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Old May 26th 19, 07:45 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Frank Krygowski[_4_]
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Default Disk Brakes Again

On 5/26/2019 11:27 AM, jbeattie wrote:
On Saturday, May 25, 2019 at 5:28:47 PM UTC-7, Frank Krygowski wrote:

I can understand the appeal of fine equipment, up to a point. One of my
earliest bicycling buddies said "I can't afford the world's best stereo
system or the world's best car. But I can afford the world's best bike."
I could understand his pride even though I don't have whatever gene
makes people covet "the best in the world."

But OTOH, he was talking about an early 1970s Raleigh Professional.
Adjusted for inflation, that would cost less than $2000 today - less
than some sets of aero wheels.


A Raleigh Pro was never the best in the world. BTW, a 1976 Raleigh Pro was $650. https://www.sheldonbrown.com/retrora...76-prices.html Inflation adjusted, that is $2,919.27.


OK. I was taking a guess on the price. But that's still less than some
wheel sets.

And Raleigh Pro - best in the world? Probably not, I agree. That was my
friend's statement, not mine. Only one bike at a time can be "the best
in the world." But back in those days, if everyone could agree on the
"best" - whatever it was - it probably wasn't much different from that
Raleigh.

For that money today, you can get this: https://www.canyon.com/en-us/road/ae...road-cf-sl-7-0 Well, O.K., its $2,999. Even Canyon's super-bikes are a great bank for the buck.


I'm sure it's a great bike for its intended purpose. (Even though it has
- gasp! - rim brakes.)

BTW, in 1976 I spent close to $1,000 on a custom steel sport touring bike with Phil hubs and BB and some other exotic components like ER Ti spindle pedals (that broke), but not Campy except for some cable clips. It was mostly Dura Ace. My next bike was an all Campy and Phil racing bike. It was gorgeous. I bought it to retaliate against my meager savings account. I spent a huge amount of my college earnings on bike stuff. I bought a used '69 PX10 while in high school. Had I only invested in IBM stock!


I'd have been jealous. When I got into bicycling I was married and
making not much money. In no time there were kids to raise, houses to
buy, etc. I actually traded to acquire a used Raleigh Super Course, my
first "good" bike. It was years later that I bought my first "new" bike.

That Super Course was my only bike for many years, and I rode it on
tours, commutes, utility rides, club rides, etc. I remember taking the
rear rack and sometimes the fenders off to ride centuries.

But speaking of equipment: In the 1980s, some young bucks in our bike
club staged "Survival of the Fittest" rides, fast out-and-back training
rides. The ride info said things like "No stops, no wimps."

I didn't ride with that crowd - they were all younger than me - but one
day I decided to try it. I stripped the bike down and showed up, the
only guy on clinchers; the only guy running SunTour instead of Campy;
the only guy without cleats, and probably the only one without double
butted tubing, etc. Certainly the only guy with a handlebar bag. I was
fairly nervous getting my bike off the roof rack, and even more so when
the ride leader came over and said "We're just riding to XXXX along
route YYYY and back, so when you get dropped you can find your way back."

So maybe 15 riders started off fast, mostly single file, with me
somewhere in the middle. I remember watching the guy in front of me
(whom I still know) almost immediately missing a shift with his Campy
derailleur. I was really concentrating on not losing the draft, keeping
low on the bike, choosing the best gear, and just not getting dropped.
By my standards, we were really moving.

To my amazement, at the first significant rise - not really a hill - a
gap opened up somewhere behind. And at the second or third rise, more
guys fell off. I even passed a few. So at the turnaround, I was fairly
close to the front.

Then the main hotshot, whose parents were good friends, sort of pulled a
nasty trick. While people were still getting oriented for the
turnaround, he said "Let's go!" and took off. Only four of us happened
to be right with him, so everyone else was behind a gap. We took off in
a four or five man paceline.

.... which became a three man paceline at another short uphill. Both I
and one other guy tried to take our turns pulling, but the fast leader
wouldn't let us, so we followed his wheel. And about two miles from the
end on another rise, the other guy fell off. So I cranked in behind the
fastest guy, well ahead of anyone else.

The fast young guy was really complimentary. The guy who set up the ride
came over too, and said "You did _great!" and slapped my back. But all
the other riders were silent. I could hear some of them glumly talking
about their tires, their chains and other equipment. Nobody wanted to
talk about my tires or derailleurs.

I drove home happy, but I didn't do that ride again. Job, house, wife,
kids ... and not enough money to switch to tubulars and Campy.

--
- Frank Krygowski
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