Ive been slowly tweaking Rapscallion, my kid-and-cargo fixie hauler, to be a better balance between a reasonable ride with Zoe on it and a fun one when she’s not and the seat is removed. I had most recently put shortie arc bars on there, but it led to my face being against her cheek, which is not only a little uncomfortable but somewhat dodgy in terms of visibility unless I arched my back. So I got some sparrow knock-offs from Tam Bikes on New Years, along with the necessary 4-bolt stem upgrade for science and safety. The other day I actually installed the bars, reinstalled the brake lever and got the cable sorted, and did every other adjustment save for the grips, which I’m tired of having to destroy to remove just because I don’t have an air compressor (this brake lever is a one-bolt attachment so I have to get a grip off to remove the bars, even though I’m using a modern stem). I actually subsequently wrapped the bar ends in road tape for the test ride, but I’m now waiting on a different pair of grips that, for the first time around here, have hex bolt connections. Then we’ll see how the riding position has improved. I actually raised the stem height (by flipping it) from what it was before, to get more clearance in the cargo basket, so that necessitated raising the seat in the steerer stack, so we’ll see how much clearance I still have while riding.

That is all! Hopefully test ride tomorrow…

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