by 
My view – notice not from the right side but from the center of the lane. I’m moving very fast. I think that the most dangerous thing we can do is to hang out on the right side too much. Being in the center has saved my life more than once… saved me from being hit by cars pulling into the lane I would have been in.
Here is my view as I ride toward the University Bridge:
It was a perfectly nice day on the bike path, but it turned cold suddenly and then the sky pissed rain. This is 15 minutes later:
I got soaked, but the dance with heavy traffic up 10th and through Capitol Hill was just incredible. I went hard, nearly blowed up my heart.
Two days ago, Silas bought a 58cm Road Shark and it had a hodge podge of parts including a rare 8 speed freewheel incorrectly matched to Shimano 600 that was quite worn out. Today I took apart my LaBan and sold him the Campagnolo wheels and group. It’s his first Campy equipped bike, and I’m happy for his new babe:
by 
Maybe point the drops at the rear brake and not the rear axle on that Land Shark? Ah, whatever is comfortable.
But that position sets the tops nice and flat, and that works a charm the longer the ride.
And LJ, fuck dude, way to keep it reel with those cattle-guard bar ends. On reference of your tangent, I’m off to fine my inner wino.
Oh, and the only thing better than a green light is the obituary of The Man, himself.
Great frames, those LandSharks. Steel frame feels like a rangy teenager high on his own adrenaline, and it rides like a dream. But for all these years I STILL haven’t been able to warm up to the flying vomit paint jobs.
my coach has a tandem landshark that is totally rad. he also has a few old steel landsharks that are hanging on the wall of his garage that are just sick sick sick.
This is why I warn people if they take my bike for a ride, they’re going to want one. They are very, very well made and there’s no chance in hell that Mr. John Slawta will sell his name to a Chinese frame company.
Keeping
It
Real
with STEEL.
I’m with Beth. A big believer in steel, but they don’t have to look like that. ..To each their own I suppose.
You DO know why those eight speed freewheels are so rare, don’t you?
Make my crazy looking steel bike a Pegoretti. Dario’s down with the Mothers of Invention, my kind of crazy.
I think I’d trade my LaBan Columbus 57 cm for a DeRosa 58 square or a classy Pinarello. I’ve already owned enough E. Merckx frames and I like em, but… Pegoretti has a nice ring too. I geek out any time on steel from the golden age that would be late 80s to early 90s when PROS STILL RACED THEM and the standards were VERY high… not this mig welded shit that passes for high end.
Ya I know the paint job is odd but that’s what it had when I bought it this past weekend. As soon as I can I intend to get a new paint job that will make it look as though the frame was carved out of a big hunk of turquoise that will have black and gold vanes running through it.
…old school jeff ringle’ mtb bottle cage (& seatpost ???)…
…am i vain to mention you mean gold ‘veins’ ???…
ya thanks for the correction I was to busy drinking and talking with little jar to pay attention to my wording.
…so, silas…is that a ringle’ seatpost as well ???…
…nice ‘shark’ btw…
Its a American Classic seat post and I will be putting a king headset on it this next weekend
My advice – leave the stock paint be. It’s fucking awesome. Sure, perhaps a bit dated. But that’s the point. It’s a classic for Christ’s sake. Old frame, old parts, old paint. It’s perfect. Just knock that rear derailuer cable housing back down into place and level out those bars and you’re golden.
Actually the bars look about right. The ramps seem about level. YMMV/see also, “Sean Yates”.
But yeah, that housing is heinous.
Yea Silas, you can’t paint it. That’s sacrilege. I mean, a landshark is half about the gaudy paint. rock it with pride man.
…i agree about keeping the paint on ‘the shark’…it would be like repainting a ‘pegoretti’ 20 years from now because paint styles will have changed…
…that paint along with the frame is a classic…‘the society for the prevention of cruelty to classic hand-built, american made bicycle frames-sets” asks that you please don’t deface a classic…
Yea. Keep the paint job. Just slap a DC sticker on it and your good to go.
Just so you guys know, I helped him appraise it, build it, and there are surface rust spots poking through the paint, and spots missing paint all over the bike. I’ve had my Landshark repainted twice now. It’s maintenance, not sacrilege. If it were a climate controlled garage queen, that would be one thing… but this is upwards of 20 years old and it’s going to get painted within a year. It costs $400 to get one of these painted properly. A well painted Landshark is worth far more, too.
Check out Landshark and see how 20 years and nearly 5000 bicycles have changed the artist into a great master. Check out the frame with lightning on it. That’s hard to paint.
OK, I tried to make a link. It does not work. http://www.landsharkbicycles.com
see the bikes for yourself. And, don’t ride one of your friends’ because you’ll want one!
And, we puts our handlebars where we wants em. Jeez, people. Is the background (a worm bin) not nice enough for you either?
…in that case, ‘the society for the prevention of cruelty to classic hand-built, american made bicycle frame-sets’ suggests that you proceed but asks that you “think classy” when making a choice…
…worm bins should only be used as appropriate background for cx & mtb photos…
…just sayin’…
Ok, ok, threats of re-painting forgiven. Land Shark is buns, son!
http://www.landsharkbicycles.com/gallery_steel.html.