It’s a tale as old as time… my first ‘good’ (see: non-hand-me-down Canadian Tire) bike was a vintage 10-speed road bike converted to a single speed. It had 25mm tires and hardly any room for anything bigger. Drop bars, no eyelets for racks or even a bottle cage - simple. Stumps (as I have affectionately named this bike) is the exact opposite. Found on Facebook Marketplace while I was living in Ottawa, I walked an hour in the middle of winter to the seller’s apartment, walked another 20 to the nearest gas station because the tires were empty, PAID for air, and finally, rode it home in the snow. At that point, almost every single component on the bike was original and hardly used.
I kept what I could but have made many substitutions over the years.
The stem is original, though it came to me painted black. Of course, this simply would not do. I spent one winter afternoon sanding and polishing it to a silver shine to match the rest of the bike. I think it came out great.
The long stem was the perfect platform for a sweepy city bar like the Velo Orange Tourist. I’ve long considered swapping it for something even sweepier (let me know who wants to sponsor my moth bar purchase) but for now the Tourist bars serve me well.
I kept the original thumbies and they’re maybe my favourite components on the bike. Maybe my favourite component of any bike that I have. They feel great, they’re the perfect shape, they’re so solid, and they shift like a dream. They’re perfect.
I’ve never been a big fan of the early MTB moto-style levers that came with the bike, so those had to go. I swapped them out for a pair of Paul Canti-Levers.
New-ish on the bike are the Newbaum’s wool grips. We got these into the shop earlier this summer and right off the bat, I knew I had to try them. So far, I’m a big fan. I like the natural look and feel, and the vibe they bring to the bike. They're topped off with wine corks that my good friend found for me.
If you look closely you’ll see they have ‘LC’ written on them. A complete coincidence that there is a natural winemaker with the same initials as me, but I love them, they’re one of my favourite touches on the bike. Thanks, Valentin!
When I first built up this bike about 3 years ago, I splurged on a pair of red Ultradynamico Mars tires. Not only were they the best set of tires I’d ever had on a bike - they rode like a dream and handled just about every type of terrain with ease - but they were the most visually interesting part of the build. I spent a full two years worrying what would happen when they finally wore out, who would Stumps BE without the red tires?? It was hard to fathom. It kept me up at night. You might not believe me on this point, though I have a feeling that if you are the type of person to be reading this write-up in the first place, you know exactly what I'm talking about.
Anyways... like all good things, their time came to an end early this spring. I decided I’d had enough of showing up to work with a trail of mud up my back. I tried to fight it, but if you live in Montreal and bike nearly every day of the year, you need at least one bike with fenders. I had a set in my parts bin, but no matter how many adjustments I made, the Mars rubbed on the sides.
2.333?? Indeed…..
Luckily, I had another set of 26 inch tires kicking around that I also love dearly. The Schwalbe Kojaks.
As you can imagine from looking at them, they are the smoothest ride you will ever have. They make the road feel like butter. It’s glorious. To be honest, I could go on forever about the ride feel of these tires. But, for everybody’s sake, I will resist. While they are, obviously, very slick, their width gives them a lot of traction and they handle surprisingly well, even in the rain. For me, they are the perfect city tire. Coupled with full-coverage fenders (and some bright orange friendly flaps!), they match Stumps’ life as my daily commuter.
No bike of mine is complete without a Wald 139 and a few Ghooost flowers scattered around.
The most recent addition to the build are my amazingly purple bear traps. If you look closely they are an exact colour match for the purple accents on the frame. They are the cherry on top of the proverbial sundae that is STUMPS!
Photos by Troy @killiskii (you can tell because they're cool)
