Chinese Scwhinn Issues and Japanese Pedals!

Oh Eliza! Look what you're doing to me D:

Eliza with new pedals and a new brooks saddle

Actually, we are getting on okay at the moment.. :) We have installed a new saddle and pedals to make Eliza a bit more lady like.

I have had plenty of issues with this bike.

Enter the Scwhinn Cream 2012 3 speed - this was what Eliza was when I bought her. She is the large/extra large frame for my 5ft 9 frame (174cm, if you want precision).

A few things that I did not like include

- Black plactic pedals (scwhinn should have used the same from this bike as the basic)
- Big chunky foam seat.
- The original handlebar grips.
- The spontaneously exploding spokes. I don't think this was in the blue print.

My scwhinn in a made in China and they have had a run of bad spokes. My poor Eliza had 4 initially. After about a month and a half of riding ping. Just like that. What the fudge. When you spend $700 NZD on a bike you kinda expect perfection. Anyway. Off to cycle trading company I went.
By this stage my chinese built bike had already made one solid attempt to kill me when the back wheel moved forward and jammed itself into the front fender halfway across the road. Stranding me. The male human had to borrow a friends car to rescue me and Eliza. That damaged the trust in our relationship. The bike/female human one. Anyway. Keith at cycle trading saved the day, the paint was only a little scraped..

The spokes. Well they fixed the initial four. A week later she pinged another two. So Keith respoked the entire rear wheel - we had planned to bike up to the wildlife park that day, so that didn't happen.
The next week the back wheel came loose again. I was at the pool and whilst cycling home everything started to shake slightly. So, thanks to the excellent Christchurch initiative of putting bike rakes on buses I was able to get into town and get her fixed AGAIN without any injury to my person.

No problems since. And thank goodness for keith at cycle trading company who did not charge me for fixing Eliza and did it promptly without any warning of my arrival.

I changed Eliza's pedals today however.

"New" kyokuto pedals

Chunky black plastic pedals

I biked the 8kms to Around Again Cycles and found a set of kyokuto top-run. Made in japan. On my chinese bike. I do hope they get along :\. Anyway, these pedals are from the 70's and fairly commonly found. I think they are definetly better than the black plastic mess!
(Opinions welcome!)
 They cost me $30 in total - $25 for the pedals and $5 to fit.
I didn't appreciate that last bit - okay $5, not the end of the world - it's like £2.50 - but cycle trading company have NEVER charged me for labour and frequently knock a few dollars off when I buy bits and pieces together. I just feel as though you gotta do better than that petty $5.
Whilst in Around Again Cycles I noticed stocked a variety of bikes - from brand new scwhinn creams to vintage raleigh bikes in varying degrees of (dis)repair. An interesting place.
I'd love to give a vintage pashley/raleigh a try so if anyone fancies letting me borrow their bike for an hour I will give it an honest critique against my new vintage style bike. :)
Around Again Cycles also stocks a variety of new helmets which include bell helmets for the round headed humans of the world like myself. They have a second hand helmet bin from which Cycling in Christchurch's Meerkat rescued a Winnie the Pooh helmet. Lucky for those who have tiny craniums!

I will post regarding my saddle update shortly! A brooks b18 "ladies" saddle.