Bicycles - Who Else Rides?

[JohnnyThul]

Finished my poor man's randomness and did a small adjustment ride.
I can say, mountains won't be an issue with this ride
Shifting works well enough, but the brakes are tough. Braking power is fine , but even with modern Levers you need to put a lot of force into it.
Was hoping the Shimano 1050 single pivots I have would work, but the have short thread bolts....
Anybody know of a good single pivot ( the look....) brake with long bolts? IMHO the 1050 is one of the best brakes I used in vintage bikes.

 

[Mike Eskimo]

Had a used tubeless bike for a couple of months, never got a flat, but sold it before I did any serious riding on it.

I ride roads on a gravel bike primarily within a 10 mile radius of my house.

(I also use tires that the average gravel cyclist would cringe at and run away from. Kind of the opposite of “supple” )

I average one flat per season or less so…

 

[ChicknPickn]

Finished my poor man's randomness and did a small adjustment ride.
I can say, mountains won't be an issue with this ride
Shifting works well enough, but the brakes are tough. Braking power is fine , but even with modern Levers you need to put a lot of force into it.
Was hoping the Shimano 1050 single pivots I have would work, but the have short thread bolts....
Anybody know of a good single pivot ( the look....) brake with long bolts? IMHO the 1050 is one of the best brakes I used in vintage bikes.

View attachment 1377057View attachment 1377059View attachment 1377061

Man, that is art.

 

[robt57]

Tossed together a simple cheapo ride to take on vaca. Rather than baby sit my zoot fav. Parts is parts bike.. 32mm tires that specifically go on and off by hand easily. More gearing than I could possible need. Will put on rear rack and 2 Ortliebs for the trip.

 

[ChicknPickn]

Tossed together a simple cheapo ride to take on vaca. Rather than baby sit my zoot fav. Parts is parts bike.. 32mm tires that specifically go on and off by hand easily. More gearing than I could possible need. Will put on rear rack and 2 Ortliebs for the trip.View attachment 1377083

Pretty nice for a "beater"!

 

[68tele]

I just bought this 2002 Raleigh R600 (for $150!) 3x9 105, light and quick:

 

[imwjl]

Had a used tubeless bike for a couple of months, never got a flat, but sold it before I did any serious riding on it.

I ride roads on a gravel bike primarily within a 10 mile radius of my house.

(I also use tires that the average gravel cyclist would cringe at and run away from. Kind of the opposite of “supple” )

I average one flat per season or less so…

Jinxed for saying this? I'm nearing 9-10 years tubeless without a road, gravel, MTB or fat bike flat requiring a tube change or more than let sealant do its job. Beyond that just performance and comfort make tubeless worth it.

This cannot be denied. For commuting or some riding, you do need to check air pressure more often. You need a periodic refresh of sealant. Once in a while you have to change a valve core or clear out a valve stem. Tape can leak over time and some rims are worse than others.

This came to mind. We have modern automobiles tubeless with some having specialty tires such as performance or 3PMSF. We have a 1930 Model A Ford with tubes inside of bias ply tires. No way would I put old inferior tires, rims and tubes on a modern automobile if it came set for such superior performance.

Another factor in my case is unsupported rides that can be long, extreme and remote. Add, all my tubeless setups are inner width 23 - 30 mm rims now. There was a learning curve. It took learning the hard way when some tubeless setup didn't' go well.

 

[robt57]

Pretty nice for a "beater"!

Well, in Tele terms: I don't want to take along a CS guitar when I can take the HH MIM Tele. Don't wanna worry about the expensive 15 lb Colnago while on vacation.

 

[ChicknPickn]

Well, in Tele terms: I don't want to take along a CS guitar when I can take the HH MIM Tele. Don't wanna worry about the expensive 15 lb Colnago while on vacation.

I built a bike to be a beater. And then I didn't want to beat up on it. Go figure.

 

[robt57]

Jinxed for saying this? I'm nearing 9-10 years tubeless without a road, gravel, MTB or fat bike flat requiring a tube change or more than let sealant do its job. Beyond that just performance and comfort make tubeless worth it.

This cannot be denied.

Not so much denied as practical. Like Teles I have a fleet. Sealant and low used bike ownership is problematic for me I've learned. It is like having 20 pairs of shoes, none really get used all the time or even a lot over time.

So even TL/TLR tire here are tubed. Either with latex or TPU tube in and TPU spare in pocket being they are stupid small and stupid light.

I do have some tubeless tubular tires on a few bikes, I carry a 2oz Stans bottle and a mini plug kit. But in a few seasons not needed to deal with flats. Mainly because I quit riding in bike lanes and near cars. Wood, gravel and paved networks of multi use paths. Luckily here I can do an 80 mile ride only crossing busy roads, not rolling along them. Since doing this 6-7 now I seldom flat VS when I sued ride with the club etc.

 

[robt57]

I built a bike to be a beater. And then I didn't want to beat up on it. Go figure.

No, I get that. Especially when your parts laying about for the build are all nice stuff. I still will be way less upset if that get stolen than this, what I ride the most.

 

[ChicknPickn]

No, I get that. Especially when your parts laying about for the build are all nice stuff. I still will be way less upset if that get stolen than this, what I ride the most.

View attachment 1377151

Ooooh, that's purty.

 

[JohnnyThul]

Finished my poor man's randomness and did a small adjustment ride.

Oi, autocorrect....I meant poor man's randonneur...

Besides, thanks for all the comments on tubeless. I took a look at it, but it will be too much of a hassle to change and too expensive for now.

But there is always the dream of the ultimate bike, where I would put in disc brakes, 10 speed friction shifting, custom frame etc., where i could see myself opting for tubeless. If H+Son Hydra rims are tubeless ready

Well, such a bike i won't have be able to build for the next years, so i stick with tubes for now and collect parts.

I also agree with @imwin regards to wider rims. 19mm seems to me about perfect for do it all use.

Bikes are just so addictive......

 

[Guran]

I just bought this 2002 Raleigh R600 (for $150!) 3x9 105, light and quick:

View attachment 1377097

Brothers in bikes! Mine is a 1999.

 

[Flyboy]

My Felt Z85 with its new Vittoria Rubino Pro 2 tyres. Moved up 25mm from 23. These run at a much higher bar than the pervious Schwalbes.

 

[robt57]

Oi, autocorrect....I meant poor man's randonneur...

I chuckled @ "randomness"

 

[imwjl]

Not so much denied as practical. Like Teles I have a fleet. Sealant and low used bike ownership is problematic for me I've learned. It is like having 20 pairs of shoes, none really get used all the time or even a lot over time.

So even TL/TLR tire here are tubed. Either with latex or TPU tube in and TPU spare in pocket being they are stupid small and stupid light.

I do have some tubeless tubular tires on a few bikes, I carry a 2oz Stans bottle and a mini plug kit. But in a few seasons not needed to deal with flats. Mainly because I quit riding in bike lanes and near cars. Wood, gravel and paved networks of multi use paths. Luckily here I can do an 80 mile ride only crossing busy roads, not rolling along them. Since doing this 6-7 now I seldom flat VS when I sued ride with the club etc.

I get the maintenance across several bikes and collecting matter but that's not me. It's also not being a weight weenie. In almost all cases tubeless survives almost all pinch flats, most little cuts, and above all the far superior performance and comfort.

This was a fun observation. For a while 5 riders in my regular posse all had the same Panaracer GK SS+ tires in same 43 mmsize. I counted 3x when the guys with tubes had us waiting while they fixed flats. Some of them were also running 20-30 PSI more air pressure had sucky performance. Those guys were often putting on the brakes and even walking when 37-42 PSI same tires were fine.

I've not considered carrying sealant on any normal sort of ride, but I only carry a hand pump. I wrap my spare tube in an old sock to protect it and clean sealant if I have to change to a tube.

This might also be from having fewer bikes now and primarily riding modern geometry and fit. I leave my 1960s and 1970s bikes quite stock. If not something nostalgic like our antique car, I just don't look back. Having some old stuff though gives me understanding of those who still love it.

 

[Diytelecaster]

been 30 odd celcius past few days, which for me is 10 celcius too hot. Headed out at 5 in the morning. 17 celcius and a short sleeve jersey

 

[WingedWords]

I've always had a bicycle since I was 11 in 1961, and started to take it seriously in my 20s. I've so many happy memories of cycling club life, club runs, regular time trial racing and with the help of a coach, getting fitter than I'd ever dreamed of. I wish I had more pictures from some of the trips we did, like the randonnee that started under the Eiffel Tower and finished in Cambrai on the Belgian border, 250km and 14 hours later. Epic!

Life moves on, but I still get huge enjoyment from my bicycles even if I'm limited by increasing arthritis. I don't need the complications of the new technology, electric gear changing, disc brakes and so on. Having had a carbon front fork crack for no obvious reason, I'm rather wary of new materials.

I'm very saddened by the bitterness and aggression on both sides in the "war" between cyclists and motorists, but I have plenty of cycle paths around to ride safely on.

I mostly ride a rather cheap steel fixie on a 58" gear - gets me up any hills I choose not to avoid. It's pretty much maintenance free and very comfortable. Sort of a bicycle equivalent to a MiM Esquire.

I've got a decent folding bicycle that lives in the car boot ready for ride opportunities when we're out and about.

I can't remember when I did a ride of more than 25km, but I love every pedal stroke.

I do love these threads and enjoy reading about people's favourite bicycles and rides short or long. Keep 'em coming.

Got to close now - I need to concentrate on the Tour de France heading for Mont Ventoux (RIP Tommy Simpson). Oh the joy of being retired!

(Edited to change picture which I found I'd already posted in this thread in March.)

 

[imwjl]

I had a particularly sweet ride last night for these reasons proving bicycles as magic machines.

A dear friend who is having very up and down times with cancer treatments got out. Another who's got significant physical challenges from birth defects now has an e-assist bike and one handed dual hydraulic brake setup joined. A third who's been dealing with food and alcohol binge under control joined. A 4th who joined has been letting stress have too much negative impact.

Net result was happy people all ending up better when it was over.