Pigeon Parts, Cafe Flowers

Flying Pigeon in its box

I really can't say that I was in a bit of a lull- nearly every day for the past two weeks I have commuted by bicycle, probably averaging 13 miles or so a day. Nothing special, but isn't that what we strive for? Incorporating cycling as a basic part of our lives?   Hey hardware, that is always easy to write about!

My Flying Pigeon PA-02 arrived on Monday after its trip from Flying Pigeon LA. Thankfully double boxed- well packed.  The box did however exude that un-wonderful eau de 'Guangdong Industrial' also known to people as 'That Harbor Freight' smell. Seems to be a mixture of vinyl plasticizers and some sort of anti-corrosion solvent.  The bike was quickly unpacked and the stinky packing materials were banished to the garage.

pigeon strewn about

I purchased this bicycle for a few reasons, one of which was to have a cheap project bike, preferably something with very basic or old technology. Something that I could assemble, disassemble, and basically not freak about if I scattered parts across the floor and had to spend an hour or two at Sheldon Brown's website, learning how to put said parts back together. Tonight I learned about adjusting the bearing cones on a rear hub. What? I could've done that with the rear wheel mounted?   I've always had reasonable amount of mechanical aptitude, but no in-depth experience with bicycles. Basically, this is my erstwhile tutor.

Actually on review, the wheels don't seem particularly warped. The only thing that slightly bothers me about the construction are the rear drop-outs, basically they're just the chainstay tubing, stamped flat, and with I think another sheet of steel in there, and tacked with a few spot welds, then the slot is milled out.  Forged dropouts would've been nice, particularly when the rest of the bike's structure seems otherwise competent.  That being said, I know from other engineering examples, that formed sheet steel can be stunningly resilient, and I see photos of Pigeons being used day in and day out in China. 

- Update: Upon further examination, I can't find any visual evidence that classic Raleighs were any different in the construction of the rear drop-outs. Indeed on photographic inspection, several vintage bikes seemed to use a system where the chainstay tubes were flattened, and welded, potentially with another piece of thick sheet or thin billet to hold things fast.  I think with the additional reinforcement of the heavy kick-stand attachment plates, that the rear-dropouts are absolutely fine for intended use.

I'm going to build the Pigeon up to stock specs, and ride it around a little. It can be a bike for the low-traffic trail, and for biking up to the Dairy-Queen. All nice and flat routes.  Then maybe I can experiment some. The Sturmey Archer S2C kickshift hub seems like it might be a nice upgrade.

Closing out with a photo of my Felt Cafe3 pausing amidst some flowers.  Having more than one bike is great. The big WorkCycles Kruisframe is smooth and leisurely, but when I'm on the Felt, I approach something that might be called swift and speedy!