Saturday again...
mint Ritchey V-brakes,the red pads(intended to front)are NOS

I've mounted the Ritchey V-s...
The calipers have suprisingly little side-clearence

Seriously nice find How much?

Grumbles#2

( )

Seriously, they were my favourite V brake. I threw my set in the bin....after 12 years, 8 bikes and goodness knows how many re-builds. Well done mate, good find!

They were a real bargain: converted to your currency these bits costed exactly 10 Pounds -and I'm really happy w them...

if you ever want to double your money then give me a shout

great find

kirbdug

fdoc wrote:



I'm not surprised you're happy. Don't normally like Vs myself but in this case I'll make an exception. Nice buy.

After quite a long time our local retrobike-parts market is busy
The Michelin tires are NOS items,the Panaracers were used only on a few miles...

Customer/user info as accurate as it should be

Ahhh, the Spikes and the Wildgripper Muds - those were the days! I remember it took me ca. 2 hours to put them on some Sun Rhyno Lite rims at a Dual race we had in 2001. How much were they?

Cheers,
Mx

The four tyre were 27,5 Euros
I'm afraid you're right: it's going to be a hard session to mount those heavy,
steel-belted Michelins
By my intention the first debut of this set will take place at Bihor, Romania (there are the nearest mountains from here)

fdoc

If you want some practical advice: don't use them! Keep them for a period theme build, but be aware they are no good in any other circumstances except pouring rain or heavy mud.

I all my years racing mud tires were good to have around and they saved my ass quite a few times. But that is racing. If I were to ride in rain on a normal day (non-racing, that is) I would always choose normal tires, even worn out ones. I think they are better and learning now to skid and drift is fun! Actually some of my best riding days were during rain with tires sporting 20% "meat" and a healthy "I don't give a f**k" attitude. Otherwise, mud tires are heavy, difficult to put on the rims, as I said, and quite dangerous in the dry.

The Bihor area is good, but if you feel like something else, you can always give me buzz and I'll tell you what else there is handy and maybe close enough to you. What gravity bike do you have?

Mx

P.S. I might need to mention I have a brand new set of Intense Spikes and a set of team-issue prototype Intense Mud 2.2's from 2002 which I kept until now and still are in very good condition. That will give you some insight about how much I used them. Bear in mind that I ride daily during summer, that I didn't miss a national race since 1997 and that rain is pretty common around here.

Thank your for your advice:I really appreciate that and respect the knowledge and experience you have.
I myself not a sportsman,but an accomplished amateur cycle-tourist still decades. I use a bike at least 350 days a year
being a family doctor by doing my job I ride almost every day making 120-150 kms per week(it's not a big city and a plain county),plus ride cycle for joy & for keeping my shape inrespectively of the season (my favourite conditions are the frost and snow) So my intention was to mount these special tyres on "spare" wheelset and use them exclusively off-road in deep snow What do you think,are they suitable for this purpose?
I know it is possible the get snow-chain for mounty-tyres,but this solution could be applicable also Or not?
It was only a few years ago when I "discovered" off-road cycling for myself and I feel this a great challenge -although I'm 50 years old now
I don't use/have DH bike,posses a retro-mounty(a modest thread here)
http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewto ... highlight=
and the "modern"' mountain ride is this one:
http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewto ... highlight=
Since then the Merida got a Shimano Deore LX hollowtech crankset, CoolStop brake pads,its original X-mission stem-bar-seatpost combo and a Ritchey WCS saddle. The Kästle's current state in shown below...
My rides:
Hercules Globetrotter 1985 old school heavy-steel long-range tourer
Bottecchia Sprinter 1991 swift Italian steel-roadie
Corratec 3003 1995 city-crosser
Peugeot Berkeley 1994 multitalent tourer
K2 C50 1994 26'er single-speed custom crawler
Kästle Sport 305 1997 full-rigid steel-mtb
Kelly's Definite 2007 28'er alu-crosser
Merida Matts SE 2005 heavy-duty alu mtb
Spec' HardRock 1989 full-steel/full-rigid mtb Cinderella

Hey, doc! It's nice to see these builds - they are different to what you normally see around here, but that's what makes them special. Keep it on!

As for the mud tires, of course they are an option for riding in the snow. I forgot about that, silly me! I wouldn't go for chains, as they can harm your bike, as far a I can imagine... Between those two sets, I would choose the Panaracer Spikes, as the Michelins are full fledged DH tires and you'll be carrying around extra weight for nothing. I didn't think about having an extra wheelset, just for the mud tires, but if you can afford it, go for it - it's a good option. I always keep a mud tire mounted on an extra front wheel, all pumped up and ready to go, but mainly for the races.

Stay safe,
Mx

Thank you Maxi',I surely will keep your advice: the Michelin DHs go to the attic. As I have a 26'er "spare" wheelset(Deore LX GoldEdition hubs -last years birthday present from my mate,rims Bike Positive:nothing special)the Spikes will be mounted for snow-duty...
B.t.w.,I post some current pics of my Merida in its original thread.

Cheers:fdoc

b.t