archer S2C hub has been simultaneously good and bad. The gap between the ratios was just about perfect, and I rode this bike so much that I got very used to using a coaster brake. It played a large role in increasing my appreciation and even liking of them. However, maybe 8 months after I built the bike, the hub started being a bit unresponsive to kick shifts. Several other people online echoed my experience, but being in a hillier city, I found it difficult to overlook. It really became quite frustrating. I really loved the bike otherwise, so just having shifting problems come out of the blue was kind of a big deal, in a "it would have been perfect otherwise" kind of way. Ultimately, I have decided to buy another SRAM Automatix hub (as they have recently ceased production) to lace into this wheel.
At the moment, I'm thinking this bike will be heading to a new home in the coming year. I have a close friend here in town who has never ridden a bike and after watching me have so much fun with my bikes, he has a strong desire to change that so he can have some fun and also save money on transportation. I know the 2werkules will be in good hands with him, and knowing these bikes, I know it will be a fun, comfortable ride. I am planning to rebuild this bike with a regular derailleur drivetrain since he lives in a hilly part of town. I will also reassemble the bottom bracket properly. As for the current 700c wheels, they will either go into storage for a bit after replacing the hub, or onto another bike. I'm not sure yet. I really had a lot of fun with this bike but I moved to the top of a very steep hill, and since I'm anticipating staying here for several more years, I don't really have room in the stable for so many bikes that have three gears or less. I'll do another update once the bike has been rebuilt and re-homed.
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