Never too many bikes

Brilliant!, I am amazed at your skills. No way i could have done something like this, particularly out of carbon fibre

Is that Hector Norris park? (may have changed name by now I suppose) If so, that really brings back memories. I used to ride my road bike from Bryanston to there, do a few laps and ride back. Would'nt try it nowadays though.

Hi Charl, I had both hips done at the same time a few years back. My key lessons were to see a biokinetecist sooner rather than later. I had listened to the surgeon very carefully (fear) and had not started strength excercises soon enough, ending up with a strange gait and having to learn how to walk like a human being again. I started cycling pretty soon afterwards +- 3 months, but was very unsure of myself so just used the bike to get motion into the hips, nice and light, no long distances, no hills etc. it felt really odd at first! Key thing is to be able to prevent yourself from falling on the hip, so careful with toeclips and clipless pedals - i had limited sideways movement without some pain so rode on flat pedals for a while. After a fairly long road of recovery my performance on the bike (not at the levels of the guys on this forum) was much better than pre the operation - no friction! best of luck!!!

I agree that you should try different size tyres already mounted on a wheel. 25 would be a little light for commuting and so if you can go bigger do so, the other advice about 28 being so much better is correct, I have found that the back of the clamp for the front changer (on the downtube) also rubs, but on the old frames with horizontal rear drop outs you can move the wheel backwards a fair degree. I run 28 on an old Le Turbo (same era as the Hansom - did 2017 Léroica - no punctures or wheel damage) and manage a 34 on a Le Jeune - its a bit "over-tyred" though. I bought it that way and intended it for Léroica and just never downscaled it. Its great on broken tarmac, gravel etc.

Yep, fellow cyclist felt the need to berate me for riding inside the very narrow yellow lane on the road instead of the cycle path between Melkbos and Blaawberg. I guess everyone is entitled to an opinion so I just ignored him, but he was pretty obnoxious. I hear the lower use as a result of Covid dea, but what is odd for me is that between Melkbos and Blaawberg you find maybe 2 or 3 patches of glass in the road, but literally you find only 200 m of cycle path free of glass. So how does all this glass end up in the cycle lane and not the road? - especially as there is a cement barrier between the two so its not being washed off the road by rain or scattered by car tyres to the side of the road and onto the cycle path. Its crossed my mind that its an attempt to stop cyclists for some reason. I've almost given up riding the cycle path now between the muggings and puncture repair practice i've been blessed with.

Yep, I have noticed a very marked deterioration in the cycle path all the way from Paardeneiland to Melkbos. Its littered with glass without break for almost the entire distance. In fact its so bad that I am averaging 1 puncture per 100km at the moment - on a brand new gravel bike with 600km on teh clock - so good new tyres - even fitted with tyre liners. I have found the road alongside the Blaawberg / Melkbos section to be almost spotless in comparison, just run the risk of being hit by a car (or shouted at by a fellow cyclist for not using the cycle path!) so it looks very much like the cycle path is deliberately being spoilt.

Heal well!! I had both hips done at the same time and although the recovery was a long journey my cycling improved a lot - suddenly it did'nt feel like i was riding with soft wheels - less friction with ceramic joints!!

Yep, a puffy. Must have been going somewhere as they are normally curled up in the road. Beautiful little critters and really fast, don't be fooled by the size. Nasty bite!

With respect and apologies to the purists, its your bike, follow your heart and do what you want as long as you enjoy it and use it. Pretty much anything can be undone. I am part of a vintage jeep community and the prevailing advice is to use the vehicle before you tear into it as the rebuild can be long and expensive. if you've used it a bit you have a connection with it and are more likely to make it through the whole rebuild (granted that a jeep rebuild is going to be more difficult and expensive than a bicycle rebuild) my 2 cents worth!

Yep, exactly! I have a red one from the era.