Re: "old time bikes" - I was recently struck by how recently bicycles of any kind first existed, when I learned that Jonathan the tortoise lives on Saint Helena in the South Atlantic and was at least 40 years old when the penny-farthing bicycle was invented! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_(tortoise)
On Friday, May 27, 2022 at 3:33:42 PM UTC-7 Garth wrote: > Yes Craig and Rich ! "Old time bikes!" (((( laughing heartily ! )))) I > use the term "time" rather loosely here as I figure a working bike and > parts at-hand and all are timeless. Their backstory, as interesting as it > may or may not be, has no bearing on the present use and working of it, you > know ? I mean ... here it is, let's ride and play bike ! > > I do love freewheels Rich ! Love love love ! Love the feel, the sound, > the look, the simple function, everything about them. I still have all my > Suntours I ever rode and have 3 more new Sachs 13-32 7-speeds on hand. They > sound great ! Besides 2 sets of Phil FW hubs I have 2 sets of Specialized > FW hubs too. While those are 126mm I could apply them to 135mm spacing by > using a solid axle. I did that on my Stumpie so I could use a slightly > larger/wider freewheel. > > I saw a video the other day about Sean Kelley reuniting with his > bonded/lugged/made-to-measure aluminum and carbon fiber Vitus racing bikes > from the 80's. He and the host were marveling over the "manual" nature of > the shifting, and the lovely sound of the freewheel. "How did you ride such > a bike Sean ?" "It's what we had and it was the best at that time" replied > Sean. > > I haven't seen a Condor a long time Craig ! Isn't it amazing how an "old > time bike" can be so all-around useful for so may conditions ? They were > all-around before anyone even applied the phrase to a bicycle. What's great > is always great, forever and ever ! > > My Franklin here was called a Bradley model and yes it Rich, it was the > "basic" custom option. I didn't know there was any other options at the > time though, nor would I know what to opt for even if I could. I mainly > wanted a bike with 18" chainstays and much longer TT, reach and > front-center than any production model. I got that, but wasn't aware that > to use fenders on that model I'd have to use 28mm tires. I was using 30 or > 32's I think. I had the width, but not the height. No regrets though, as > honestly I like seeing the tires bare from above and hear the changes in > sounds of the tires from various road surfaces. I've ridden it in the rain > more than my fendered Bomba and while the fenders do keep some junk off the > frame and headset, I can't say I've ever experienced anything adverse not > having them. Growing up in Minnesota nobody had fenders, at least in my > small city. In the Twin Cities people may have. I tried some fenders on my > '83 Stumpjumper with some smaller knobbies in '89 for commuting but the > fenders fit and rode poorly, Zefal I think. I took them off, for ever and > ever ! > > Speaking of which that's where I got the uncommon Shimano "Sport LX" rear > derailleur from, my Stumpie. The Mountech it came with was > "Mission-Impossible-like" self-exploding..... so this is what the shop had > at hand. It works just fine, shifts a 32 with ease ! I had an XC Pro on > there originally but in attempting to quell a squeaking "sealed" pulley it > didn't go back together right and is draggy despite many fiddles, the > pulley that is. Frankly those "sealed" pulleys are for the birds ! The > Suntour Power Thumb Shifters were also taken from the Stumpie. I have a NOS > pair on hand also that I bought from Kraynick's in Pittsburgh for a song. > Same with an extra set of the NOS Suntour XC Pro cantis, they were in a > parts bin all loose so I assembled them right there and he was happy to > sell them ! That's where the Suntour Power rings are from too, all > chainrings were $10. He had a bunch of Suntour freewheels but none in sizes > I wanted, they were all $20 I think. I haven't been there in a decade ... I > wonder what's still in there ? !!!! Upstairs was a treasure trove of > various odd parts. Sift through at your own pace, bring a flashlight and > some gloves ! I love all that "old" bike stuff ! Not old, fresh as a daisy ! > > Talk about a practicable bike shop ! He even had a diy repair shop in the > back with any tool you'd need. The whole bike shop was help yourself, roam > freely. If you needed help, Jerry could point you in the right direction. > It's a cyclists Wonderland really. > > > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/7b0d095c-7b01-4ed2-a71d-4ad532897a39n%40googlegroups.com.
