Bit of an update on my PRST journey:-
In April of last year, some thieving scrotes stole my PRST-4 and my wife's PRST-1 from York, even when both were chained up. Then, cutting a very long story short, I spotted my PRST-4 for sale on Ebay in Middlesborough over a year later. Called the cops, and they went round and recovered it for me in quick time. The story was that the Ebay seller had bought it from a car boot sale in Middlesborough for £40 (Hmm) and then hadn't used it, so put it on Ebay.
The bike was completely unmessed with, the frame number was intact, and apart from two flat tyres was exactly as it was on the day it was stolen. I recognized it as being mine because I had put a couple of motorcycle track day stickers on the frame, which were still there. My wife's bike however is still out there somewhere.
In the meantime, to sate my appetite for weird transportation, I purchased a JW-4 from a Gumtree ad in Stoke, and rode around on that for a year or so. Comparing the two bikes is interesting. The PRST-4 is a medium frame size, and the JW-4 is a large. Both bikes are pretty much stock, but everything has been adjusted and fettled into optimum capability, however the PRST-4 seems to be the quicker of the two, obviously it has the better component choice, but who would have thought that the differences add up to a riding experience that is so much better?
I'm not so sure that the big grippers are a better solution than the more usual skewers of the JW-4, certainly for the rear wheel, I never seemed to get on with changing rear wheels out with the big grippers. You need one hand to hold the mech out of the way, another to hold the big gripper off the axle on the other side, and another hand to remove the wheel. Or maybe that's just me?
At just a tad under 6ft, I seem to fit both the large and the medium frames, but the smaller PRST-4 frame seems to be a lot more manageable, and less flex prone on tight technical stuff, so I prefer that one.
I guess that at the moment, I am in a quandary about whether to keep the JW or not. It's scruffier than the PRST-4, and sorting it out would make for a good project (Satin finish gold paint anyone?) Did GSB manage to reproduce any PRST-4 decals?
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