16 March 2014

Bicycle for Masako

A second bicycle for an employee at my small business. ... This one for Masako I., who is working with us afternoons (and sometimes early evenings) 5 days a week.

She is tiny, and this time I took a short cut and instead of building up a bike from scratch acquired a used XS (or XXS?) sized Felt bicycle from Cycly.co.jp.  It came with 650c wheels (571mm diameter).  I was pleasantly surprised that it arrived in completely rideable condition, with Shimano 5700 components, as shown here.  The ergonomics of the 105 shifters are not ideal for someone with small hands -- something to keep in mind for her next bike, assuming there is one.


I changed to some new white bartape (with a hard finish that hopefully will wipe off when it gets dirty), added Shimano A-530 pedals that are one-side SPD and the other side a platform for riding in non-cycling shoes, a bell and Gentos LED light with Bike Guy light holder.

The only problem we encountered was the seatpost, which is so long that it will not go further into the seat tube than shown in the photo.  Masako was not able to reach the ground while seated, even with toes pointed.  So I swapped in a similar seatpost I had in the garage that was about 2cm shorter. Problem solved.

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