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Quite by accident I have reached some sort of stability in all this retrobike/ cycling in general lark.
Eschewing 'modern' (whatever that is these days - I simply dont care) I took a step back and looked at what I had. A collection of enthusiastically built frames from various builders over the last 4 decades. Each has a story to tell and a purpose, some designed to go uphill, some to go fast on the flat and some to be 'gnarly' etc etc.
What did I actually need? Well all of them and more! More More More! Of course, the crack addict still wants more. But, after actually riding the damn things and having to live with them on a daily basis, things turned out to be remarkably different to how I had envisaged.
Gone was the stupidly original Saracen tip find - it was too nice to run into the ground but not quite unique enough to warrant special interest - too modern, in a way the a Ford Mondeo ticks all the boxes but just doesn't inspire much else
Potentially gone was the Harry Quinn - something missing that I just cant put my finger on, either me or the bike, we just cant quite get along.
The Pioneer - we have had a great 3 years together, almost the perfect relationship but it is the sexy blonde with the rather podgy middle age bloke - something isnt quite right and the blonde is looking over here shoulder elsewhere
The Green Thing - and here we have it, a chance purchase back in the dim and distant. An oddball build for an equally challenged rider - brakes that only worked on a part-time basis. Shifting that had to be booked well in advance. It could go up. Boy could it go up! It could go down, what the rider lacked in skill was made up for in lack of braking. Rider and bike soon learned to live with each other and a new strong relationship was born. A bike that was on the sell list suddenly became a much admired friend. Other bikes ignored as it soon became the bike of choice for meets and rough weather. For commuting it was crap. The rumoured Cleland influence (and equally fictional Eurobike 1986 connection) meant the bolt upright stance added a good 20 minutes to a commute - but with 2 inches of compacted snow plus another 6 inches of powder meant that I arrived safely and with a smile. I had cracked it.
There is still some work to be done but I think I have reached that long searched for stability - that and a search through the STurmey Archer catalog should see me right.
viewtopic.php?t=122960
Eschewing 'modern' (whatever that is these days - I simply dont care) I took a step back and looked at what I had. A collection of enthusiastically built frames from various builders over the last 4 decades. Each has a story to tell and a purpose, some designed to go uphill, some to go fast on the flat and some to be 'gnarly' etc etc.
What did I actually need? Well all of them and more! More More More! Of course, the crack addict still wants more. But, after actually riding the damn things and having to live with them on a daily basis, things turned out to be remarkably different to how I had envisaged.
Gone was the stupidly original Saracen tip find - it was too nice to run into the ground but not quite unique enough to warrant special interest - too modern, in a way the a Ford Mondeo ticks all the boxes but just doesn't inspire much else
Potentially gone was the Harry Quinn - something missing that I just cant put my finger on, either me or the bike, we just cant quite get along.
The Pioneer - we have had a great 3 years together, almost the perfect relationship but it is the sexy blonde with the rather podgy middle age bloke - something isnt quite right and the blonde is looking over here shoulder elsewhere
The Green Thing - and here we have it, a chance purchase back in the dim and distant. An oddball build for an equally challenged rider - brakes that only worked on a part-time basis. Shifting that had to be booked well in advance. It could go up. Boy could it go up! It could go down, what the rider lacked in skill was made up for in lack of braking. Rider and bike soon learned to live with each other and a new strong relationship was born. A bike that was on the sell list suddenly became a much admired friend. Other bikes ignored as it soon became the bike of choice for meets and rough weather. For commuting it was crap. The rumoured Cleland influence (and equally fictional Eurobike 1986 connection) meant the bolt upright stance added a good 20 minutes to a commute - but with 2 inches of compacted snow plus another 6 inches of powder meant that I arrived safely and with a smile. I had cracked it.
There is still some work to be done but I think I have reached that long searched for stability - that and a search through the STurmey Archer catalog should see me right.
viewtopic.php?t=122960
