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Show your Bicycle !
- Thread starter SX550
- Start date
Especially in light of the fact that once my rescued Electra Townie 21 was roadworthy, I've ridden nothing else. Goodbye, road bikes! I can no longer tolerate riding hunched over, straining my neck just to see straight ahead. Townie at top, the now-backup '87 Cannondale below. Yes, I put dual-position brake levers & biopace chain wheels on it! Still a nice ride. Next up, a carbon fiber & aluminum Trek 2100 road bike-after wrapping up the current renovation, a Giant Eddie Bauer-series hybrid being saved from the scrap pile (well, most of it anyway). Even the thrift store I saved it from was gonna scrap it. $6.25 winter project.
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Love the ride of my Serrotta. I have an old Colorado CRL. If I recall correctly. Have parted ways with a ton of bikes. Give them away or flip to fund a new project.
Currently riding very occasionally....
Soma double cross
Phillippe slx frame, set up as single speed
Stowe road bike
Serrotta
And hoping to get back on the trail soon. Recently found a Giant full suspension bike at the transfer station.
Definitely envious of the dedication of all of you.
Currently riding very occasionally....
Soma double cross
Phillippe slx frame, set up as single speed
Stowe road bike
Serrotta
And hoping to get back on the trail soon. Recently found a Giant full suspension bike at the transfer station.
Definitely envious of the dedication of all of you.
I just hate to see worthwhile bikes get scrapped or trashed before their time. I love the challenge of hunting & refurbing, but I'm rather lax at moving them on, it seems. Old bikes can be a hard sell. I do have a nice bag of specialized tools though, that makes the jobs so much more do-able.
I have a thing for Nottingham & Carlton Raleighs. Hate the bottom brackets' inevitable stuck cotters, so invested in a dedicated press to more safely remove & reinstall them.
I took a 30.8 mile ride on the Mass Central Rail Trail & Bruce Freeman Rail Trail today.
Earlier I met a cool guy at a park in North Sudbury. He used to have a band.
I asked: "Is your name Tom?" He said: "It was when I woke up this morning."
I shared a couple of Boston-the-band related stories then let him go fly his plane.
Just a really cool regular guy out having a fun day.
Earlier I met a cool guy at a park in North Sudbury. He used to have a band.
I asked: "Is your name Tom?" He said: "It was when I woke up this morning."
I shared a couple of Boston-the-band related stories then let him go fly his plane.
Just a really cool regular guy out having a fun day.
I agree. Tom Sholtz is cool !
Eywadude
Lunatic Member
Dang! It's not everyday you run into a rock legend!
I would have been picking his brain about the Rockman X100 portable guitar amp he developed. 
Probably would have chatted him up about R/C planes, too. I was into them for a relatively short while as a teen. It must be relaxing for him to do during his off time.
Brooks posted this today. This is 3rd in the series and it's way better than the first 2.
The first 2
My Brooks Flyer Special that I bought late Summer last year is finally broken in.
The Flyer Special is a B17 but suspended w/larger hammered copper rivets and black rails/suspension.
I put over 300 miles on it last year and when I started riding again this Spring it was a perfect ass hammock.
The first 2
My Brooks Flyer Special that I bought late Summer last year is finally broken in.
The Flyer Special is a B17 but suspended w/larger hammered copper rivets and black rails/suspension.
I put over 300 miles on it last year and when I started riding again this Spring it was a perfect ass hammock.
2 things every Brooks user needs on hand, the spanner wrench to adjust & maintain suspension tension & Brooks Proofide saddle dressing to maintain suppleness & reduce break-in time. These saddles CAN last a lifetime if properly maintained & cared for. Absolutely do not expose to weather of the liquid variety or excessive sun. I keep mine covered with a plastic shopping bag if there's any chance of them getting wet.
The pics include a couple of advanced neglect of a B72 where one can easily tear the leather, note tear on left corner at the rivet.
The pics include a couple of advanced neglect of a B72 where one can easily tear the leather, note tear on left corner at the rivet.
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Eywadude
Lunatic Member
You sure don't see a Brooks on a Gary Fisher Ziggurat everyday.
Well, they can be fitted on about anything, but if I was a thrashabout off-roader, I'd opt for something more impervious to that environment. Hosing mud & other crap off leather would be blasphemous in my eyes.
Yesterday in Portland Maine.
Eywadude
Lunatic Member
Well, crap.
Yesterday I gave the ol' bike a deep clean (didn't think of taking pics). I got it looking all shiny and brand new, and then afterward I hopped on to give it a quick little spin to see if it needed any adjustments. Well, about halfway down the street I heard a metallic ping that I felt in the pedals and thought something had let go in the bottom bracket, but then as I was rolling along without pedalling, it happened a couple more times. I wasn't sure what was going on, so I turned around to come back (still only about 600-700 feet from home at that point), and as I was rolling along, the pinging suddenly turned to a loud grind. I hopped off, and the first thing I did was give the front wheel a spin. It was fine. No noise, no grinding, and smooth as butter. Then I spun the rear wheel and it sounded like a bag of rocks.
Luckily, the hubs are serviceable, and after further investigation I discovered that the cage for the ball bearings had cracked, and part of it had bent and it scored the sh** out of the inner hub. To the point where it gouged a sizeable chunk of metal out, and there were metal shavings all over the place. She's toast.
Now I'm looking at a new wheelset. It's not worth getting the rear wheel re-laced with a new hub, and the rims on the bike aren't really worth saving either. They're no name whatever double-wall rims that are painted the same colour as the bike (sort of a grey-tan-beige pearl) and I don't want mismatched rims and hubs. While the factory rims have (surprisingly) served me well for the 16 years I've owned the bike, even with carrying heavy loads almost half the time, the rims also have a weird thing where they seem to have left the factory ever so slightly oversized, which makes getting tires on and off nearly impossible. Even with tire levers it literally takes every last bit of strength to get them off, and you also run the risk of damaging the bead. If it wasn't for that, I would consider having the rear rim re-laced with a new hub. Considering all the miles and abuse I've put on them, it's astounding that those no name rims have stayed true all this time.
Anyway, It's always been my goal to eventually replace the wheels with a set of custom-built, virtually bombproof Ryde Andra 10 rims, but I can't seem to find anywhere here that sells them. Decisions, decisions.
I think I may have shared this pic here before, but this is my bike. Just with a rear rack, a bottle cage and stubby bar ends. She ain't fancy, but it has a killer frame. The best I have ever owned by far...
Yesterday I gave the ol' bike a deep clean (didn't think of taking pics). I got it looking all shiny and brand new, and then afterward I hopped on to give it a quick little spin to see if it needed any adjustments. Well, about halfway down the street I heard a metallic ping that I felt in the pedals and thought something had let go in the bottom bracket, but then as I was rolling along without pedalling, it happened a couple more times. I wasn't sure what was going on, so I turned around to come back (still only about 600-700 feet from home at that point), and as I was rolling along, the pinging suddenly turned to a loud grind. I hopped off, and the first thing I did was give the front wheel a spin. It was fine. No noise, no grinding, and smooth as butter. Then I spun the rear wheel and it sounded like a bag of rocks.
Luckily, the hubs are serviceable, and after further investigation I discovered that the cage for the ball bearings had cracked, and part of it had bent and it scored the sh** out of the inner hub. To the point where it gouged a sizeable chunk of metal out, and there were metal shavings all over the place. She's toast.
Now I'm looking at a new wheelset. It's not worth getting the rear wheel re-laced with a new hub, and the rims on the bike aren't really worth saving either. They're no name whatever double-wall rims that are painted the same colour as the bike (sort of a grey-tan-beige pearl) and I don't want mismatched rims and hubs. While the factory rims have (surprisingly) served me well for the 16 years I've owned the bike, even with carrying heavy loads almost half the time, the rims also have a weird thing where they seem to have left the factory ever so slightly oversized, which makes getting tires on and off nearly impossible. Even with tire levers it literally takes every last bit of strength to get them off, and you also run the risk of damaging the bead. If it wasn't for that, I would consider having the rear rim re-laced with a new hub. Considering all the miles and abuse I've put on them, it's astounding that those no name rims have stayed true all this time.
Anyway, It's always been my goal to eventually replace the wheels with a set of custom-built, virtually bombproof Ryde Andra 10 rims, but I can't seem to find anywhere here that sells them. Decisions, decisions.
I think I may have shared this pic here before, but this is my bike. Just with a rear rack, a bottle cage and stubby bar ends. She ain't fancy, but it has a killer frame. The best I have ever owned by far...
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Eywadude
Lunatic Member
It had been awhile since I have rode it, and the grease inside was looking like it was at the end of its service life, but it wasn't bone dry in there or anything. To me, it just looked like a part failure. The bearing cage (the part that holds the ball bearings in place) broke and bent, and when it did it tore things to hell inside. Regardless, she's toast, and it's parked for now.
Sadly, due to my current situation (taking care of my mom full-time) money is tight and I'm unable to get it back on the road right away. I might be without it for the rest of the season.
I put new tires on the wifes bike last week. Then we rode 18 miles. and about halfway thru it started making a ticking sound. Did some analysis during the ride...not drive train related, front wheel only, requires weight to cause the noise. So, I guess after 40 years the grease in the bearings is gone.
I have a parts bike, a Miata built in the mid 80's like our Schwinn. I put the new tire on that wheel and her bike is back in business again.
Maybe someday I'll work on the bearings, but for now it's much easier to just grab the 'next wheel up' .
I have a parts bike, a Miata built in the mid 80's like our Schwinn. I put the new tire on that wheel and her bike is back in business again.
Maybe someday I'll work on the bearings, but for now it's much easier to just grab the 'next wheel up' .
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