Downtube's tire

I'm still waiting for my new rims, but I wanted to get back on the road, so I patched the front tire yesterday.  Turns out I hit a patch of orange glass and a piece went right through the tread and took out the tube.  I hope my new Kojak's race-guard is more puncture proof.  I'm surprised I didn't loose all my air while still on the bike.  The patch was easy and I put a second patch on the tire itself as a makeshift boot.

While I was at it, I added the rack and one of the baskets I ordered.  I took a trip to trader joes with the basket and biked back to school.  The bike handled like a pig due to the added unbalanced weight.  and the steel rack and folding basket is easy to feel when you pick it up.  The rack does make carrying it considerably easier, so it's a pretty much of a tradeoff.  I'll post more about the rack and how it went on in a later post when I have some new pictures. 

Nova Update

This morning on a quick 1 mile commute, the bike's front tire got a flat.  I'm not sure of the cause because I didn't do a repair at the time, but the hole was in the center of the tread so I don't think it was a pinch.  The air seemed to be leaking through the tire because I could hear it while riding the last 200m to the front door of my house and saw the water bubbling on the tire's surface.

And that there ends the life of the first tube.  Good thing I bought a bunch of spare tubes.  When the new front wheel arrives, I'll throw on the kojak I bought and one of the new tubes.

DIY Fenders

So here is a little tidbit for all of you watching the Downtube Nova review:
I made myself a rear fender because a set of plastic fenders from my LBS would set me back $44 and that is just silly.  So for $6.99 worth of aluminium flat stock and $6.99 for a spool of 14guage steel wire and about 2 hours total time and labor including design and procurement of the materials, I now have a spiffy new rear fender.

They turned out to be very useful because it's been raining all weekend and I biked from my house in the rain today.

I think they turned out pretty nice.
I'm planning on adding an etched design on the fender.  Leaves, flames, dots, something pretty.

The little Nova already attracts stares, but I already had someone compliment me on them today.  Pimp my ride-understated edition!

I made an instructables:
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Bike-Fenders/?ALLSTEPS

Anyway, what you really want to see, pictures:

Quick Update on the Downtube Nova's hinge

A few days ago, I rode about 3/4 of a mile with the hinge unlocked.  The Dahon hinge was designed well and didn't open on me during the ride.  I didn't even find out till after I got back and was folding it away.