Coalfield
Dirt Disciple
At 74 years completed, I have given this topic (best last bike) some thought and action.
Briefly: bought myself a 50th birthday present of a custom CF racer and it was so much fun that I knew I wanted that when I got much older. So,... a few years later, in 2003, I imagined - maybe a shorter top tube (height/flexibility), slightly extended & tall head tube to reduce spacers, maybe a lower BB for stability, no toe overlap = helps keep f-c longer and less prone to twitchy while favoring quick steering, my colourway selection, seatstay braze-on for rack attach, lugged steel frame for durability & nostalgia, 1 1/8" headtube for front-end stiffness, sturdy carbon fork, CKing headset, CampaRecord, etc... Clearly, I had to find a flexible builder for the frame. Below is what he delivered. A wonderful rider, stiff not harsh, with my custom requests for which I have yet to implement aging adjustments - still a 125mm stem and 1cm available on steerer to raise the bars. Jon selected the Columbus tubes and geometry after hearing my ride quality preferences.
In the intervening 20 years, a significant number of vintage classics allowed me to refine my preferences for fit and riding style. To be anti-climatic = assuming you know your fit and preferred riding style - get the touchpoints right given one's cycling history put bigger tires run at lower pressure for when 'old bones' want cushioning. Butt, don't underestimate quality 28mm tubulars for decent roads ...... the rest is mostly about Ego. [Just 1 opinion from an olde cyclist]
Briefly: bought myself a 50th birthday present of a custom CF racer and it was so much fun that I knew I wanted that when I got much older. So,... a few years later, in 2003, I imagined - maybe a shorter top tube (height/flexibility), slightly extended & tall head tube to reduce spacers, maybe a lower BB for stability, no toe overlap = helps keep f-c longer and less prone to twitchy while favoring quick steering, my colourway selection, seatstay braze-on for rack attach, lugged steel frame for durability & nostalgia, 1 1/8" headtube for front-end stiffness, sturdy carbon fork, CKing headset, CampaRecord, etc... Clearly, I had to find a flexible builder for the frame. Below is what he delivered. A wonderful rider, stiff not harsh, with my custom requests for which I have yet to implement aging adjustments - still a 125mm stem and 1cm available on steerer to raise the bars. Jon selected the Columbus tubes and geometry after hearing my ride quality preferences.
In the intervening 20 years, a significant number of vintage classics allowed me to refine my preferences for fit and riding style. To be anti-climatic = assuming you know your fit and preferred riding style - get the touchpoints right given one's cycling history put bigger tires run at lower pressure for when 'old bones' want cushioning. Butt, don't underestimate quality 28mm tubulars for decent roads ...... the rest is mostly about Ego. [Just 1 opinion from an olde cyclist]
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