Retro Road Bikes ?

[Smitters]

Get Karter said:

All these bikes pre-date the ‘rules’, so they do not apply! ??

(As far as I am concerned the only people who should follow the ‘rules’ are those insecure enough to believe in them and their faux heritage)

Not so. The first verifiable claim for the phrase "sei ruhig beine" or "be quiet legs" belongs to German Baron Karl von Drais after his fourth lap of the Karlsruhe Palace. He was the very living embodiment of Rule 4 - It's all about the bike" - and the fount from which all further rules have sprung.

[Daveyraveygravey]

Get Karter said:

All these bikes pre-date the ‘rules’, so they do not apply! ??

(As far as I am concerned the only people who should follow the ‘rules’ are those insecure enough to believe in them and their faux heritage)

Too right! Rules are for people that can't think for themselves.

[kiseca]

Daveyraveygravey said:

Get Karter said:

All these bikes pre-date the ‘rules’, so they do not apply! ??

(As far as I am concerned the only people who should follow the ‘rules’ are those insecure enough to believe in them and their faux heritage)

Too right! Rules are for people that can't think for themselves.

The old favourite, "Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools" has a fatal flaw in that humans aren't very good at self-assessing whether we're wise or foolish.

That's in general though. I have no comment on the (I assume) tongue-in-cheek velominati rules.

[Get Karter]

Smitters said:

Get Karter said:

All these bikes pre-date the ‘rules’, so they do not apply! ??

(As far as I am concerned the only people who should follow the ‘rules’ are those insecure enough to believe in them and their faux heritage)

Not so. The first verifiable claim for the phrase "sei ruhig beine" or "be quiet legs" belongs to German Baron Karl von Drais after his fourth lap of the Karlsruhe Palace. He was the very living embodiment of Rule 4 - It's all about the bike" - and the fount from which all further rules have sprung.

The ‘rules’ were created in 2009.

[yellowjack]

Get Karter said:

Smitters said:

Get Karter said:

All these bikes pre-date the ‘rules’, so they do not apply! ??

(As far as I am concerned the only people who should follow the ‘rules’ are those insecure enough to believe in them and their faux heritage)

Not so. The first verifiable claim for the phrase "sei ruhig beine" or "be quiet legs" belongs to German Baron Karl von Drais after his fourth lap of the Karlsruhe Palace. He was the very living embodiment of Rule 4 - It's all about the bike" - and the fount from which all further rules have sprung.

The ‘rules’ were created in 2009.

'The Rules' may have been curated in 2009, but they've all been around in some form or another for a lot longer than that. Usually dispensed by the type of rider who has a lot of shiny gear but who spends more time sipping Espressos while judging other riders than he does actually riding his bicycle. I mean, It's pretty easy to make rules about not having a saddle pack, for instance, if the furthest you'll ever get from home is ten miles. Meanwhile, back on planet Earth, those of us who are happy to spend all day on a bike, navigating by educated guesses and dead reckoning are going to need a hefty saddle pack to carry additional layers for when the sun goes down, food for when we are 30 miles from a shop that's open, and spares and tools enough to keep mobile when we don't have a "team car" to resort to.

Intelligent people can see immediately that 'The Rules' are a parody. Only insecure fools feel the need to comply with them...

[Smitters]

Thar be a parrot round 'ere parts somewhere. A quick google of the above Baron ought to do it.

And if you think my sarcasm/wit is bad, imagine the scorn poured on me because I ride a cyclocross bike on the road... My trusty PlanetX Uncle John is a saddlebagged all-weather hack on oversized slicks for comfort, that definitely makes the noses of the Bianchi classes twitch. Especially if I overtake them going up hill in the big ring. Because my big ring is a 48, cos cyclocross innit, but they don't know that!

[J4CKO]

Smitters said:

Thar be a parrot round 'ere parts somewhere. A quick google of the above Baron ought to do it.

And if you think my sarcasm/wit is bad, imagine the scorn poured on me because I ride a cyclocross bike on the road... My trusty PlanetX Uncle John is a saddlebagged all-weather hack on oversized slicks for comfort, that definitely makes the noses of the Bianchi classes twitch. Especially if I overtake them going up hill in the big ring. Because my big ring is a 48, cos cyclocross innit, but they don't know that!

Someone I know tells me I have "Ruined" my commuter bike, it was a Cannondale Bad Boy, they approved of this as it was all Satin/Matte black and dead mean and moody, but, over time it gained lights, a bar end mirror, mudguards and horror of horrors, a rack and panniers.

Your bike looking cool is pretty low on the want scale when commuting, being seen, not having 20 kilos of crap in a rucksack swaying about and not having gritty cold water going where the sun doesn't reach are higher priorities.

[Stick Legs]

yellowjack said:

Get Karter said:

Smitters said:

Get Karter said:

All these bikes pre-date the ‘rules’, so they do not apply! ??

(As far as I am concerned the only people who should follow the ‘rules’ are those insecure enough to believe in them and their faux heritage)

Not so. The first verifiable claim for the phrase "sei ruhig beine" or "be quiet legs" belongs to German Baron Karl von Drais after his fourth lap of the Karlsruhe Palace. He was the very living embodiment of Rule 4 - It's all about the bike" - and the fount from which all further rules have sprung.

The ‘rules’ were created in 2009.

'The Rules' may have been curated in 2009, but they've all been around in some form or another for a lot longer than that. Usually dispensed by the type of rider who has a lot of shiny gear but who spends more time sipping Espressos while judging other riders than he does actually riding his bicycle. I mean, It's pretty easy to make rules about not having a saddle pack, for instance, if the furthest you'll ever get from home is ten miles. Meanwhile, back on planet Earth, those of us who are happy to spend all day on a bike, navigating by educated guesses and dead reckoning are going to need a hefty saddle pack to carry additional layers for when the sun goes down, food for when we are 30 miles from a shop that's open, and spares and tools enough to keep mobile when we don't have a "team car" to resort to.

Intelligent people can see immediately that 'The Rules' are a parody. Only insecure fools feel the need to comply with them...

I have been 'properly' cycling since I was a teenager, and I discovered the 'Rules' shortly after they came out, I think they are fun and intended to be a bit of light hearted banter. I was also delighted to discover that I was compliant in most areas.
The bike aesthetic side of things is right with the exception of saddle bags, but the most important aspect is that they are an encouragement to go out and ride, to work and to get better. If you want to have a clip on mirror, ride in jeans and wear MTB boots on your road bike then no-one says you can't. You are choosing to be non-rule-compliant and that's fine. It's no different to cars, feel free to fit 3 spoke alloys to a classic Jaguar, just don't be surprised if other people think you look silly.

Cycling for me is an escape, I like to ride quality kit and to be as good as I can be. I have an skeletal issue with my ankles that means I will never be fast, however I am not bothered if people fly past me, or if someone want's to judge the fact that have a bike that is several shades better than my Strava data would suggest I need. It's my hobby and it hurts no-one.
If someone wants to mock shaving legs or lycra that's their insecurity not mine.

[J4CKO]

New gear cable fitted and the gears dialled in, it rides amazingly well now but wouldn't trade it for my 7/8 year old Trek.

The flex in the frame is quite nice in one way, in that it rides nicely, but get out of the saddle and it feels flexible but not in a good way, part of owning a bike is building trust in it and part of it may be that but doesnt feel as reassuring as my carbon modern.

Friction shifters are nice to use really, but am not friction shifting on my Trek and trying to use the indexed shifters that aren't on the old Raleigh.

Will nip out for a short run tomorrow on it and see how I get on.

[olliete]

A spontaneous 31st birthday present to myself. It is just over 9kg and fairly rapid!!

[Smitters]

That looks great. I forget just how right a road bike looks with rim brakes. Discs are everywhere now, so a proper road bike looks quite nostalgic.

[Sisu9]

Could someone help me identify this frame? First I thought it was a Raleigh Mixte of some type but they don't have bottle mounts. My father in law thinks it could be a Royce Union or a Fuji. Really stuck now and after an extensive internet search I just can pin it down. I was going to let it go for peanuts but I think I might rebuild it for the wife.

[Sisu9]

The serial number is pretty hard to make out.

[Sisu9]

[Barchettaman]

Sisu, looking at the stamped rear dropouts it doesn’t strike me as being a frame of particularly high quality; having said that, there’s no reason why you couldn’t build it up into a really nice-riding bike.

[Sisu9]

Well, it would be an additional bike as my wife has a Pelago Brooklyn. It intrigued me because it had some Campag, Gippiemme parts on it and a Concur saddle. Cannot for the life of me find out what it is though.

[Smitters]

Looks 80's to me, but that aside I have nothing. I'd weigh the frame and make a decision on that basis. I did a similar build for my oh. I had to work hard the keep the weight sensible and it was anything but good value for money.

You could check bottom bracket type, rear dropout width and headset specs to give some clues. Might be worth cleaning up the dropouts too to see if there is a manufacturer stamp on them.

[Bilkob]

Here’s my lovely old Merckx Corsa ‘01. I put suitably ‘period’ gearing on it and have inadvertently created a bike that won’t go up hills but looks great outside the pub. Bingo!

[kiseca]

Bilkob said:

Here’s my lovely old Merckx Corsa ‘01. I put suitably ‘period’ gearing on it and have inadvertently created a bike that won’t go up hills but looks great outside the pub. Bingo!

That is lovely!

[Top Banana]

Bilkob said:

Here’s my lovely old Merckx Corsa ‘01. I put suitably ‘period’ gearing on it and have inadvertently created a bike that won’t go up hills but looks great outside the pub. Bingo!

I bet Eddie would have had no problem getting that up a hill....

but seriously that is a lovely thing - great quality frame and looks beautiful