My littlest monster has had a bit of a growth spurt, as eight year olds tend to do, and I
noticed a little while ago that she looked a little hunched up on her Puky
bike. So that was put up for sale, and before long it was re-homed with someone else. It was a shame really, as she's only had it for just over a year, and really
loves the thing. So I said to her that we would go to the tip, and buy
her another bike. But she was adamant that she wanted to stay with the Puky, I must admit, it's a unique looking bike, and I quite like it
myself, but it's no good if she's too big for it. Down at the tip I
thought that pickins were slim, and there was nothing that caught my eye
for her (Plenty for me, but realistically I've got enough!) I wanted to get her
something beach cruisery, or choppery like her elder sisters bike, or
something similar to the Puky, but just a bit bigger, but there was nothing
like that there, pleanty of BMXs, a couple of small full suspension
mountain bikes that looked like brand new (but weighed more than my
car!) But nothing unique, or special! Anyhoo, I was all for leaving
empty handed but then she said she could see something behind the other
bikes, and could I dig it out! She pointed it out, and I started to
remove the bikes that were stacked on top of it to reveal...
An old, and very well used 13" framed mountain bike with 20" wheels from the early nineties!! But not just any old mountain bike...
Cool,
she exclaimed upon seeing it, a Raleigh Mustang, like yours Dad!! Now
you and I can go out riding on our Mustangs, it'll be awesome!! Well I
don't know if it will be awesome if the truth be known, but I do think it
is kinda cool that we've both got Mustangs. Apparently she's going to do
it up in a similar manner to mine, kind of just a good cleaning, with
new wheels and tyres etc! I'm interested to see where she takes this,
but I do know that she's very keen to get out there on it! Back at BelongaClint there was some bike building fun to be had, but this time I was just in a
supervisory role, as my littlest monster, was
chomping at the bit, and ready to start working on her Mustang! However, I had also
commandeered from the tip a far newer, and better Dawes aluminium framed, 20" wheel
mountain bike in metallic red no less! I showed it to my littlest monster who simply said, NO! She then said, but we'll have the good bits
of it for my Mustang! Fair enough I thought, I'd have done the same
thing! So I lugged the pair of bikes into BelongaClint, she got
out her tools, and we set to work!
Incidentally,
this isn't the full extent of her tool kit, both of my little girls
have little 'barn door' type tool boxes stuffed with fairly good
quality, if a little old and well used tools, that I have picked up for
them as and when I've seen them! I think it's important to have tools,
and to know how to use them, I have friends who are my age (late 40's)
Who don't own any tools, one of them doesn't even own a ruler!!
Frankly I despair at this, anyhoo, I'm getting away from the
point.... So, the Mustang felt very heavy as I carried it in, far
heavier than the Dawes, and to be fair, far heavier than my sadly long
gone now Mangna Fugitive!! Infact it felt so heavy that I decided to weigh
the thing! The Mustang weighed in at 28.4 pounds!! Or if you are newer
than me, 12.9 kilograms! For the sake of comparison I figured that I
might as well weigh the Dawes too, which felt much lighter as I was carrying
it, that weighed in at 22.7 pounds, or if you must, 10.3 kilograms!
After asking Mrs Clint if she would like me to weigh her, a
request that I might add that was firmly declined by the use of just two
words, the second one being 'OFF' work started to commence on the
Mustang, and the Dawes! Pretty soon it became apparent to me that we
weren't just swapping the rusty steel wheels on the Mustang for the
bright aluminium wheels of the Dawes, off came everything, wheels, seat,
handlebars, the lot until we had two frames, and lots of bits! Then
came the re-build, being a mean old Daddy I made her put together the
Dawes with all the cast off Mustang parts first, she asked why, as it
was the Mustang she wanted. I told her that a complete bike is easier to
sell, plus, practice! She wanted to get stuck into her Mustang, but
reluctantly built the Dawes up! Before bed time the Mustang had gone
from this...
Which I didn't think was too bad in the first place, to this...
Which I'm sure that you can see is far better! Actually, although it looks
pretty much the same in the photos, it is quite different when it's
stood infront of you! I'm guessing that some of you now may be wondering
what the Mustang weighs now, right? Well, it now weighs in at a far
more svelte 19.8 pounds, or again for you metric types, 9.3 kilograms!
Thats a weight saving of 8.6 pounds (3.9 kgs) That's massive on such a
small machine! This also means that as we pretty much swapped everything
from the Dawes onto the Mustang and vice versa, that the steel frame of
the Mustang must be lighter than the Aluminium frame of the Dawes!
There are of course still jobs left to do on it, she's decided to
upgrade to Vee brakes as I have some in my stash, also new levers, and
wires, and then some new grips, and then it will be ready to roll! She
wanted to finish it off tonight, and go for a ride, but I said that I
didn't have the parts, and even if we did finish it off, we couldn't go
for a ride as it would be dark outside, besides, we needed to go
shopping so she'd have to wait for the weekend! She wasn't happy about
that, but accepted it as long as we buy her something while we're out!
(also there was nothing she could do about it!) I agreed... To be fair
this usually means a Hotwheels car, or hot chocolate sachets, or
something else small. Wandering around home bargains she suddenly pipes
up, can I borrow four pounds please? I said, sure, when will I get it
back, and how much interest will I earn on my loan? She said that I
would never get it back, and what is there to be interested in anyway?
So I said, oh, so it's a gift? Yes she said, it's a gift, can I have
four pounds please Daddy? I said, sure, but what for? Her reply was that
she needed stuff, and off she went to get her stuff. She came back and
put her stuff into my basket, and what was it you may ask?
Lights, apparently now we can go out after school in the dark! In the
end it didn't cost me £4, it cost me £12 as I ended up buying us all a
set, cant wait to get the flashing tyre valve lights on my bike... Very
manly!!
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