Small road bikes suitable for short women are rarer than a smiling Olsen in a buffet line, so when we found the c. 1984 Fuji 450 SE pictured above on a popular online auction site last year, we knew we had to have it. Like the pricey Terry brand of 'bikes for women,' the Fuji 450 SE featured a slightly smaller front tire that somehow--through the same laws of physics and illusion at work at the Santa Cruz Mystery Spot--make the bike easy for wee women like us to straddle without incident. Despite the fact that we paid a song for the bike, it actually came to us in near perfect stock condition (huzzah!). Naturally, though, our aging hipster aesthetic sensibilities compelled us to swap out both the stock saddle and drop handlebars for Brooks components and mustache bars (which, even to our surprise, are more comfortable than drops and straight bars).
With another car-free Fall approaching, we're thinking seriously about investing in some sexy woodgrain fenders and bike spats to keep our petite bums and ankles dry on the road this year. We're also really enamored with the CETMA flatbed racks, which we feel might usefully permit us to carry less on our ailing backs. And although we totally don't need woodgrain rims, we think they're an essential part in making our bike ultimately look like a rolling log jammer ride (i.e., awesome!).
