show her a wrench

[bdhold]

in most urban areas, bikes fit in great - simply because they queue so well in the downtown lights and make the blocks just as quickly as the cars. If you want to not p-o drivers, hold your queue in traffic and don't pass them between lanes or along the curb at red lights (unless you're turning right).
It's the transition between near-urban and suburban where bicycles are in the greatest danger - traffic is fast, shopping is rampant, distractions abound, drivers are oblivious, and bikes are disliked.
This is the area greenway paths are most needed. Catch a creek and follow it from the suburbs into sensible downtown streets.

Any time you ride with cars (public roads), a blinking headlight and a blinking taillight should be considered mandatory. It wakes drivers from their oblivion and makes them think and drive safely, sometimes even overly cautious - and that's fine.
http://www.cygolite.com/products/metroHotshotCombo.html
https://www.google.com/shopping/product ... scoring:tp

If you ride around pedestrians - a Japanese Crane bell makes them smile and thank you.
https://www.google.com/search?q=crane+k ... 80&bih=625

[Grizz]

Good sensible stuff, thanks for posting, there is about a 50 year gap in my bicycle experience.

[Griff]

Good sensible stuff, thanks for posting, there is about a 50 year gap in my bicycle experience.

Likewise. I used to commute on my Nishiki and an earlier "Benny" (no idea who the maker was, but sported Suntour and Shimano equipment, go figure), I bought in Japan, from Costa Mesa, CA to Santa Ana (HQ) and Garden Grove (Academy) when I was with the SO from about '80 to '86. (Santa Ana River Trail). We lived a couple of block from the trail, all residential, and only had to do about 20 blocks on surface streets at the north end. Probably was the fittest I've ever been except my early Navy life. I also commuted from Huntington Beach to the Long Beach Naval Shipyard later when our Destroyer was homeported in LB. That was on city streets and Pacific Coast Highway.

The wife & I after riding from Huntington Beach to Westminster, CA to visit my folks. Her on a Nishiki Sport mixte and me on my "Benny".

Yes, barefoot with a cigarette! 1973, probably a few months before I bought the Nishiki.

... but what the hey ---- most of us gun enthusiasts have heads full of seemingly "useless information" on all kinds of things --- bicycles is one of those topics for me -

Gearheads are gearheads... me, mostly useless info about small block Chevys and boats. What I'm trying to find and restore, but it'll be a much more expensive proposition:

[bdhold]

this thread gets funner by the page.
Earlier I posted an interview of Tom Ritchey, one of cycling's premier retrogeeks.
Here is a very cool blog entry from the king of retrogeeks, Grant Petersen
http://rivbike.tumblr.com/post/50034195 ... h-of-dylan

[Streetstar]

Here is a very cool blog entry from the king of retrogeeks, Grant Petersen
http://rivbike.tumblr.com/post/50034195 ... h-of-dylan

I like Grant --- I rode a Bridgestone MTB for a while in the early 90's , he was still putting Suntour XC Pro thumb shifters on the bikes while everyone else was clamoring for Dual Control and Servo Wave stuff --- I still have the frame , but will reference one of my earlier remarks about race bikes getting parts scavenged and stripped over time

I wanted a Rivendell track bike and spoke with him about it years later, but went with a Waterford instead , ultimately

[bdhold]

if you like to read Grant copy, the late Sheldon Brown has all the Bridgestone catalogs in html or pdf
http://sheldonbrown.com/bridgestone/
I think the '92 is my favorite for wit.

and of course you can load up on Grant reading the Rivendell website, blug, and articles
http://www.rivbike.com/kb_results.asp
http://www.rivbike.com/kb_results.asp?all=Y

more tech info
Sheldon's gear calculator - gear-inches is the unit riders become conversant in - this is a great tool for planning your gears/chainrings so you can space your gears for the greatest versatility
http://sheldonbrown.com/gears/

Sheldon's website links into pages upon pages of technical information, especially useful for vintage bicycles
http://sheldonbrown.com/home.html

[bdhold]

Drat Bulldog, why did you start this thread!!!???

My daughter said she wants to ride on July 4 - I think we'll ride to the fireworks stand, and I'll ride the load-hauler with its full bag compliment.

[Streetstar]

This Moser is wall decoration at my local bike shop.


you can see the bottom of the wheels just above their heads and the Francesco poster

btw, Francesco rode the bikes, Aldo built them.
The DeBernadi would make a great upright with a moustache cockpit. Massive drops on those pista bars (Cinelli 66?)

That Moser is insane -- I never knew anything like that existed, -- the front wheel looks like a 700, but could be a 26, -- the rear looks like a steamroller ---- I remember when he came out of retirement in '94, incensed that Graeme Obree and Chris Boardman had both broken his record, and he made another go at it at age 42 with an Obree inspired "Superman" bike ----- his time was very competitive too, but not quite there
Just last year he was visiting NYC and jumped in a local race and sat in with the Cat 1/2/3 field ---- pretty awesome at his age

You have an eye for detail -- I believe those Cinelli's on the DeBernardi are the "Campione Del Mondo" bend and are a derivative of the criterium bend, (which is a modified Pista bar) - difference being, the Campione bar was available in sizes up to 46c, which I used and is far more comfortable on a long ride than the narrow crit and track bars ----
I have a pretty nice Ciocc I was gonna set up with mustache bars , but its almost a museum piece --- The DeBErnardi has so many bumps and bruises on it that a few more on it would just add more character, plus its got room for 28c tires --- I am on the hunt for the old Roubaix tubular - it was oversized and gave a very nice ride - (but the open tubular's your daughter put on the Fuji are also a great choice - I love those - next best thing to tubulars, and without gluing your fingers together

My modern bike has adopted an "upright stance", but as you can see, with the modern hardware, the results are far from graceful--- just a long fork tube and a fat stack of spacers. I put a 12-27 cassette on, which I used to think you could climb the Matterhorn with, but now I pretty frequently run out of gear just on the little foothills in Oklahoma (not all of us retain fitness into their 40's and 50's like Francesco Moser -- ) -- a local framebuilder is working with me on building a frame that roughly mimics the modern Specialized Roubaix edition geometry , but it will be fillet brazed steel - so if I combine that with a shallow drop bar, I should be able to ditch the spacers --- the end product also will cost me far less than an off the shelf Roubaix as long as I don't go overboard with components selection---- what a world we live in where a handbuilt custom is cheaper than an off the shelf Specialized or Scott the darn things cost as much as a nice used John Deere compact tractor


What the heck was Bobke doing down in Texas? that guy is a character -- looking at him now, you can hardly believe he was a Tour de France competitor 30 years ago - he looks more like a lumberjack --- cool pics

[bdhold]

you can still find Veloflex Robaix. http://www.veloflextires.com/veloflex_r ... bular2.htm
you can also get Dugast http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/tubulars.asp
I order a lot of stuff from the UK - after they subtract VAT (17%) their prices even with shipping are pretty competitive.

On my Moser, I'm running the Challenge 27mm Parigi-Robaix tubular in the rear, and 25mm Strada in the front (as big as will fit the forks) - it rides wonderfully - and very fast.

I agree, the Ciocc would be over the top with an upright rebuild. Maybe Long Pearl stem and Cinelli 64 bars like my Moser. That's upright enough.