The old gel is lame - again, time to take her out back... (plus questions about a new bike)

Hi all

This Saturday was an unlucky day for cyclists around here, I took a ride
into the city centre, along the towpath. On the way in I came across a
bedragled gentleman climbing out of the canal, he'd come off his bike (he
wasn't hurt, other than some scratches) but the bike was not recovered. On
the way home, about 100m downstream my rear derailleur got caught in the
spokes, so the chain is snapped, the bracket bent and the derailleur is
pointing upwards and backwards!

I've been thinking about a new one for a while, the parts will cost enough &
I since can't do the repair myself (nothing to bend the derailleur bracket
back), it's time to put the old gel - a Raleigh Pioneer Trail hybrid -
down, or out to pasture.

Here are my aims for the new bike:
- Approx £250-350 (400 for a _really_ impressive bike and/or deal)
- Rigid
- Mainly urban commuting use, with canal path and local park also
- Gearing mainly for tarmac usage
- Hybrid style (Ie frame & tyres halfway between a mountain & road bike)
- Mount points for mudguards & maybe a pannier rack
- As low maintenance as possible (ideally just rinse and wipe :-)

Something along the lines of an Edinburgh Contour, Claud Butler Urban 500,
Carrera Crossfire, Dawes Discovery or Specialized Cirrus(?). At this point,
I'm extremely open to persuasion, and I'll try them out before spending
anything.

However there's plenty I'm not sure of. So I'd like to ask the group a few
questions:

1. Suspension seatposts, are they worth it? Any brands to avoid?
2. Aluminium frames, do they have any bearing on wear and tear (might they
break more easily, or corrode less)?
3. Disc brakes, can they be bolted on afterwards, or are modifications
needed? Would they be worthwhile?
4. Does the size of the wheel make a noticeable difference to the ride (old
gel had 700c, whatever that means)?
5. What U-lock/chain would you recommend?
6. Does any pannier brand work with any rear rack?
7. I remember seeing a luggage rack that merely bolted to the seatpost, has
anyone seen this for sale? Where?
8. If (as I suspect) my old bike is not worth anything secondhand (esp
considering the damage), I won't be too bothered about selling it. Are
there any charities or worthy causes that would want/accept it?
9. Seen any good deals lately?

Sorry for packing so many questions into one post, thankyou for your help,
you've been so great in the past (with mirrorball helmets and the like).

Regards

Alex (in Birmingham)

Alex Willmer wrote:

7. I remember seeing a luggage rack that merely bolted to the
seatpost, has anyone seen this for sale? Where?

There are several seatpost racks on the market. Not as strong and stable
as a proper rack but they're a reasonable option if you can't fit a 3 or
4-point-fixing rack.

I use a Zefal Quick Rack (seatpost job) because it's cheap, lightweight
(332g) and can be detached and refitted quickly. It's only good for very
light loads (flexes ridiculously with any more load than 1.5kg) and can
obstruct back of legs if using a narrow saddle well setback on the
seatpost! Great for carrying a few clothes on a road bike and also acts
as a crude mudgaurd. That's about it. Available from Halfords.

The Piumi one is rubbish. I broke two of them!

The Topeak ones look very well made and get good reviews.
From bike shops and some online dealers - sorry, can't remember which
ones now.

Alternative options are _bags_ that fit to seatpost or saddle.

But best of all is a proper conventional back rack - with or without
panniers. All panniers should fit but some may obstruct heels on some
bikes/racks.

~PB

Alex Willmer wrote:

Something along the lines of an Edinburgh Contour, Claud Butler Urban 500,
Carrera Crossfire, Dawes Discovery or Specialized Cirrus(?).

The Ridgebacks look okay too, so add them into the audition list.

1. Suspension seatposts, are they worth it?

It depends what you'll be riding over. Do you ever come off a ride
thinking your bum is a bit on the sore side due to pothole pounding? If
so, quite possibly an improvement having one. And the more upright the
riding position, and thus the less weight on your arms, the more effect
it'll have.

2. Aluminium frames, do they have any bearing on wear and tear (might they
break more easily, or corrode less)?

It's too variable frame to frame to give a sweeping one size fits all
answer. Generally the case that a well made frame, whatever the
material, will last better than a so-so one. Al doesn't rust, but it
does corrode. Answer in both cases is good finishing, which comes back
to "well made". In short, I wouldn't particularly worry about one or
the other unless you come down to an "if all other things are equal" point.

3. Disc brakes, can they be bolted on afterwards, or are modifications
needed? Would they be worthwhile?

Discs need a disc mounting boss fitted at the rear triangle and on the
fork. A good pair of disc brakes is a lot better than a good pair of
Vs, but note how serious machinery (i.e., Cannondale & Specialized MTBs)
get up to quite high prices before they switch from Vs to discs. Cheap
'n cheerful ones don't look to be worth it, with money better spent
elsewhere (frame and transmission, saddle, better lights etc.)
If you want to retrofit a Proper disc at a later date and you don't have
bosses, just replacing the fork with a disc compatible one would
presumably be an option. But unless you're doing off-road daftness,
riding at speed in the wet or with heavy loads it's pretty questionable
whether they're worth it unless you have money to burn.

4. Does the size of the wheel make a noticeable difference to the ride (old
gel had 700c, whatever that means)?

There won't be *too* much difference between 26" and 700c in practice.
The slightly larger 700c will roll over bumps and holes a little better
but be slightly more unwieldy for close manoeuvring, but either should
work fine for this.

5. What U-lock/chain would you recommend?

I use a Kryptonite, and nobody's nicked my bike in 14 years using one
yet. The more expensive ones do look as if they use harder steels, so
should give more peace of mind. Note that if you have QR front wheels
you'll want something to keep that safer as well. Whatever U you get,
make sure it's long enough to get through the back wheel, main frame
*and* round a suitably invariant piece of street furniture too.

6. Does any pannier brand work with any rear rack?

Near as dammit. My rack is oversize 12mm and it won't take quite a few,
but this is quite exceptional and for a typical rack (e.g., Bor Yueh's
cheap but good Blackburn clones) they'll take any pannier you want to
put on.

7. I remember seeing a luggage rack that merely bolted to the seatpost, has
anyone seen this for sale? Where?

These won't support hefty loads nearly as well, and there aren't
necessarily going to be vertical struts to stop panniers slapping in
against the wheel. Also look at things like Carradice SQR, where the
bag/carrier all clips to the seatpost. See
http://www.carradice.co.uk/sqr-products.htm

HTH, Pete.
--
Peter Clinch University of Dundee
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Medical Physics, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

In message , Cicero
writes

"Alex Willmer" wrote in message
...
Hi all

snipped

However there's plenty I'm not sure of. So I'd like to ask the group a few
questions:
snipped

3. Disc brakes, can they be bolted on afterwards, or are modifications
needed? Would they be worthwhile?

I made some enquiries about disc brakes and the general impression I got was
that they're quite tricky to retro fit.

They are due to the mountings required.

I then looked for drum brakes (hub
brakes) which seem a much better bet for my immediate needs (ponderous adult
trike). I've just taken delivery of a Sturmey Archer drum brake from SJS
cycles and I'm just off to take it to be built into a new rim.

Have a look at: www.sjscycles.com - look under Hubs / internal brake / gear
hubs etc. - Sturmey Archer - £39.99p

Yep I have a drum brake on the front of my utility/town bike. Though
mine is a Sachs. I used to have a coaster brake on the rear in Sachs 7
speed hub gear - I really like it. I got mine From Derek shackles at
Roman Road.

But to get more/lower gears I changed over to a Shimano Nexus with a
Roller brake. The brake works fine though I prefer the drum brake of the
front.

They need very little maintenance -my front brake is still on it's
original pads. And in wet weather they are good in traffic as you don't
get that lag before the pads bite - and in snow they keep on working
rather than clogging up with snow
..
--
Chris French, Leeds

"Richard Goodman" wrote in message
s.com...
"Pete Biggs" wrote in message
...

There are several seatpost racks on the market. Not as strong and
stable
as a proper rack but they're a reasonable option if you can't fit a 3 or
4-point-fixing rack.


Has anyone tried fitting a standard rack to a bike with no eyelets/braze
ons
for it using P-clips clamped around the stays? Does this work ok or might
it be inadvisable for any reason?

Rich



friend of mine used eyelets at the bottom and p-clips at the top with
success, we even managed a weeks touring round holland. never any complaints
from him

panda

sniphe'd come off his bike (he
wasn't hurt, other than some scratches) but the bike was not recovered.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
snip
I've been thinking about a new one for a while, the parts will cost enough &
I since can't do the repair myself

Is it that I am such an total cheap skate, or did anyone else notice
the solution was in the original post all along. Buy (or borrow) some
swimming goggles and a bit of rope, go for a swim and haul the bike
out. There's bound to be some salvageable bits on it (after a good
clean up).

Canals? They're just a wetter version of skips and can be the source
of many a useful bit of junk :-)

Have fun!

Graeme

On Wed, 27 Aug 2003 20:24:30 GMT, Alex Willmer
wrote:

[SNIP - sorry to hear that, BTW]

Here are my aims for the new bike:
- Approx £250-350 (400 for a _really_ impressive bike and/or deal)
- Rigid
- Mainly urban commuting use, with canal path and local park also
- Gearing mainly for tarmac usage
- Hybrid style (Ie frame & tyres halfway between a mountain & road bike)
- Mount points for mudguards & maybe a pannier rack
- As low maintenance as possible (ideally just rinse and wipe :-)

1. Suspension seatposts, are they worth it? Any brands to avoid?
2. Aluminium frames, do they have any bearing on wear and tear (might they
break more easily, or corrode less)?
3. Disc brakes, can they be bolted on afterwards, or are modifications
needed? Would they be worthwhile?
4. Does the size of the wheel make a noticeable difference to the ride (old
gel had 700c, whatever that means)?
5. What U-lock/chain would you recommend?
6. Does any pannier brand work with any rear rack?
7. I remember seeing a luggage rack that merely bolted to the seatpost, has
anyone seen this for sale? Where?
8. If (as I suspect) my old bike is not worth anything secondhand (esp
considering the damage), I won't be too bothered about selling it. Are
there any charities or worthy causes that would want/accept it?
9. Seen any good deals lately?

This sounds very much like my rigid Trek 4300. AFAIR, I paid £300 -
not including the cost of rebuilding the front end a year or so later
following a ... erm ... "mishap" :-(

The bike doesn't have a suspension seatpost but the saddle that came
with the bike is most comfy for me whether or not I use slimmer tyres
or the large knobblies that came as standard.

The frame is aluminium and is fine.

There are no disk brakes but the V-brakes are plenty powerful.

The 26" wheels are fine and have yet to buckle in any way - apart from
the front one - see the "mishap" commment. Think bike/stationary
vehicle interaction resulting in squashed donought front wheel (and
knackered shoulder).

I use a cheap cable lock for regular use. If entering dodgy areas such
as downtown Worthing I use both the cable lock and a U-lock - one on
the frame/one wheel, t'other on t'other wheel/frame (can't recall the
makes of the locks).

There are holes in the frame for the fitting of racks. See
http://www.myra-simon.com/bike/ and browse.

The bike is geared OK for me for tarmac use, especially when I've
fitted skinny tyres. Admittedly, it could be geared higher at the top
end. But, for my use, it's OK.

Low maintenance? What's maintnance? Wash? Rinse? Wipe? What?

Sadly, the current Trek 4300s come with cheap and non-too-good front
suspension forks. However, I had my bike's font end replaced after the
"mishap or incident" with another rigid fork. And that was in the time
when new 4300s came with bouncy forks.

James (not in Birmingham)

--
"Sorry mate, I didn't see you" is not a satisfactory excuse.