From my blog posting on the "new" bike.
http://www.unmusic.co.uk/cycling/
Links to pics of the new beasty:
http://www.unmusic.co.uk/cycling/wp-content/images/newbike1_640.jpg
http://www.unmusic.co.uk/cycling/wp-content/images/newbike2_640.jpg
Some of you may know that I’ve been without a bike for the last month or so.
I have come to terms with the fact that, as my bike is my only means of
transport, I really need two bikes: a main bike and a backup bike for
emergencies.
Fortunately, my mother came up trumps on Saturday and managed to pick up an
old bike for six pounds. I haven’t properly identified the bike yet but I
would estimate that it’s from the 70’s. It has 26×1 3/8 wheels and is of a
type that was sometimes called a “English Tourerâ€. Here she is (the bike,
not my mother):
The new bikethe new bike 2
So, that’s the spare bike sorted and I now have to decide whether to fix the
main bike or to replace it.
I have now taken the “new†bike out for a utility ride across town. First
things first: it’s easy to romanticize the virtues of a classic-looking old
bike, but it doesn’t offer a really great riding experience compared to the
hard-tail mountain bike with slicks that I am used to; a five mile round
trip with a bit of shopping thrown in has tired me out. For one thing, the
extra weight of the bike makes hard work of even the slightest ascent. In
addition to the extra weight, a lot of energy is probably being wasted due
to the age of the parts coupled with the, less efficient, three-speed hub
gears.
On the plus side, any bike is far better than no bike. Setting out at 10 am,
I traveled across town, did a tour of some charity shops, dropped in to see
a friend and was back home again for about 12:30. Try doing that on foot or
via public transport. Also, in the plus column: I quite like the look of
the bike, it’s in working order, and it has a rear carrier rack. It
couldn’t quite manage my easy clip on Lidl panniers, but a smaller Raleigh
pannier (another car boot find) worked very well.
The ride home was easier than the ride out. I think that part of the trick
of riding this bike is to avoid fast acceleration. Working with the
increased mass and relatively inefficient drive system of the bike, rather
than a against it, seems to be the right approach.
Another problem with a steel rimmed bike of this sort is that it is lethal
in the wet. One has to plan ahead carefully when the sodden rims reduce the
breaking efficiency down to about 1/3 of what it is in dryer weather. Bear
in mind that this bike would demolish an SUV in a head to head
collision :-)
The valve on the inner-tube adheres to a long forgotten “woods†standard.
Fortunately, you can, just about, get pressure into the tire using the
smaller of the two current standard connectors.
I have some hope that I can gain some improvement in ease of pedaling when I
get around to increasing the hight of the seat. I suspect that making the
effort to get a bit more pressure into the tires will also improve the
speed of the bike.
All in all, I’m glad to be with bike again. By the time that I have
completed the equivalent of two longish bus round-trips, it will have paid
for itself. I have also learnt my lesson in terms of maintaining a spare
bike.
--
***My real address is m/ike at u/nmusic d/ot co dot u/k (removing /s)
http://www.unmusic.co.uk - about me, music, geek sitcom etc.
http://www.unmusic.co.uk/amhs/ - alt.music.home-studio