After many months, got out on my hybrid weekend before last.
Great bike and so easy to ride, but killed my wrists...
Was nuts on cycling when i was 15/16 and actually had a Reynolds 531 tube bike (I think it was a Dawes), Campags etc and even the new fangled gear shifters on the ends of the dropped bars!
Anyway, despite my puncture resistant tyres, came home with a flat front.
Patched that 3 days ago and it's flat again.
Never been on a suspended bike ever, it's not natural.
73T 911 Coupe, road/hillclimber 3.2L
Lola t 492 / 3.2 hillclimb racer
Boxster 987 Gen II 2.9
911hillclimber wrote:After many months, got out on my hybrid weekend before last.
Great bike and so easy to ride, but killed my wrists...
Was nuts on cycling when i was 15/16 and actually had a Reynolds 531 tube bike (I think it was a Dawes), Campags etc and even the new fangled gear shifters on the ends of the dropped bars!
Anyway, despite my puncture resistant tyres, came home with a flat front.
Patched that 3 days ago and it's flat again.
Never been on a suspended bike ever, it's not natural.
With punctures sometimes you are just lucky and sometimes you need to put more pressure into the tyre.
One trick for your wrists is double tape your bars but it's a hybrid so look for better grips. Another trick is to let your tyres down a bit but that leads to more punctures!
Where you cycling on or off road? Do you have a carbon fork. That makes a difference too.
“A REMINDER. I would be grateful if those members who have borrowed bits from me in emergencies (e.g starter motor, oil cooler, etc) would return them and/or contact me”. – Chris Turner RIP
I was just scooting down a very well trodden canal path on that morning, but no hedge row cutting had happened.
Found the culprit in the tyre when all was apart, all of 0.5 mm of steel 'shard' found the hard way with my index finger...
Tyres were said to be puncture resistant, sounded too good to be true.
I think I've too much weight on my arms, but the plus was no grief between my legs
It is a great bike to ride and my daughter has just bought a Hybrid too so Father/daughter bonding resuming after a 15 year gap!
The bike will stay as it is. Was an ebay buy 10 miles old, was £1000 for 400.
Brakes are better than my 911's are.
73T 911 Coupe, road/hillclimber 3.2L
Lola t 492 / 3.2 hillclimb racer
Boxster 987 Gen II 2.9
Gary71 wrote:
Downside is the weight of course, but that just means you have to spend more on the rest of the bike to bring it back down again...
Weight makes you faster downhill.
Just wheelie uphill then the weight isn't touching the ground so won't matter.
#protip
And that is how I ended up spending £600 of my part time halfords salary on titanium and Ally parts to shave as many grams as I could of an already very light bike. Ended up buying and still have a Flite Titanium, USE 420mm Titanium seatpost, x-Lite titanium seatpost bolt (11 grams IIRC) , X-lite titanium brake bolts, X-Lite titanium skewers (49 grams each IIRC vs 150 each on the originals), and a (Raleigh) titanium handlebar as I didn't trust the Zoom 155 one.. I was slightly obsessed with lightweight bits on bikes back in the day but not if they are going to break in use and gash your face or ankles. Hence ti handlebar over the zoom one and not changing the BB to a titanium one or ti SPD spindles.. Having done Hellvellyn on a bike in a gale force 8 wind starting from the church at thirlmere, you have to carry your bike on your back for the first hour or so. That is when my friends with 30+ lb mtb's finally understood my titanium fetish. I ended up with Latex inner tubes which needed pumping up every week or so but they weighed a quarter that of the butyl ones. Living in Sheffield meant I had the Peak district on my doorstep if I went southwest and the manchester moors if I went northwest. Did I mention I had hair back then too?
The forks arrived this morning. Look good but will need new elastomers and a new headset before I can try them on the bike.
James
1979 SC Targa - Long term project - in storage - purchased 10/16 - last looked at it in 08/18..
Fascinated with 911 seats and induction systems!
Previously
1973 911T in Gulf Blue (with 2.4E ITB's, EFI and EDIS) - from 07 till 16. Sorely missed.
TheEasyLife wrote:
And that is how I ended up spending £600 of my part time halfords salary on titanium and Ally parts to shave as many grams as I could of an already very light bike. Ended up buying and still have a Flite Titanium, USE 420mm Titanium seatpost, x-Lite titanium seatpost bolt ..James
That is so 'my' era of MTB fetishism. Flite, USE, x-lite, PACE. Happy days. I had the flite and the x-lite on my clockwork but could never manage to cough up for the blue anodised USE seatpost..What frame did you have James?
Oh yes....a mtb weight weenie was I too....1990 - 1995! It was pioneering stuff to import USE, PACE etc. into doddering old Cape Town. I swear I was the first person to use a Camelback too.
Sadly that was when I didn't actually need that kit - I was as strong as a buffalo and faster than a lightning bolt. These days not so sure.............
Magnus
1972 3.2 RS lightweight. Still a bit scary...
1987 3.2 Carrera. Sold..
1972 Alfa 1750 GTV. Sold...
1971 911E in Silver. So lovely, sold..
1971 911S. sold....
1972 BMW CSL. Stupidly sold...
1968 Land Rover SIIa SWB..rusted in half...
My Era too .. used to race in the Nemba race series circa 88 89 on an MS racing . Also did Helvellyn a couple of time in teh early 90's and almost got blown off teh top, holding onto the bikes by their top tubes & the bikes were flying parrallel to the ground
Early 90's and I was at Uni in Huddersfield and president of Huddersfield mtb club ( which meant I was in charge of the beer money ). Regular hung over Sun lunch time rides up holme moss area etc. Lad in the year above me on my course was Brant Richards, editor of MBUK, so he used to turn up on some dream bikes ... the ultimate for me being a tricked out Fat Chance Yo Eddy
Went from my MS racing , to a Saracon Killi Flyer Comp , to a long line of Cannondales , starting with a rigid / pepperoni forked CAmeleon which I then fitted a flex stem ... promptly bent both the stem & the frame jumping off the Huddersfeild - manchester canal lock gate wall
Oh dear now you've started something! Started 24 years ago with a multi coloured 531 British Eagle, then a handmade Tange Prestige Donohue. Then a Rock Lobster Team Titanium (first of several titanium rides), a Litespeed Ocoee, Litespeed Lookout Mountain, a Litespeed Tanasi (all 6/4 titanium and still got it) and finally a Santa Cruz Blur LT. Never had aluminium or carbon (apart from the Blur)
Love the buzz from riding technical singletrack and it doesn't too away!
I've got a few mountain bikes in my collection alongside my road bikes -
GT Teambike - used by David Baker when he rode in the Olympics in Atlanta ( and with GT USA as his pro team)
Robert Dogs Bollox
Cougar with Alsop Carbon suspension beam
2 Klein Attitude with full "fuselage" bars
and a couple of "modern" MTB's - Trek carbon etc - missed out on a John Tomac Yeti replica team bike on "Retro bike" forum recently - really fancy a new-retro Ritchey mtb - maybe one day I'll ride them rather than my road bikes !
Just been offered the chance to be in Harrogate for le Grand Depart. Should I or shouldn't I? Gonna be a zoo traffic-wise. Son (8) will be bored witless waiting for 3 seconds of bikes whizzing past and it comes down to London on the Monday so I could pop into town to see it there.
Then again, how often does the Tour start in your backyard?
02 986 Boxster
68 T Sporto (sold)
91 964 C2 Tip (sold)
911hillclimber wrote:I was just scooting down a very well trodden canal path on that morning, but no hedge row cutting had happened.
Found the culprit in the tyre when all was apart, all of 0.5 mm of steel 'shard' found the hard way with my index finger...
Tyres were said to be puncture resistant, sounded too good to be true.
I think I've too much weight on my arms, but the plus was no grief between my legs
It is a great bike to ride and my daughter has just bought a Hybrid too so Father/daughter bonding resuming after a 15 year gap!
The bike will stay as it is. Was an ebay buy 10 miles old, was £1000 for 400.
Brakes are better than my 911's are.
Unfortunately canal paths are puncture heaven. Either the hedges being cut or other cr*p. I rode from London Little Venice to the Braunstone Tunnel, on the Grand Union, a few years ago, when I was in better shape, it was ok for the first 70 miles then I got 6 punctures! It nearly broke me!
“A REMINDER. I would be grateful if those members who have borrowed bits from me in emergencies (e.g starter motor, oil cooler, etc) would return them and/or contact me”. – Chris Turner RIP
hot66 wrote:If you're up north, head into the hills to see it ....
Gonna be crazy busy in them thar hills!
Some old cycling mates of mine are talking of going to Holme Moss the day before and camping out overnight under the stars. Others feel that on ANY reasonable climb you will need to be in place several hours before the race is due...
I'm going to the finish at Harrogate, probably by train, as there will be nowhere to park unless you get there very early. Might park up in Starbeck, just outside Harrogate, and train or bus it from there....
Only going for the atmosphere (last saw the TdF in St Malo, 30 odd years ago) - best view will be on TV!
The geometry of your frame suggests a short travel fork would suit it just fine.
). Regular hung over Sun lunch time rides up holme moss area etc. Lad in the year above me on my course was Brant Richards, editor of MBUK, so he used to turn up on some dream bikes ... the ultimate for me being a tricked out Fat Chance Yo Eddy 
