MainRoader

Hey, thanks for the reply. Just stumbled upon these from rivbikes http://www.rivbike.com/product-p/bl1h.htm they look right. If anyone else wants let me know and I'll put an order in.

edit: repeated post

Also, whoever got this deal: http://www.gumtree.co.za/c-ViewAdLargeImage?AdId=539441041&Keyword=road+bike&ImageIndex=1 nice one

Saw an analysis somewhere of the energy losses due to air resistance vs the acceleration gained from lighter wheels, and it seemed that in almost all contexts a deeper section wheel was more effective in decreasing the overall race time. Anybody agree/disagree? You can find a lekker set of wheels on the hub if you wait an pounce when they come up. I think someone was selling carbon dura-ace deepish sections for 4k recently, and similarly mooi deals are bound to come up...

Just have an allen key on hand to adjust your handlebar/saddle height. It will make the race a much more enjoyable experience I think, and will shave a decent bit off a 5 hour time..

Okay, super! Thanks for the info. I'll have a look next week! How about pics of your Merckxs?

That would be most upsetting if it were the case. The fork does seem wrong, but the chainstays are stamped where they meet the seat tube, as are the arches that the brakes bolt on to (the brake guides?). That said, I do want to know whether it's genuine or not - this there anything else I should look for? I'll take pictures of the things you mentioned Edit: Here are the stamps on the brake guides, seat stays, rear dropouts, and bb. The bike seems to have been in a crash many years ago, which is probably why the fork is not original (I also couldn't see any writing on the front dropouts), the bars are bent, and the paint job is something new. Does this seem more authentic? I didn't know there were any copies other than the falcon one, but I don't know much.

A friend and I also built up this old le jeune for a friend's birthday. Much was our dismay when we realised at 3am on the day that the 700c tyres we had bought were too small for the 635mm rims aka 28 - 1 1/2. We gave it to him without tyres, and, surprisingly, found some at Olympic Cycles. If there is anything to say about that shop it is that they have an astounding selection of tyres with literally no order to their placement. Anyhow, here's the bike. This bike came with a brooks plastic saddle. Why would anyone put a plastic saddle (presumably to make it lightweight?) on a a bike that really seems designed for general work/commuting, rather than for racing?' edit: apologies for the upside down photo - I tried to rotate it but it refuses...

Hello fellow retro lovers . Here are my bikes, in the order in which I got them. I started buying and still do buy retro bikes because their beauty and ride quality FAR exceed anything else I'll be able to afford for some time. All except the blue bike need a bit of TLC, which I will give them after my exams finish next week. I am in love with old bikes, particularly this first one: I have put too many km to count on this bike, and had my only car-accident. The impact broke the rear Mavic ma2 rim. Not knowing much about fixing bikes at the time, and having the assurance of the driver that he would pay for the damages, I took it to the LBS, who replaced the rear wheel with a cheap piece of rubbish which broke a number of times (I never even got my old hub back) before I replaced both wheels with a pair of old Campagnolo "Omega" rims on some Campagnolo hubs - not sure which. I then decided to get a mountain bike, and through the enormous generosity of a friend's Dad aquired this 1991 Raleigh Chill ("Technium") as a failing single speed conversion and converted it to a 1x8 . A lovely bike to ride, though I still need to do a couple updates: I want to upgrade the shifter to dura ace barend (on paul's thumbies) and the chainring to a narrow-wide, sort out some problems with the tubeless conversion and tune the brakes a little. -The frame is aluminium tubing with steel lugs, rear triangle and fork. -Brooks saddle. -Bars and brake levers are aftermarket. -Brakes and cranks are original deore lx -Wheels are araya CV 7 rims on shimano deore lx hubs. I assume they are original but not sure. I then aquired this Eddy Merckx on my birthday, though more as a present from my gumtree addiction to myself than anything else. Has some strange features, including bent bars from a crash and cranks of lengths 175 and 170 . -Full shimano 105 (except the one crank arm) -Nitto Stem -Wolber TX profil rims on 105 hubs I didn't realise there would be such a difference, but this bike has a ride quality far superior to my old love. It's a bit small for me but I think I will keep it nonetheless. Looking at the serial number I think this is a Corsa Extra from 1986 (http://www.cadre.org/Merckx/). My latest purchase is a le Jeune "Super Prestige". It fits me better than the merckx, but doesn't feel quite as stable. The brake hoods were decayed to sticky goo, so I cut them off and I'll try and find some replacements. I need to redo the cabling and grease the bb bearings, and will then then whether to keep this or the Merckx. -Shimano 105 -Nitto Stem -Kashima sadde - has anyone heard of these? -Reynolds 525 -Mavic ma4 and wolber T410 Alpine rims on 105 hubs Anybody have any suggestions? I can't justify keeping three road bikes, so I'll be selling two of them soon, most likely the le Jeune, and the blue bike. Anybody keen? Also, many thanks to Nils, for always being extremely helpful despite my constant desire to spend as little as possible, as well as the generous soul who parted with their Paul's Thumbies mount in exchange for promised baking..

I have just bought an old le Jeune "Super Prestige", and the brake hoods (shimano rsx) were squishy and sticky, so cut them off. Wondering now if that was a bad idea, but they were so horrible. Does anybody know where to get some, or have some lying around? I'll post pics of the bike this weekend.

Anything wrong with this? I see how they might be endangering their own lives, if they can't brake at least as quickly as the truck (and are watching the brake lights closely), but the potential cost to others is far less than the potential cost to themselves, to the point that it seems they can fairly make the choice themselves. I do agree, however, that a cyclist who chooses to ride like this/run red robots (however carefully) must take responsibility for mishaps that occur (provided drivers are not intentionally aggressive).

Nothing puts me off a bike shop more than trying to trick customers into unnecessary expense. Mark at Crown Cycles is super helpful. I must say, however, that whenever I go into Olympic I make it clear that I am not keen to spend bucketloads of cash, and enquire extensively about the options available. With that I've always been met with prudent advice as to which option is the best value for money etc. I was once advised *not* to buy their rim tape and instead to use insulation tape to do it myself. That sort of thing could just be a strategy to get my loyalty so that I'm back later. Olympic also has a much larger variety than most LBS's, including lower cost options (in tyres, for example). Despite that, such behaviour is unacceptable - hopefully they will learn, though it seems unlikely.

Asked about this at my LBS and they said that ghetto causes less problems. Still haven't torn out my rim tape and replaced it, but might consider it one day. A couple hundred rand cheaper at any rate.

Hey guys, I met a gardener today who rides from Delft to Pinelands once a week, and Delft to Newlands twice a week. He rides an old steel frame road bike and needs some tyres, as his are old, the sidewalls are cracking, and he keeps getting punctures. Does anybody have an old pair of usable 700c tyres? I am happy to pick up in the Southern Suburbs/City Centre/Camps Bay area. I gather there isn't a Cape Town pickup spot, so this seems like a relevant non-hijack of this thread - can anyone help out?

I agree that there isn't much of a problem in the picture, but even if there was, I think that hooting at them and posting about them like this will not help anything. If I were them and I saw this, I would simply feel "otherised" and continue to do what I was doing without giving a damn about what you think. Hooting at them also makes you seem like the typical IDIOT car driver who has no respect for cyclists. The only thing that will change anything is engaging in polite conversation with the "offenders" and explaining why you think their actions are a problem.

Yeah, I wouldn't do it in the day without someone at the intersection stopping cars, but at 11 at night it's quiet There's also a public and free climbing wall there, for anyone who likes that sort of thing.

A couple friends and I made a short (less than 2 minutes) route next to liesbeek parkway. If you commute past there or have a competitive spirit, go and see what you can do . If you see some mense with bikes hanging by the tower we'll happily time you This is just for fun, and maybe we will host an informal race day here at some point. Just before Durban Road there's an old water tower: the route starts and ends there. The red part of the route is the beginning, and the green part is the end. -Start with the front wheel contact point on the brick -End when you enter the brick circle The record thus far is 1.34. What do you think?

I disagree with respect to the downtube shifters - while sti's are clearly superior, hence the change, but you can get a pretty nice old bike for R3000 (or a decent bit less) if you shop around/keep a lookout and, if you aren't doing wildly high speed descents, once you get used to downtube shifters you should have plenty of time to shift. I'm not sure, but I suspect that bearing quality could save your more time than shifters on the handlebars (downtube shifters are also lighter, btw), but this is highly dependent on your spending a bit of time on the bike before the raceday.

Guy at CrossTown cycles is pretty knowledgable, and Olaf who used to run the shop was a genius and I'm sure he will give some input.

If you want to improve your time at minimum cost, keep an eye out for a nice old road bike on the hub or wherever. Should be able to get one pretty easily for R1500, but buy before the preargus rush starts .

Yeah, I stand with you. I think a letter to the post briefly outlining the law on the matter (ie that we have a right to the road, and cars should wait in order to pass cyclists safely), and the benefits of cycling to society, would be really helpful. However we may feel about the issue, politeness is key in both getting the letter published, and in the receptiveness of those reading (ie the drivers who we need to change). If you want someone to read over your letter feel free to pm me

Today I decided to go fully waterproof for the Cape Town commute (only about 5km), and, to be honest, it really wasn't worth wearing waterproof pants. Far superior is short rugby shorts and a rainproof top, or else a t-shirt and something warm inside the bag! The pants are just heavy, and Cape Town never gets so bad that you can't keep your whole body warm with a cosy jacket/wool jersey.

Hey! The niner frames with the EBB are SUPER, and their steel frames are also really light. The EBB system is also superior if you want to have a rear disc brake, as you don't need to move the rear wheel to maintain tension as your chain wears. Your chain won't drop if you tension it properly, and you can take extra precaution by using a single speed or half link chain.

If you want to go budget, there are often very cheap - under R1.3k, - old steel frame road bikes with down tube shifters for sale in various classifieds. I bought one about 4 or 5 years ago, and tyres are the only thing it has consumed over many many kilometers (+ a wheel lost to a car).