Seen on this morning's bicycle ride:
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| '48 or '49 Ford F-2 3/4-ton work truck. Obviously still hard at work. |
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| Fat tires and twin centerline pipes would identify the 267 hp 2012 Golf R even if the solitary "R" badges didn't. |
I've noticed that I've already started using a gear or two higher than the ones I was using a few weeks ago on my morning rides. I hardly use the 28 tooth cog on the back anymore for anything other than acceleration crossing Kessler Boulevard, otherwise I'm more or less always on the second or third smallest sprockets, given the shallow grades around here.
Next thing ya know, you'll be shopping for bigger cogs to put on the front.
ReplyDeleteWow, black plastic bag on the window. Nothing says safety like not being able to see!
ReplyDeleteI very seldom use the rear derailleur on my bicycle, only shifting between the front three sprockets (choosing between 18 different gears is too much like work).
ReplyDeleteThe only time I ever change the rear derailleur is when I'm going up one of the steeper grades in My Fair City. Thankfully, they are few in number and not very long.
gvi
Love the old Ford PU, I wonder if the little VW will still be around in 60 or so years.
ReplyDeletegiven the shallow grades around here
ReplyDeleteThat's public education for ya.
My current functional ride is an old Dahon folder, with the internal hub three-speed. Gearing is ok for the flatland, but I'm at the high point of the roads, pretty much. I have to walk the bike on the steeper sections to get home. Would help if I get back in shape...
ReplyDeleteThing looks kinda like an oversize push scooter, with the same t-bar handle and chrome plating. Downhill with the 12"(?) wheels is way faster than the designers envisioned for it, I suspect.
Weird, the rims measure about 12", but the tires are marked 16 x 1.75 inches. The (47 x 305)mm marking is probably a bit more accurate!
I have to use front & back sprockets, and the low ranges frequently; rolling-hill country here, and some of the slopes it's either go to the low-low, or walk
ReplyDeleteI'd take the old Ford over the VW... and it 'almost' looks like it's in decent shape, but I can't tell from the angle.
ReplyDeleteCool Truck. So CNN.com had Bupkis, also, huh? Everyone must be getting ready for Labor Day.
ReplyDeleteThank God for the flatlands of beautiful scenic Houston Texas. I spin a 52 from and 16 rear all day! Thinking about going fixie, but not quite as steep.
ReplyDeleteAll the "either/or" comments!
ReplyDeleteA real gearhead would appreciate them both for what they are, and go find a Kia to make fun of (unless the Kia was available cheap and they could flog it around for giggles until it croaked...) ;)
I must not be a gearhead. While I like the old Ford in theory, neither vehicle would fit me and/or my purposes... I'd take a Chevy or GMC 2500. Kia... I've thought so little of them I forgot to make fun of 'em.
ReplyDeleteI just remembered the joke about the VW bug... We bombed Germany, then the Germans put wheels on 'em and sent 'em back. Not quite correct though because the bug was introduced and originally exported under British occupation.
ReplyDeleteOh, that old Ford brings back some memories. I owned a '51 F1 that one of the local hotrodders put together; it had a 396/Turbo 350 through a '57 Chevy rear end with red leather buckets from a '61 Thunderbird. Original old Ford truck steering and brakes. Things could get very interesting in a hurry with it. WOT could induce some wild frame flexing, too.
ReplyDeleteEven with VW's history of reliability issues, those new Golf Rs are very neat. But my desire for that Ford is...unseemly.
ReplyDeleteIn 1990 and 1991 the Kia "Pony" (sold here as the Ford Festiva) was the official taxicab of South Korea.
ReplyDeleteGetting in the front seat of a Korean taxicab is like being velcro-ed to the nose of a Japanese bullet train. It's the most efficient (but also the most traumatic) way to sober up from a 3-day bender in Seoul. Don't ask me how I know.
gvi
woodman,
ReplyDeleteThe thing is parked. Roll the window down and visibility is perfect. Why do you assume it would be driven this way? Projecting much?
I had a $150.00 '48 Studebaker 1/2T PU with pretty much the identical window treatment. Second paycheck paid for new glass. And Brakes. And a rebuilt carburetor. Fourth one bought some decent tires. This was in '66. Then I drove it for 20 more years. One does what needs to be done.
Gerry N.
I could have that old red Ford pickup, and its current owner could wear feather underwear...
ReplyDelete