Spring is in the hallway

     It must be spring, bike parts are sprouting in the hallway.

My Soma Buena Vista has been in need of a couple upgrades. The wheels, borrowed from my Sam Hillborne when I upgraded his, had reached a point where it was best to get a new pair  for the Soma, along with new tires.  Since the bike is a city ride I got the Pasela T-Serv with reflectorized sidewalls.  Those are some really tough tires that put up with the abuse of city streets without sacrificing much in performance.  They're not as tough as Schwalbe Marathons, but they are not as heavy and slow either.

Ordering all black (spokes, hubs and rims) Velocity wheels matched up the other accents and while I was at it I added a Soma Albion single crank to complete the color scheme.  These things really are important and it's just money, right?

This is the second Buena vista I have had can't say enough about this frame. The first I had built up fully accessorized for city riding and shopping.  The frame handled all the gear, lights, dynohub, baskets, platrack, fenders etc and was still fun to ride.  But, it got stolen and  without it I solved the shopping problem with a Burley Travoy trailer.

So, when I finally sprang for a replacement bike I decided to built it lighter. It's more of a cafe racer setup that works great for errands with the small basket  on the rear.  The simple 1X9 drive train has enough options to climb out of the local river valley and provide a zippy ride around town to get to work, lunch, run errands or just plain ride around.  It's light enough to be a lot of fun while still having the capacity to carry just about anything you might throw on it for an overnight or weekend trip. 

 Now that I have the color scheme all prettified

 I feel better too.