Two years ago I had the opportunity to pick up a Portage in Petaluma, CA. That one had the extra long chainstays that I had heard about and associated with the model. This month I found another in Vallejo, CA. This time, again, I emailed the seller within a couple of hours of posting and, again, the seller made no secret of the fact that, to his bewilderment, there were already many potential buyers. Well, I lucked out again and somehow made it there first. Yay!
This Portage doesn't have the super-long chainstays and wheelbase, which I kind of like. While I had been really psyched to work on the earlier Portage, the ride quality in the finished bike disappointed me somewhat. Maybe it was the Col de la Vie tires, but I think not. The bike had a sort of leaden feeling, nothing sprightly about it. I lay that down to the fact that, with very stout tubing and long wheelbase, the bike could only ride well when loaded down. Unfortunately, my experience was too short to tell for sure, but at any rate, Portage II has renewed my enthusiasm for the model. This one still has all the braze-ons of the full tourer but combines those features with the geometry of an all-rounder kind of bike. As a bonus, Portage II even came with its original racks!
Of course, this particular bike was no garage queen. It came with its fair share of issues: surface rust, terribly scratched crank arms, rotting tires, and an abused rear derailleur were the worst of it. Nothing that a little elbow grease can't remedy!
Here's how she turned out:
I'm happy to report that my optimistic speculation about ride-quality was spot-on: nothing sluggish about this puppy at all. With front and rear racks, she's no lightweight and isn't likely to be confused with a racing model, but she handles and accelerates admirably while retaining the ability to carry a well-distributed load. All in all, a very versatile bike.
