To the left, you will see my most recent upgrade (?) to the Xtracycle. It's not the GPS, look lower. It's those fancy 1980s friction shifters.
The
original bike had no rear brake. I had forgotten why I had done that. It turned out that the wheel was so out of true that I could not get the brake to fit. I bought a rear brake, trued the wheel, and go ready to hook the cables up. Then I found out I was missing a nut that kept the cable from popping out. I guess that sort of thing was important.
So, I went searching for another set. The bike originally had the integrated index shifter and brake lever. The problems was that I could not find what I needed (7-speed rear) in my price range. Then, I looked through my box of various bike parts. I found an old friction shifter. I installed it and went for a ride. The 20-year-old shift lever crumbled in my hand while I shifted. But, it worked. I went to
Jenson USA and ordered the friction shifters and cheapest brake levers I could find.
It took about about a day to get used to them. "Do I push up to upshift or downshift?" But now I can find the gear I want without too much thinking.
A while back, I bragged about what the Xtracycle carried on its maiden voyage. Sunday is shopping day, so I loaded it up once again. This time, I took pictures.
I won't give the entire list of what was carried, but it was a lot. Both sides looked like this.
Forgive the plastic bags. Item number 5 on my to-do list was to change the filter on the fish tank. Number 7 was clean up the dog crap in the back yard. I hate the plastic bags as much as anyone else, but occasionally, they serve a purpose.
Money not spent on gas: $38.43
CO2 not released into the atmosphere: 241.56 pounds
What could I buy for almost $600? I could buy a a Jamis Coda Sport. I have been saving for the Jamis Aurora, but I would settle for the Sport to get through the winter. 
