J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

I have two push bikes and neither is really what I want, I have a Claud Butler Vuelta road bike which is a cheapish racer and a Diamond Back Topanga which is a fairly ancient mountain bike.

I am not a serious cyclist but an getting back into it, trouble is the racer is very edgy and fairly uncomfortable, it also has wheels that wont stand any messing, I like to rid on roads but if I see a 'detour' that may involve mud, rocks and stuff like that I like to alter my route, tonight I went on the Diamond Back but its had better days, the handlebar grips turned to mush and the crank flexes when I pedal, the brakes are poo as well.

So can anyone suggest what I need to cover all my riding in one package, I will keep the other two but want something that will do roads and put up with a bit of stick off road.

unclebuck

A nice Raleigh, Sturmy Archer three speed should see you through nicely, as long as you look after it properly.

UB

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

UB, 'Sturmey' Archer was a three speed gear shift system fitted to many bikes such as the Shopper,Chopper, Grifter and many others, therefore quite a diverse selection to go at.

I say it was a three speed but there was always a joker in the pack, known as 'Slip Gear' to many Grifter and Chopper owners this is why there are a lot of men in their thirties and forties with missing or damaged *********.

It went like this, get ready (football card and peg in wheel), go !, lever into fiirst, pedal like f*ck, minimal wheelspin, little forward motion due to it weighing half a tonne, second, pedal like f*ck, goes for third, ARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHH no drive but my legs are still going like the clappers and have de-stabilsed me to the extent that I have fallen off the pedals and onto the cross bar, I am doing about twenty miles per hour but can no longer steer due to my crushed knackers and the awkward positionI am sat in, I will therefore crash in to a parked Cortina and wreck my Dukes of Hazzard t shirt (and the Cortina), amazingly the Grifter (not sure about the Chopper) would be unscathed, mainly as it was made from left over girders, you then give your mate back his crappy bloody Grifter back and feel glad that your parents thought you only man enough for the Strika with is single well judged ratio and tyre smoking back pedal brake, my parents knew what I was going to be like with cars based on the fact i could destroy a Strika tyre in a week.

In the example the problem occcured on the second to third upshift, it could however occur in any gear whether you had touched the lever or not, whether you were pedaling or not it just depended on the proximity of stuff to hit, everyone thought it was just mechanical but I am sure there were some clever electronics in there to determine when it should let go, the same system has been developed, it is now called 'Selespeed' and is licenced to Alfa Romeo and others, I drove a Smart car the other day and that had sturmey tendencies.

After the crash it was then time to go home and explain the mess (blubbing as you went) and have Beefburgers and chips whilst watching Captain Caveman, at this point you vow to never trust any product (or its derivatives) of the Sturmey Archer company.

Graz

Sturmy Archer thing aside, in my opinion there is't really such a thing as an all round bike. Compromises have to be made somewhere. Good road performance = rubbish off road performance. The so called hybrid bikes aren't good for anything as far as I'm concerned, rubbish on and off road.

Now my primary cycling activities are off road, I have a full suspension cross country bike with fat knobbly tyres. It's a great bike for the rough stuff but on the occasions I ride it into work on a tarmac route I really curse it. So much energy is wasted in the tyres and suspension. If I was going to commute regularly I'd have to have two bikes, a nice lightweight, thin tyred, road eating machine, and something for the weekend

unclebuck

Rod brakes are perfectly good too. Don't believe the hype about all that disc brake nonsence.

Also, make sure that your fully enclosed chain guard doesn't work loose. This will allow dust and grit to contaminate the chain, thus accelerating the wear on this vital component.

UB

Franx

Rod brakes? Who needs 'em? Jam yer foot against the back wheel, and skid to a halt like real riders do



I have an XC mountain bike, which at the moment, is fitted with semi-slick tyres, designed for hardpack etc. It's very good around town - at least it will be when it gets back from the shop, The grip it has on cobbles, is nothing short of lethal though try and turn a corner, and it chucks you orf. Good on most other surfaces though.

Could look at those 'hybrid' bikes - but I'm not sure how they'd cope with more serious off road stuff, which is perhaps why I don't have one. MTBs look better anyway

Personally, I'd get a decent MTB, with 2 sets of wheels, one slicks, one off road tyres, and just go for it. You still have the road bike for going fast, when the need arises (which it does more often than you'd think), and another 'hack' bike for the rest of the time.

There you go

beemerboy

slip gear.... yeah mate tell me about it, that little baby nestled between 2nd and third (yellow and red) and yes, caused not only bvollock damage, but severly grazed shins from the grifters spike adourned pedalling implements.

i still cringe now....at the memories, sitting on the kerb, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, your mates disappearing into the sunset on their 5 speed shimano raleigh elites.

oh the pain of growing up...

BB

beemerboy

while i'm here, do bikeshops still sell cycle clips???

PMSL....

BB