substitute mixte

In this college town, a citizen can find any number of low to mid-quality bicycles to replace one that disappears or breaks. Via craigslist, I found this lovely Sekai amidst the pile of bikes for sale at a house not 4 blocks from ours.

I say more power to anyone trying to make a buck refurbishing and selling old bikes. However, for the love of the brotherhood, have some pride! As purchased, the bike had Shimano mtb brake/7 speed shifters (a fine component), Suntour friction rear derailer, 6 speed freewheel, and brake casing rather than shifter casing. The shifting was predictably miserable. The v-brake levers were connected to sidepull brakes. Unless you can tear a phonebook in half with bare hands, this gives terrible braking. And for a bonus, the only marking on the new brake pads said 'for alloy rims', and the rims were steel.
I replaced almost every part on the bike with parts from the late Suteki, so the setup was immaterial. But I wouldn't advise any friends or enemies to buy from these guys.

All that said, the bike is quite nice. I will eventually paint the Suteki fenders black (and perhaps add a white stripe along the center?) and add a front basket.

We joined a CSA upon moving here and have been enjoying the locally grown produce. Did you know that IL can grow crops other than corn and soybeans? We also signed up to receive a bouquet of flowers every week. Here are the flowers from this week.
We're at 33 weeks today. Looks like Jill has a basketball under her shirt.