Fixing a Victorian

[jim haseltine]

It might just be the perspective, but it looks to me like that brake block could do with a bit of toe-in.

 

[Nabeaquam]

Brakes. It's elf and safety, gone mad I tells ye. It'll never catch on.

If you’re concerned about government interference demanding manufacturers make brakes too safe then I recommend you search the net for ACME brakes “a brand you can trust”, just ask Wile E. Coyote.

 

[Nabeaquam]

It might just be the perspective, but it looks to me like that brake block could do with a bit of toe-in.

You’re right on with that observation but they came like that and they are made of robust steel. I could take them off and try to bend the brake arms right on the fork but they work as is and the squeal lets people know that a jalopy is about to crash into them. They might wear in a little better once the cork surface has turned to charcoal and they fit flatter. Anyway, I’m ecstatic that I now have them, in any degree of working order.

 

[dirttorpedo]

Nice work

 

[Ren Rawbor]

The two piece crank. It’s bent from a crash. I’ll have to straighten it.View attachment 633441

Sooo, Shimano. Tell us again how you invented the Hollowtech BB?

 

[Ren Rawbor]

The seat was rotted leather with horsehair padding. A new one was custom made.View attachment 633467View attachment 633466View attachment 633468View attachment 633470View attachment 633471View attachment 633472

Just reading through this & seeing the photos shows how the saying "nothing is really new" actually rings true... Any man who's ever felt "the numbness" will appreciate the diamond shaped relief in this 120+ year old saddle!

 

[Ren Rawbor]

Just loving a thread like this. Evolving. Questioning. Think I will eventually reply to Tsundare Darwin / IQ post which puts some interesting angles on things, I'm into one week being cooked up indoors due to an hideous heat wave so have applied "everything with moderation including moderation" for some days now and subsequently can contribute with my usual drivel semi intelligent blurb.

Years ago when I was a student, a Professor said "It's only engineers and artists that change the world". I thought this was a profound statement back then, and still think it profound now. With maturity though, I will add philosophers to the list. Politicians still don't make the grade for me.

​

Can I also nominate Retrobikers for this? OK maybe not the whole world, but at least the changes we make seem to improve the place. I will concede though that politicians do in fact change the world, just in an Einsteinian relativity kind of way inverse to the preceding.

Perhaps we could amend the statement to "only engineers, philosophers and artists improve the world"?

Also, I'm losing an entire rainy afternoon to reading this thread & it's accompanying Victorian-era rabbitholes (as perhaps evidenced by the above string of replies when I just couldn't contain my enthusiasm for having learned new things. Thanks all, for the welcome distraction!

 

[Ren Rawbor]

It’s been cold here, very unseasonable and very windy from the north almost all the time. Many mornings when I get up it’s 4C. Today it was 9C. It’s also been raining a lot. The trees are not fully leafed out yet, which I’ve never seen this late. The north wind, 60 kmh gusts two days ago all day, has pushed Arctic air from Hudson’s Bay down. I was cooped up for that one day, almost went nuts, ran out of beer and Jamison’s. I’d have to drink a lot to stay cooped up for a week, that sounds bad, I can at least put on one of my jackets. Three hours south their cooking. My short sleeved shirts are still in our storage unit. Wow, I hate hot. Fifteen C is perfect, you can work or ride a bicycle without sweating. A young riding buddy of mine is from the UK. He is an engineer at a local mine that is UK owned. He loves our summers as 18 to 21C is typical daytime summer temps. He can ride without heat stress.

Another bout of verbal (or literary, hopefully not literal?!) diahorrea from little me.

This sounds like my idea of heaven, cannot stand the heat & I sweat more profusely than most to boot. I've always said you can dress (or drink!) for the cold but above 23c I'm pretty much confined to being naked indoors or laying utterly still so not a lot gets done between May and October

 

[greencat]

Agreed, apart from the naked part, I live in N. Wales - and average temp is around 15 degrees which suits me just fine for the same reasons - can run or cycle without pouring with sweat.