waterbuffalo bars...a week old

i took my bike in a few weeks ago for its annual check-up. and while there discussed putting mustache handle bars on my ride. a fairly simple conversion that requires new brake levers, shifters, cables, and a stem. just...i signed up for it anyway and took it in the next week for the procedure. but, the wrong parts were accidentally ordered and the whole thing was pushed back till the middle of the next week.

i actually gasped, like put my hands to my mouth, when i saw nate wheeling my bike out from the back...it looks that good. on a sad note, no more pig horn. the bars are a little thicker and it won't fit...though, i might try to rig something up. i took it on several test rides this afternoon and evening on probably the hottest day this summer.

the smoke before:

the water buffalo after:

i cut myself out of the last picture, but you can see both my hands clutching the seat. will they take it away from me? am i not a serious enough rider to merit these bars? actually, he's telling me about how i'll have to bring it back in and get the stem adjusted for optimal riding. and i'm glad nate cares about the technicalities, but i'm all about how i look when riding. in response to that comment, he said they weren't the gap, they don't sell things to people under the pretense of making the buyer look cooler. damn. that's a good bikeshop.

a shout-out to leah who took the after picture, was very sneaky about it, and made the other bikeshop worker laugh...