Recent content by dirttorpedo

I've read some of his ride reports and he seems a hell of a cyclist.

I live north of Seattle in Vancouver and its the same here which is why I've been highly motivated to modify my vintage bikes with better climbing gear. Doesn't help that I'm fat and out of shape.

Yes, definitely. Every vintage bike deserves its own thread.

What I've noticed since joining the Retrobike.uk site is that Europeans have access to a much deeper supply of vintage bicycles and components than we do in North America. And I feel another difference is that in North America there is a bias towards a quality new replacement part if available...

Brilliant work.

I feel that Jan Heine would be happy to see this bike restored and being used again - I mean he loves the original Rene Herse bikes so much he bought the brand to continue it. He supports classic Herse restoration here...

Man, I'd love to come to Europe and ride the Retroronde and Eroica.

My preference is wedge stems over expander - i find the expanders sieze more frequently. I also just watched a video by the BikeFarmer which suggested that some expander type stems can fail.

You could buy new here https://www.somafab.com/archives/product/corsa-road-fork-threaded-1

I've been tempted to pick up an old Centurion Dave Scott Tri-bike because those very early tri bikes had 700c wheelsets and my understanding is the geometry was more relaxed than your typical American racing bike targeted to critiums. I've seen many interesting examples of 650c bikes on the...

What bars did you find?

I get that, but I hate that bar profile I replaced all of mine with Nitto Noodles. I think Maes produced bars BITD with the nice round bend of a Nitto Noodle, but they are hard to source. Rene Herse sells a nice modern Maes style bar as well - probably just another Nitto product.

The handlebar orientation is hurting my brain. Otherwise the bike has cleaned up nicely.

My advice is to know your size in the period of bike you are looking at - british style bikes of the 70's and early 80's fit differently than modern bicycles or Italian style bikes of those earlier decades. I personally would target a "sport touring" or "touring" bike because they tend to have a...

Thanks for sharing the story of your Dad's bike. It really highlights how even with a degree of neglect these old steel bikes just keep on going. It cleaned up nice. I'm sure it will find a new home with someone who will ride it and cherish it.