A little more intro

Introducing the Romaniello Bike Blog
By: Jason

I can count the number of BLM economists I know on one finger, which puts Chuck Romaniello in a rather exclusive group. I first met Chuck a little under a year ago. He came into Bike Station where I work, discussing a bike trip across the country. Interestingly he was not the first over 60 person I had met that summer who was planning such a trip for the following year. Our customer Sue Ahrend (who is currently en route) was also in the planning stages. I was glad to be able to work with these two separate adventurers and to help them achieve their goals. I soon discovered that Chuck's trip was going to require a little more work on my part. First, Chuck had decided to ride his trip self supported, which meant he was not going to pay to be part of a group that totes your luggage and puts you up in hotels. Consequently, we were going to need to equip his bike with the necessary luggage racks. Second, though, and arguably more significant, Chuck had chosen to do this trip on a bike not designed for that purpose. He first brought in his old Trek trying to figure out how to get a more comfortable riding position as bike of this vintage traditionally had very aggressive riding positions, not at all suitable to long miles day after day. We changed out the stem to a tall, adjustable stem and raised the riding position by about 10 inches; quite a dramatic change in itself.

This change of position brought about a problem for Chuck though as his bike was still equipped with down tube shifters. The raised handlebar created a much longer distance between the riding position and the shifters. Chuck began to express some concerns over constantly having to reach down from his handlebars in order to shift. And here is where I began to learn of Chuck's unnatural simplicity. At several points up to this, and especially with this scenario, Brad and I at the shop had tried to impress on Chuck the ease of simply purchasing a new bike built for this, one that already had the riding position and shifters and other accoutrement's necessary for cross country touring. With all of our "sales tactics" laid before him, we simply couldn't get around Chuck's rock solid logic that "this bike is just fine." That left us the duty of finding a seven speed Shimano STI lever set (everything nowadays is 10 speed, so there's your reference). As luck would have it, we happened to have a set of used seven speed shifters in a box left over from another customer who had "garaged" their bike and gotten a new one. So, my refusal to throw away perfectly good parts worked out for Chuck. We installed the shifters and all was good.

About this time Chuck began to ask about tires, looking for a comfortable ride that could handle the weight of his luggage. As is normal for use with road bike caliper brakes, we installed a couple of 28mm wide Bontrager Hard Case tires. Next, we needed to find some racks as the bike was not yet equipped. This proved to be quite difficult as most front racks require a fork with bolt holes in the middle of the legs to bolt the rack. A little research and we found a rack we could bolt some adapters to. The rear rack wasn't a problem; a stock rack mounted up perfectly.

Then Chuck came asking about fenders. This was going to prove a task as well, as the tires and rack installed prevented the used of regular full length, bolt on fenders. Luckily, we weren't the first people to encounter this and we found a set of shorter length fenders that strap directly to the fork and seat stays with rubber straps.

Comfortable, safe, loaded, dry riding accomplished.

Then Chuck just had to screw with his gearing.

He came in discussing a certain set of gears that he thought would be good for his tour. The gear set basically consisted of a wider range cassette mated to a chain ring set including a very small 24 tooth little ring as well as a change in middle and large rings that set the change in tooth number from one to the other farther apart than the front shifter was going to be able to handle. The nice STI front shifter was now worthless except for its brake lever use. Needing to innovate a bit, I ordered up a set of Shimano bar end shifters (ironically the same ones that come on the touring specific bike we tried to sell Chuck, but hey, it's more fun this way). The installation of the bar end shifter on the front produced a seamless, easy shift that did not require the unsafe movement of the hand from the bar to the down tube. And finally, after months of riding and experimenting Chuck had a bike he knew he could take across country. It's a little bit of a Frankenstein, but I've learned that may just be the perfect bike for Chuck. Early on he said "it would be just fine," and, after a lot of work, I must say I agree.

A few days ago, the bike came in for the last time. I cleaned it, lubed it, adjusted it, put on some fresh tires, and packed it into the biggest bike box I could find. Fifteen years ago I don't think Chuck could have said that this bike would ever be doing something like this, and I have to wonder if the same couldn't be said for himself. This bike, with its mixed parts, some old, some new, some even vestigial, has become the symbol of what Chuck's trip is turning out to be. A lot of work, persistence, innovation, and a few heaping spoonfuls of luck and I think the challenge before him will turn out "just fine."

Good luck my friend.