What can I do here to make Square Wheels less sad??

[Ralphie ★]

I figured since you are posting bridge photos, I should too. It's from a couple springs ago.

I've decided my bikes look good and stout. The tall bikes look sexy, but my short bikes probably fit my personality better. 

Your bike looks very sleek and sexy, smudge!  For some reason I just love white bikes.

[Page Turner]

Your bike looks very sleek and sexy, smudge!  For some reason I just love white bikes.

...I like them too.   It's too bad about the red ones being faster.

[onbike1939]

Ah....large flange hubs...Iove large flange hubs but being French I imagine these are not Campag but Mavic or some such.

I broke a Record large flange by dropping my rear wheel into a train rail line in northern France. I was loaded for touring at the time and it broke off a large section as well as a large section of the flesh on my elbow revealing the bone. I was completely stoic about the whole thing even when fussed about by French matrons who were concerned for my welfare........you would have been so proud of me though of course I had a good old cry just around the corner. I did love these wheels which were built by a friend of mine and remained absolutely true for nearly twenty years. I had to ask for the whereabouts of the nearest cycle shop which was just up the street and bought a cheap wheel which did get me home.....memories....memories.

Is there no end of your gratuitous cruelty or do you intend to go on posting more of these photos in order to worm your way into Smudges affections......you degenerate you.

[Page Turner]

Ah....large flange hubs...Iove large flange hubs but being French I imagine these are not Campag but Mavic or some such.

I broke a Record large flange by dropping my rear wheel into a train rail line in northern France. I was loaded for touring at the time and it broke off a large section as well as a large section of the flesh on my elbow revealing the bone. I was completely stoic about the whole thing even when fussed about by French matrons who were concerned for my welfare........you would have been so proud of me though of course I had a good old cry just around the corner. I did love these wheels which were built by a friend of mine and remained absolutely true for nearly twenty years. I had to ask for the whereabouts of the nearest cycle shop which was just up the street and bought a cheap wheel which did get me home.....memories....memories.

Is there no end of your gratuitous cruelty or do you intend to go on posting more of these photos in order to worm your way into Smudges affections......you degenerate you.

...these came with Normandy Comp hubs, but when I found this bike, every component but the frame was worn beyond reuse.

But it was a 60 (the guy bought it in Germany somewhere originally). I'm not 100% sure why, but what you see here in the US always jumps from 23" to 25" with nothing in between for PX-10's.  So it was worth finding a little ridden 25" donor and transplanting everything.  The frame from that one went to Frank the Welder some years back (he does a lot of restorations of some pretty olde stuff...he used to post some on the other forum which cannot be named.)

Anyway, when it came down to the wheels, the only thing I had handy in the proper OLD was these Campy Tipo phone dial hubs, so I used them.  I hope I will not be punished for my transgressions in the hereafter, because I do these things to be riders, so I end up replacing a lot of questionable original components with stuff that looks OK, but is not "authentic".

 

You are a better person than am I (not news to anyone).  I'd have worked that injury for a trip home with one of those French matrons in hopes of meeting her daughter.

[Page Turner]

...meet the yellow Paramount, that looks like it has been ridden maybe 200 miles in its entire life. Still needs some bar tape and a few tweaks.

 

 

 

 

[Ralphie ★]

 

[Ralphie ★]

BTW, Page, your vintage bike pics are things of beauty that certainly oughta make SW less sad.

 

[Page Turner]

BTW, Page, your vintage bike pics are things of beauty that certainly oughta make SW less sad.

 

...I decided that yellow Paramount is my Christmas present to me this year .

[Page Turner]

...this was my Christmas present to me three years ago.  I really look forward to getting stuff from me, because I'm a thoughtful giver. 

 

[onbike1939]

Looking at these bikes I feel that you indulge yourself to an obscene degree......this has to be bad for your character.

The yellow Paramount is lovely though and looks unused.....sigh......

[Page Turner]

17 hours ago, onbike1939 said:

 

The yellow Paramount is lovely though and looks unused.....sigh......

...it still had the original chain and tyres on it.  The tyres were dry rotted to the point where they needed replacement, but still had the little nubbins on them.  The chain had enough dirt that it probably got ridden 400 miles (possibly less.)   How you could have a bike that color and not ride it all the time ?  Anyway, I'm gonna ride it to the stoner thanksgiving Day morning party here over at the Ford Museum. I overtaped the faded Cinelli cork with some black cloth tape that works pretty well in such circumstances.  

When I was reworking it, I discovered a swell 27.2 Thomson seatpost in the box of parts from God, so I used it instead of the Dura-Ace aero one it came with.  Also, it appears DA 7400 brake lever hoods are now made only from the most expensive unobtanium, so I'm doing a little creative remodeling with a pair of the cheap but very serviceable Cane Creek hoods. I might slide them off and do a little more wrapping at the transition, but I think they will end up working well for this.

[onbike1939]

I'm quite fond of vintage Campag Chorus seat-posts though the adjustment on them leaves a lot to be desired I know. The Cane-Creek levers look pretty good I think on that bike and I now wish that I'd tucked away some Shimano 6600 series levers as the fitted my hands really well. I used to ride the Wolber Gentleman rims when they were in fashion I remember...they had no hooks I think but did pretty well.
I really enjoy hearing about the American festival of Thanksgiving and I suppose that's because it's about family. There's a wonderful description by William Cobbett (18/19C) of eating dinner with an American family but I can't seem to find it. I seem to remember he was in America after fleeing from England escaping persecution for his radical writings. I do remember he was amazed at the abundance of food and comments as to how the people were so large and strong compared to his under-fed and malnourished English countrymen. His writings are worth reading as they give a true portrait of life at that time but also for the quality of his prose.

 

[Pokey]

That yellow Paramount brought tears to my eyes. I am not kidding. That bike is a pure joy to look at...beautiful.

[Page Turner]

...just finished up this White Paramount that was pretty much a basket case.  I scrounged around and found enough Shimano 600 stuff in the parts box from god that the entire bike except the brakes is 600.  

 

 

[onbike1939]

Ah....the 600...my favourite group back in the day and a good choice for this bike.

That frame looks very sporty...am I right saying short T/Tube and chain-stays? Quite twitchy steering I imagine but I'm not familiar with this make at all.

I'm writing this down in the Scottish Borders where I'm staying with my cycling club. Went on a group ride using my E-assist bike yesterday....30 mile uninterrupted hill climb with no flat sections. Even assisted it was hard for me even though I was on the lowest assist level in order to make the batteries last out. The second battery gave out two miles from the finish.....

I'm going back to the Doc when I get back to see if my Beta-blocker dosage can be reduced as I fall over a lot with the present dosage and get a bit dizzy. I think it will help my cycling a lot if my heart-rate was allowed to rise a bit when needed even though the risk factor of having another heart attack will be greater.

[maddmaxx ★]

1 hour ago, onbike1939 said:

Ah....the 600...my favourite group back in the day and a good choice for this bike.

That frame looks very sporty...am I right saying short T/Tube and chain-stays? Quite twitchy steering I imagine but I'm not familiar with this make at all.

I'm writing this down in the Scottish Borders where I'm staying with my cycling club. Went on a group ride using my E-assist bike yesterday....30 mile uninterrupted hill climb with no flat sections. Even assisted it was hard for me even though I was on the lowest assist level in order to make the batteries last out. The second battery gave out two miles from the finish.....

I'm going back to the Doc when I get back to see if my Beta-blocker dosage can be reduced as I fall over a lot with the present dosage and get a bit dizzy. I think it will help my cycling a lot if my heart-rate was allowed to rise a bit when needed even though the risk factor of having another heart attack will be greater.

A while back (several years now) I came to believe that atenolol ( a form of beta blocker that I call sloth in a can) was not a good way for a cyclist to control blood pressure.  My new doctor agreed.  She presented several alternate sources.  One was diuretics which I also don't particularly like.  Another was a drug called diovan that seems to cause one's body to secret chemicals that lower blood pressure.  You need a healthy liver/kidney function and an annual test of these is suggested.  My family history of high blood pressure is nicely under control now without ever having gotten really high and the side effects of the beta blocker are gone.

Fair warning though.  Withdrawl from beta blockers is very difficult as the body adjusts to their presence by making more of what they block.  This is demonstrated by the increasing dose necessary over the years.  Cold turkey is highly unrecommended.  Even a gradual tapering off will result in blood pressure spikes and increased heart rate.

All of this is rather vague and heavy in medical science and rather poorly explained by myself but you should know that there are alternatives and that different doctors follow different paths to what amounts to the same result.

[onbike1939]

I'm aware this subject is well off topic but it does stop 3alarmer from posting more photos of his bikes which he wouldn't have in the first place if there was any justice...so I'm unapologetic.

Thing is I don't have high blood pressure and the beta-blockers are there to keep my heart rate low and help prevent further heart attacks. I'm sure they do that but they do stop any real effort when combined with the loss of a third of my large heart muscle and this means that cycling becomes a bit limited. I can only ask I suppose.

[Page Turner]

On 9/14/2016 at 10:51 AM, onbike1939 said:

I'm aware this subject is well off topic but it does stop 3alarmer from posting more photos of his bikes which he wouldn't have in the first place if there was any justice...so I'm unapologetic.

 

..."if there was any justice."  

Yes that Paramount is a little "sporty" but it stabilizes pretty well if you keep it going quickly (more of a chore these days.)  I just got home from a trip, and found the dual pivot brakeset I ordered from the interwebs amidst the mail that came while away.  It was the only thing waiting on a very pretty dark blue, metalflake Masi I've been holding in the project line for a couple of years now.  I think you will find it very styliish, if a trifle flamboyant (I'm going with a lot of black components, which I usually avoid as overdone, but which I think might look nice on this bicycle).  

Here is a picture from the Lake, especially for you. 

[onbike1939]

It does seem that you live in a land of plenty as far as bikes are concerned...an embarrassment of riches indeed.

 

I'm back home now but the hilly ride down in Border country has meant that my knee has blown up and I can't ride until it settles down again. I've had to baby my knees along for forty years so I'm accustomed to this happening.

The weather is changing and it now feels like the start of Autumn here. Another summer gone and bugger-all achieved in the way of holidays.

I'm going to replace the handlebars of my other Moulton with Bull-bars as I find them very comfortable as well as contributing to my streamlined appearance. I just feel that losing all of my hair wasn't quite enough in this regard and the new bars and even tighter Lycra should do the trick.

[onbike1939]

Operating on the principle that if I can't ride the bike at least I can change it...I'm now fitting Bullhorns to my TSR27. I find them very comfortable on my other Moulton and somewhat narrower (38cm) so out go the wider bars and in any case narrower bars tend to suit Moulton's better. Problem is I have to buy another set of Brake levers as the diameter of these bars are slightly larger and the levers won't fit even with some judicious bending. I'm going to use Cross-top brake levers as these have a hinged clamp which is very handy. These are intended to be "Interrupter" levers but I've found they do equally well used on their own as when I used them on my Chameleon. I thought I might have a pair  around in my workshop and indeed I have.....two RH levers...one Cane Creek and one Tektro, now I ask you...how can this happen?

When finished I intend to show you the new set-up as obviously you'll be on tenterhooks until then....let's just hope that Page shows some restraint and doesn't bombard us with more boring photos of those really old bikes before then..........

[Page Turner]

3 hours ago, onbike1939 said:

Operating on the principle that if I can't ride the bike at least I can change it...I'm now fitting Bullhorns to my TSR27. I find them very comfortable on my other Moulton and somewhat narrower (38cm) so out go the wider bars and in any case narrower bars tend to suit Moulton's better. Problem is I have to buy another set of Brake levers as the diameter of these bars are slightly larger and the levers won't fit even with some judicious bending. I'm going to use Cross-top brake levers as these have a hinged clamp which is very handy. These are intended to be "Interrupter" levers but I've found they do equally well used on their own as when I used them on my Chameleon. I thought I might have a pair  around in my workshop and indeed I have.....two RH levers...one Cane Creek and one Tektro, now I ask you...how can this happen?

When finished I intend to show you the new set-up as obviously you'll be on tenterhooks until then....let's just hope that Page shows some restraint and doesn't bombard us with more boring photos of those really old bikes before then..........

...I ran out of 130BCD 46-48t chainrings, so I need to scrounge around town to come up with one for the Masi. I'd hate to be forced to pay 25 bucks for one from Ribble.  So I think you're safe for a few days, anyway. I've been setting a lot of the recent bikes up as half step racers.  Not that I'm a racer, but everyone wants to feel fast.  Amirite ?  For some odd reason right about the time they got indexing going really well, everything went to 52/42 on the crank.  Makes no sense to me, but there it is.  46-48t chainrings just don't show up much in the used parts stream here.

[onbike1939]

If it's similar to here then it's all about fashion....unfortunately.

[Page Turner]

....rode this anthracite grey Bianchi today, so since color wasn't an issue, I took some black and white art shots.

 

[onbike1939]

 

Great shots.......but I'm not sure it was wise to take these during an eclipse of the Sun....just saying.

[Page Turner]

...I was celebrating the fall equinox. 

[Page Turner]

...I spent the day in the secret bicycle research laboratory finishing up this Masi.  As you can see from the amount of seatpost showing, it's a little big for me. I probably should not have bought it when I did, a few years back.  But I felt sorry for the owner, who was pretty obviously running a small cafe business into bankruptcy up in the foot hills near where I used to live.

 

Anyway, I'll try it out tomorrow, and if it's too unmanageable, I guess I'll sell it (probably at a loss).  I think I might need to work on the saddle angle a little tomorrow, but I'm done for today.

 

 

[Page Turner]

...it's hard to not ride a bike that's finished when you've been working on it for a couple of weeks, on and off.  More pictures from a short ride.  It seems to work fine for me. Trots right along.

 

[onbike1939]

Good- looking bike but looking at the head Tube it is pretty big.....are we talking 24" plus here? We don't see many of that make over here and it does seem that the large market in the USA drew in bike manufacturers from all over the world which does contrast with the UK.

I'm going to be completing the work on my TSR27 as the brakes for the new Bullhorn bars came in yesterday and again I have to come up with the means of securing my bike inside my Camper while travelling. A QR which can be fixed to the floor would seem to be the way to go so I'll use an Angle grinder to cut one from an old bike rack I have and see if I can devise a way to fix this in place. If the bike is secured firmly by the forks then it shouldn't need any packing to stop it moving around when the vehicle is moving.

 

[maddmaxx ★]

4 hours ago, onbike1939 said:

Good- looking bike but looking at the head Tube it is pretty big.....are we talking 24" plus here? We don't see many of that make over here and it does seem that the large market in the USA drew in bike manufacturers from all over the world which does contrast with the UK.

I'm going to be completing the work on my TSR27 as the brakes for the new Bullhorn bars came in yesterday and again I have to come up with the means of securing my bike inside my Camper while travelling. A QR which can be fixed to the floor would seem to be the way to go so I'll use an Angle grinder to cut one from an old bike rack I have and see if I can devise a way to fix this in place. If the bike is secured firmly by the forks then it shouldn't need any packing to stop it moving around when the vehicle is moving.

 

I have seen folks use a forkmount (like off a roof rack) attached to a piece of lumber that spans the vehicle's bed.

[Page Turner]

...it's a Masi 64, which is about a normal 62 (I think they were measuring C-T).  But the standover is only about 1/2" more than I usually ride.  Something about the short top tube and steep angles.  Anyway, it seemed to go pretty nicely on a short ride over to the river trail and back. I ended up raising the saddle a little.

[onbike1939]

3 hours ago, maddmaxx said:

I have seen folks use a forkmount (like off a roof rack) attached to a piece of lumber that spans the vehicle's bed.

Yes that's what I think I'll do as it seems the way to go. It's going to have to wait as the Cross-top brake levers do fit OK but they don't have enough cable-pull for my V-brakes on the TSR27. Looking at the original Avid's I think there's enough meat on the cast clamp to file enough away to fit the Bullhorns...I need about another 1.6mm to do it so it should work. Never thought about the brakes being V-brakes rather than side-pulls....par for the course nowadays...I keep having to rediscover things I knew fifty years ago and it's depressing.

 

[maddmaxx ★]

1 hour ago, onbike1939 said:

Yes that's what I think I'll do as it seems the way to go. It's going to have to wait as the Cross-top brake levers do fit OK but they don't have enough cable-pull for my V-brakes on the TSR27. Looking at the original Avid's I think there's enough meat on the cast clamp to file enough away to fit the Bullhorns...I need about another 1.6mm to do it so it should work. Never thought about the brakes being V-brakes rather than side-pulls....par for the course nowadays...I keep having to rediscover things I knew fifty years ago and it's depressing.

 

I discovered this after mismanaging my recent build after a couple of years off.

[onbike1939]

I've now finished fitting the new Bullhorn bars to my TSR27 and it proved a pig of a job. When replacing the brake levers with cross-top levers I forgot that the brakes were V-brakes which of course meant that after fitting the levers I found that they didn't pull the required amount of cable to be effective.....being old really is a bugger. Anyway I used the original brake levers by filing out the clamps so that they fitted the larger diameter Bullhorns and had to do this with the Gear levers also.......I know....I have too much time on my hands. The bike is now ready and should be more comfortable with the new bars.

I was a bit dashed by my Wednesday run (a relatively short one with no hills) but initially against a 15/16 mph wind that brought back the pain in my knee and exhausted me. I just don't seem to have the strength in my legs any more  for unassisted cycling and am now wondering if it's worth continuing to try to do this. When I complain my wife keeps saying "You're seventy-seven for God's sake" and this doesn't really help.

My question is....would finding a younger woman help do you think?

[Page Turner]

23 hours ago, onbike1939 said:

My question is....would finding a younger woman help do you think?

...you would need to find a really kind one, like my friend Amanda. She was forever telling me that I was "not all that old". Let me tell you that is worth picking up a check or two. Amanda recently moved to LA to be with her "boyfriend" down there.  I am at a loss to find a replacement for her.

[onbike1939]

2 hours ago, Page Turner said:

...you would need to find a really kind one, like my friend Amanda. She was forever telling me that I was "not all that old". Let me tell you that is worth picking up a check or two. Amanda recently moved to LA to be with her "boyfriend" down there.  I am at a loss to find a replacement for her.

My goodness I do wish that I was more like yourself........grateful for any small crumb of comfort.... but then I know that I'm far too proud.

I can't see that finding someone should be a problem....I mean I still have the old sexual magnetism...... as long as there's nothing physical involved or at least she lets me catch my breath from time to time.

[Page Turner]

17 minutes ago, onbike1939 said:

My goodness I do wish that I was more like yourself........grateful for any small crumb of comfort.... but then I know that I'm far too proud.

 

...a lot of guys don't realize the advantages of growing up hideously ugly, like me.  When a woman spends time with me, I know it's not because I'm just another pretty face.

[Page Turner]

...I just started reassembling this.  It's a Team Pro Raleigh from Ilkston, #SB6963.  Should be a pretty solid ride when completed.

 

[onbike1939]

8 hours ago, Page Turner said:

...I just started reassembling this.  It's a Team Pro Raleigh from Ilkston, #SB6963.  Should be a pretty solid ride when completed.

 

You really have to stop doing this.....it's unnatural and very cruel and I think there should be a law against taking images of bikes which sport sprockets smaller than 34 teeth.

[Page Turner]

[onbike1939]

Now this ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ is a bit special as it was built by Raleigh's Specialist Bicycle Development Unit :

http://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/builders/raleigh-sbdu-builders.html

These bikes were highly prized at one time and really....to be honest..it has to be far too good for you. Best to pass it on to a younger, fitter person as befits its quality and status.

 

 

 

 

 

[Page Turner]

...the whole time I was riding it yesterday, I was thinking, "This bicycle is way too good for me."

[onbike1939]

On 10/10/2016 at 6:20 PM, Page Turner said:

...the whole time I was riding it yesterday, I was thinking, "This bicycle is way too good for me."

That's odd.......yesterday I was riding a Raleigh Chopper and thinking exactly the same thing.

[Page Turner]

...I thought about it some more and I realized that all the younger, fitter guys are riding around here on plastic bicycles.  They prefer them, for reasons completely beyond my comprehension.  So I'm back to feeling good about riding it again, even if it is too good for me.

[Page Turner]

...here's something you don't see a lot around here.  70's something Zeus Competition.

It's like a French bike, but everything was made in Spain.  (Where the rain falls mainly on the plain.)

[Page Turner]

Merckx Century, slightly updated to 8 speed.

[Razors Edge ★]

Nice historical thread!

I like these older bikes getting some TLC.  Keep up the great effort.

Tom

[Page Turner]

...another Faggin that showed up in my size recently on the local Craigslist. A tres tubi bike, but a sweet bicycle nonetheless.

[Page Turner]

...a  very French Stella.  It's kind of a high point for a certain era of French factory bikes.

[Ralphie ★]

Stella!

[Page Turner]

...I've been riding this one a lot lately.  Probably a couple hunnert miles in 30 mile increments over the last couple of weeks.

It's a lot newer than most of my bikes, so it has some OS tubing diameters and a triple crankset on what's essentially a 1994 entry level race frame,

but with fender eyelets and rack braze-ons to make it more practical as a winter/rain bike here in what passes for winter in California (early Spring in most of the rest of the country).

 

I have no idea who made it for Specialized, but I assume it was built somewhere in Taiwan (maybe Giant ?) Vertical dropouts also make the fender fitting more convenient.

The components are nothing special, but work well with a little time and tweaking.  Solid Asian technology from close to the end of steel in popularity.