W.A.C.K.E.D.-Get a Grip

The saying "it is the simple things that make us happy" is true.  No one can argue otherwise, nor would want to.  It is our nature to take the complex and boil it into the most easily tangible thing our psyche can digest.  Relationships represented by things like rings, a pocket knife, a watch, or a picture.  It isn't always the thing as it is the memory it links us to.  We extend this into many realms of our lives by the things we choose to buy and use.  Things that may have no direct link to people in our lives as much as other things that are bound to our memories.  Some part from our first car, a certain t-shirt, a pair of shoes.  Of course, inherent in all this is how things, memories and relationships are all woven together in a very complex fabric that can only be kept in fragments over time.  

Deep thoughts for such a simply themed little blog huh.  It all came to mid when I was unwrapping a set of handlebars.  peeling away the old, worn, foam strips made me thinks of the time spent holding them.  After opening the box for the new wraps, and starting the process of wrapping the grips up, I found myself just enjoying the experience.  With the new grips, a new color, and a better wrap job than the previous pair, it was warming to just sit on the saddle with my hands in the new but familiar cushioned riding cradle.  That started me wondering why it was so enjoyable.  The least technical part of the bike was those grips.  Likely even the least expensive part.  A comfortable saddle, and grips are the points that we connect to a bicycle.  The interface between man, and machine.  It is that connection were the memories live. 

Now I am working on a "new" old bike.  It had been living in the rafters of my shop waiting for it's turn on the bench.  I picked it up a few years ago in a farm pile, and without the parts to do much more than wait, it hung in there for its day.  I dont know the last time it was ridden, but never by me.  so it is a new life and fresh start for it once it is finished.  That means taking a fresh look at what I want to do with it.

So now I have to get a grip on this bike.  I have always wanted to use some Brooks grips, but I have those in mind for a few different bikes already.  I have a multitude of brand, color, and style on other bikes.  But I want something different.  As I said, a fresh look.

  

Spurcycle is a new startup that makes small grip rings in various colors that combine to build whatever grip configuration one can imagine.  They have a grip builder on their site that lets you configure the color variants to see how they will look.  It is a nice new and fresh approach to how you connect to your bike.  Once you have the colors figured out, you have to go to their kickstarter page to make a pledge which will get you a package of rings depending on the amount you pledge.  You can look at as buying the rings, or as making an initial investment into a new company and getting a free product in return.  Either way, you get something new and unique that is not available yet otherwise.  They hope to have them for sale on their site by June or July of this year if the Kickstarter launch is successful.  It is always good to see the industry grow. 

My hope is that by the end of July, this bike build will be finished with a set of their grips.  I can't wait to try them out.  Unfortunately I have yet to pick the saddle, and have hit a brick wall in finding one that fits the look in my minds eye.  Of course, I have a lot to do before that will be a problem, lots of cleaning, polishing, greasing, and reassembling.  Until then I still have the familiar and fond memories in the other bikes in my stable, and lots of other new things in life to get a firm grip on.