The Bike That Stole My Heart (State Bicycles)

While it may not be the fanciest bike out there, it's perfect for me. ☺  As of today's post, I’ve logged 1,700 miles on it and every mile on my road bike from State has been rewarding.

Backstory: When I was much younger, I used to take apart (aka destroy) my toys as I wanted to see what was inside... what makes these things do what they do so effortlessly?  I grew to appreciate the work that was inside the toy as well as the work that went into the exterior.

Fast forward a few decades and I'm now taking apart my guitars and amplifiers - not only because I want to see what's behind the curtain, but also because... well... sometimes stuff breaks.  After taking my gear to a repair shop a few times, I felt the need to do it myself.  So I did... and it was exciting!!!

Inside the guitar, I found a little self-contained universe of wires, magnets, capacitors and controllers.  The problem I faced when trying to repair and/or replace parts of guitar and amplifiers is that I never actually understood WHY they were in there to begin with.  I vaguely understood how this collection of things processed signals and worked their magic. 

So I asked repair techs and my engineering friends to share some insight (explain like I'm 5) and that's when the "why is this here?" and "what does this do?" questions turned into understanding and appreciation of how these miracles of electrical engineering worked together. 

Fast forward again to the 2020 pandemic and I'm stuck in my apartment looking at my bike.... I've got a bunch of tools and I'm feeling a little restless. So... I decided to take apart my bike and see how this thing works!  

After watching dozens of YouTube videos by Zach Gallardo and Park Tools, I tackled each piece of the bike to learn about bike maintenance and repairs.  And, much like with working on guitars and amps, if I couldn’t figure it out, I could take it to my local shop and get a pro’s opinion.

Here’s a look at the original specifications of the bike as received and then a note below of the upgrades.  Perhaps this will be helpful to anyone searching up this information in the future.

State Bike – 4130  (as of 2020)

• Cheng Shin Tires (CST) 700x25c
• Cheng Shin Tires (CST) tube 700 x 25/32
• JOOD Handlebar - 25mm wide.  600mm across. 
• KMC Chain - 96 links  1/8"
• Langhang Crankset - 46 teeth 130bcd
• Tri Diamond freewheel - 16 teeth
• Wellgo M248DU pedals
• Brakes - unknown, no markings.
• Gineyea bottom bracket - 103mm wide, 68mm bottom bracket width
• Wheel bearings – unknown. 6000RS

As of today's post, here’s what’s on the bike now

• Specialized - Armadillo Elite 700 x 28 tires
• Goodyear bike tubes (can’t recall the specs) – presta valve
• KMC – K1 (wide) chain
• Chromag - Scarab pedals
• Shimano - Ultegra BR-R8000 Brake Calipers
• Thomson Masterpiece Setback Seatpost (27.2)
• Thomson Seatpost Collar (28.6)
• White Industries - 16t freewheel
• Appleman - 2XR Crankset - 155mm
• Wolf Tooth - 110×5 BCD, 42 tooth, Drop Stop-A
• Kogel - BSA30 (cross) bottom bracket
• Acer – 6000RS ceramic nitride bearings

I plan to go into details about these upgrades (or "upgrades") over the next few months because I'm weirdly nerdy about this kind of stuff.

TLDR: I like to take things apart.