Ruminating on the IBEX

I am about to dive in on the Nishiki Cresta and I am looking forward to it as I would like to get some riding in on it while its still summer and I have high hopes for it as the successor to the Passage.  I think I have every thing I need for it and half the main bearings will be brand new so I am hopeful it won't take me 3 months to rebuild the Cresta like it did for the Moto_GT.

I have been doing a lot riding lately on the IBEX, aka Barney, so it has been on my mind.  I have gone over 50 kilometers on Barney so I have some perspective on his fit.  More specifically what I want to change;



Front Wheel:  The one on the bike is fine but the rim and tire are narrow which makes the bike a bit twitchy.  I would like to find something that matches the rear wheel and that would mean it would accommodate wider tires and reduce the twitch factor.  I am going to check the co-op first but Amazon has these wheels for about $40.

Tires: The as is pair are serviceable but mis-matched and old.   I really like the look of the Maxxis DTH 26x2.15 tires although that might be a bit fancy for this bike. but definitely gum walls and at least 2.0 width which should sharpen the look of the bike.

Stem:  I feel like I am leaning forward more than I want so I would like to bring the stem up and back.  I am hoping, like the front wheel, that I can find a stem at the co-op, it would be nice to stay with black but fit is the most important thing.

Grips: I already used my birthday gift card to get some Ergon GP1's, so I am ready to go for grips.

Pedals: The pedals currently on the bike are kind of meh.  I think I will swap the current platforms on the IBEX for the bear trap style pedals that are on the Allez as I like the platform they give and they seem a bit out of place on the Allez.  And I can avoid the cost of getting a pair of MKS sneakers.

Shifters:  I really like the look of mid 80s (metal not plastic) thumb shifters and someday I would like to get a pair to mount on the bike, I might even check out what bikeworks has when I am stem and wheel shopping, but I think I will leave the trigger shifters on the bike for now as they work fine.

Brakes: the pads are serviceable but old and mismatched so some Koolstops all around would be an improvement.

Other items are; replacing the broken water bottle cage. finding a more comfortable saddle, and either putting the mismatched fenders back on or finding a nicer matched pair at the co-op as I think this would make a good rain/winter bike.  It probably needs a bell and kickstand as well to complete the functional vibe.  I may looking into a wider range cassette as well for a bit more low range.

Not sure when this will all happen as the Cresta is next up and I would like to do a quick turn and flip on the LeTour to clear the stable, but Barney has certainly given me plenty of feedback to use for the rebuild.

Ride.Smile.Repeat.