We had to make a stop in a Super-Target this afternoon. I was assigned
to find a little doo-dad for my daughter in the toys section. As I
worked my way down the aisles, I happened to glance up at the wall of
bicycle-shaped toys on the back wall. What before my eyes should
appear?!? A set of DROP handlebars?
Before I realized what happened, I was at that wall poring over the
latest creation from Taiwan, or China, or wherever Target is getting
bikes these days. I didn't have time for a detailed look, but here's
what I noticed:
It had an aluminum frame, but I'm sure it would have looked fine as a
mountain-bike frame. Of course, they only had one size on the wall and
the placard in the front wheel proclaimed "26 Inch". I checked - it had
700c x 25 tires. The rims were aluminum, but the hubs were solid-axle.
In a nod to touring frames, it had cantilever brakes. The gearing was
triple up front and seven or eight out back (can't remember which). The
big ring looked rather small. Perhaps it was a direct lift off a
mountain bike. Come to think of it, the rear derailler was a long-cage,
low-end Shimano mountain-type.
The shifters were decidedly retro with two levers mounted securely on
the stem. Perhaps that is why they opted for a classic stem/quill
system. The fork was aluminum and came complete with lawyer lips and a
hole for the wheel retaining tab.
If I remember right, it did have a set of aero levers with the cables
routed under the handlebar wrap. I didn't check on the seating
accomodations, whether it had eyelets for racks, or if it had mounts
for water bottles. With the odd-shaped tubing, it will be difficult to
rig up some bottles if it didn't.
So it wasn't the greatest creation, but at least this might be the
beginning of a road-bike comeback. Three cheers!!!
-Buck