I know it still too early to tell, but I'm a little worried that I haven't heard anything from the construction company I had interviewed with last Friday. I fear that I'll forever be stuck in this unproductive rut and also that as the first to feel the effects of a failing economy, the architecture industry will likewise be the very last to recover from it.
Considering the tenuous nature of my current employment, I can't be too cavalier about spending my paychecks (when I get them) on things that aren't absolutely essential. That's why when browsing the bikes section of Craigslist last night, seeing this bad boy on sale severely depressed me.
At first I thought the posting was surely a mistake because nobody in their right mind would be hawking an S-Works track frame for a measly $380.
In a fit of excitement I e-mailed the owner who reaffirmed the price to me and offered I take a look at it tonight as it had not yet sold. Realizing blowing nearly $400 on a track frame that has no possibility of accepting brakes of any kind just a few months before winter might not be the smartest move, I let this deal go...
Still curious about how much a nice bike like this costs, I consulted BikePedia, where I learned that the complete build from Specialized retailed for $3,800 in 2007.
Of course the red bike, unlike the black version above, is being sold without the Zipp 404 wheelset, drivetrain, seat, or handlebars, but its going for only 10% of the MSRP.
If I owned this bike, instead of trashing it on the street by flying around recklessly, I'd use it on the track next spring and sign up for a track racing class at the Kissena Velodrome; which pretty much means if I did have the grapes to blow $400 today, it would just sit on my wall for the next six months, teasing me.
The irony didn't stop there, it seemed, because this morning I saw this thing "chained" to a light post outside the office.
Yep, that's right... a Strida spotted in the wild. I have to admit I had doubts that anyone would ever actually purchase one, much less ride it around. Though I suppose folding bikes are all the rage among commuters recently, I always assumed this thing would go the route of the penny farthing, an antiquated symbol of the days of yore when cycling hadn't yet matured into its present form.
I must applaud the owner of this triangle-with-wheels for continuing the spirit of irony by not only locking the compactable bike outside, but doing so with the puniest lock and chain I've ever seen on a bike.
Though the chain is square-section and cloth covered like every hipster's favorite theft prevention device, this chain is curiously in proportion to the miniscule Strida it supposedly protects from theft.
...Not that anyone would go out of their way to steal this bike anyway; shit, I bet you could leave it completely unlocked and it would sit there untouched except in the case of a passing leprachaun, (which, strangely, is the only character I could imagine seeing atop it without chuckling to myself for hours).
Anyway, bike trends could definitely be a lot worse, as evidenced by this day-glo monstrosity I spotted on CWMD the other day.
I'm not 100% certain what the deal is with the 650c front wheel or if this bike is even rideable, but I've been seeing more and more set ups like this on fixed-gear blogs such as prolly, tracko, and FGG.
Maybe I'm jumping the gun with my criticism, but unless that set up is specifically for riding at the velodrome, this bike not only looks retarded with it's BBC/Ice cream shop 'colorway', but looks equally uncomfortable. This bike is to track racing as funny cars are to drag racing.
I wonder what they'll come up with next...
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