New Old Bike!

[ladyjai]

Soooooo... I've joined the club... The Fixed Gear Club that is!

Last saturday, I wanted to get some miles in. It wasn't meant to be. I found a beautiful, if beat-up, old raleigh in a yardsale. I called my friend who i was going to go riding with, and he came to see. We took it home. i was expecting to let it sit aside for awhile until I accumulated the appropriate parts. Unlike my friend, i had a pretty good idea of what the final cost would be. however, he wanted to get it done now! We visited 4 bike shops, and then hit one of them again. Over the course of the week, my friend finished it up. I really didn't do as much making it, but i did watch much of it. I got to clean parts.

Now, this poor old raleigh was really beat up in his day. Wesley needed some major loving care, and some serious part replacement. Good thing we were tossing most of the parts.

but now, he's together, looks and rides like a dream. but wow, are my legs a little sore from the cadense and stopping demands! Kinda fun knowing your cadence by your speed :)

[tprevost]

Wow Ladyjai!

Wesley looks beautiful! What a fabulous job you and your friend did, the bike looks so great!

Tracy

ps. I'm sure Wesley appreciates your effort as well! ;)

[snapdragen]

Beautiful!

[DirtDiva]

Niiiiice. :D

[Popoki_Nui]

Ooooo....vintage steel.....:D:D:D Sweet!

~S.

[RoadRaven]

Oh Lady - that is one nice looking bicylcle, the colour (I know I know - colour is not performance blah blah blah) but the colour, LadyJai is very classy.

Thats a great bike you have given new life to.

The seat looks very low - perhaps that could be contributing to tired legs?

Have fun, Lady, with your Wesley (lol... I want to call you Princess Buttercup... have you seen the movie "The Princess Bride")

[ladyjai]

LOL! Yes, the movie is part of why he got his name. I was trying to find a nice strong brittish name, and that one I liked.

the seat is low, because the frame is a tad tall for me. the top bar is the same length as my Carrottop, aka the Rolling Citrus. It was love at first sight :) . So we lowered the seat to compensate. And we had to hammer in the seatpost :eek:
Next weekend I'll put a metric on him and see how he shapes up :D

I think my tired legs were just the forced high cadence. I tend to average in the 70-75 range with bursts up to 85 until I can shift up. It's one of my failings... My heartrate increases much faster with higher cadence, so I tend to back off, rather than working that muscle so it gets stronger..:rolleyes:
With Wesley, I was running 80-90 with some up to 100. I'm hoping he'll help me improve my skills:cool:

it was wierd this morning on the Carrot. She didn't know why i was trying to slow her down with backwards tension on the pedals! I quickly caught on, but amazing how thoroughly my body adapted to the way a fixie works!

[maggiedatongue]

Nice job on the bike! It looks new in the pic. That's one big fish aquarium!

Maggie

[bike4ever]

What gear ratio did you put on Wesley?

[stella]

handsome bike, that Wesley!

great job!

[Trek420]

ooooh, nice job.

I'm planning on something similar with the Motobecane Mixte frame I found. I'll post pictures if it's ever done, this is inspiring.

This reminds me on Bike To Work day I caught up with a beeeeyoooteeful bike along the lake, looked like a Riv. It was two tone cream and light green, fully lugged steel with a Brooks saddle and beautiful wood laminated fenders.

Oh, and the rider was not bad too (for a guy-hee hee).

So I catch up at a light and say
"Hi. Is that a Riv?"
He smiles "No, I got this for $50.00 at a swap meet, it's a Raleigh. All the look of a Riv at 1% of the price"

[margo49]

Yeah, Raleigh. Even the name sends tingles up and down the spine. Not to mention the hormonal rush. And post-work-day-beer-induced sniffles 'coz of thinking about Bikes and Biking with a capital "B". Just watched today's stage of the Giro so am off-the -wall
May you enjoy many happy miles/kms
Love the colour too. So traditional.

[mtkitchn]

Gorgeous bike, ladyjai! You guys did a great job!

[ladyjai]

thank you!!

He's set up to 42x14, and that combo with the crank and wheel sizes seems to be about perfect for me. at 90cadence, i'm running 20mph.


maggie, it's only 125 gallons ;) :D

[DebW]

Nice job with the bike. Was there a model name on the Raleigh? Looks like a Gran Prix to me. Be careful not to overtighten the stem bolt - they break pretty easily. What kind of brake levers did you put on? The forward curve of the lever handle is odd - maybe meant for a straight handlebar? Do you plan to keep the rear brake on, or remove it after your legs learn to backpedal?

[RoadRaven]

Princess Buttercup ... I meant to say how impressed I am that you ride a fixed-gear bike... it is something I don't think I could do...

Enjoy your time with Wesley - i always did have the hots for him... ;)

[ladyjai]

Deb, yes, he's a grand prix. the brakes were something at discount at the LBS which suited better the originals which came on him. You could be right in that they were meant for something else, but they are definitely hoods. Seeing how skittish I am, I can't imagine removing the rear brakes. Maybe. But I'm still dealing with trauma from my accident series. I have a rather intense fear of falling, sometimes almost creating a fall in and of itself. :( :(

RR, why not? the fixies are fun, the bike pretty much handles exactly the same, except you can never coast - and that means not for turning or slowing down:eek: . Also, you can't gear up, one must use cadence...:p but there's something enticing about the bike, I can't explain it. You'll know once you ride one :)

[RoadRaven]

I don't mind the idea of only one gear on the flats - I pretty much do that anyway

I don't mind not having a low enough gear going up the hills - thats how it often is for me anyway and I am used to grinding

What scares the p*** outta me is the descending with legs flying and them not being able to keep up with the pedals and eventually flinging me off into space - no doubt at such a velocity I would be able to report on the twelfth moon of Jupiter! :eek:

[ladyjai]

understandable. I went out riding yesterday. 87 miles on a bike that i discovered still needs some fit tweaking - and a new saddle!! owwie. mile 50 I knew it, but also had no choice but to continue.
On the way back we hit a few mild hills. going down brought me up to 26mph. You never know how bad your pedal stroke is until you hit that speed on a fixed gear. i think i had a cadence of 115 or so. i then learned, it is all about the feet. forget the legs, they follow the feet, just twist those little appendages at the end for a smoother ride.

and thank God for breaks! :D