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I think V-brakes will be an overkill in terms of mech advantage... Anyway, took Frannie for a quick spin at lunchtime today. I'm really warming up to these Durifort tubes. They're ain't no gas pipe. Funny to see Duri road bikes selling for £40+£30 shipped from France, while folks are asking...

Quick brake experiment #1. Cheapo cantis turned out to be surprisingly versatile and easy to adjust the pads. There's still some fiddling to do aligning the pads, but I am getting more mechanical advantage here. A bit more fiddling and filing will give me even higher mech advantage, but this got...

Hi All, Didn't want to start another Kl**n Quantum topic, so apologies for resurrecting this thread with a question. A Quantum from 1994 - would that be aluminium or steel frameset? And if steel, then what steel? Thank you.

I see. Campy parts sure have a good polish on them. I love campy shifters. ...And run them with Shimmy rear mechs and SRAM PG990 cassettes. PS I used to think Campy was all about polish and status symbols, but I've changed my opinion about them when I saw the insides of a 1960s campy hub that...

Bonjour friend. I think Retrobike can be credited with starting a new trend of giving French bikes a new life on gravel. (probably Mickeyspinn's idea originally) 3 possible solutions to your problem: 1) Fit an oversized carbon fibre cage onto this mech. 2) Use a Shimergo set-up. You'll...

I just love the thread name. ;)

Forgot my phone at home, which is a pity, because kids took me up the local hill with some nice views. I guess you'll have to wait until I fit the new cantis. ...And I haven't completely abandoned the brake-booster ideas yet...

Pleased to say that Frannie had her successful maiden voyage (can I even use the word "maiden" when talking about a 70 year old French girl that's been around quite a few blocks in her lifetime?🤔). I was surprised that no parts fell off (none of them were really meant to fit together :LOL:). The...

@grantoury Here's the links. The first one is great, but it only worked in Internet Explorer last time I checked, and right now it's not even working in my IE. http://www.circleacycles.com/cantilevers/...

I've posted some links to calculating the cantis a few pages ago - they work a bit better than they look (essentially, in such upside-down mode they work as if they had shorter lever arms...therefore reducing mechanical advantage and making the brakes a bit spongy. Pad alignment is the biggest...

In my defence, that was the only rear mech I had that was a plug & play into Shimergo drivetrain. But hey, you don't just get 11.5kg without saving some serious weight with carbon fibre, right ;)

Still alive, still kicking. Haven't been cycling for fun at all, given the weather - just the commute to work in the cold & the dark. Hope everyone is well. As tomorrow's forecast is looking good I decided to try and get Frannie on the road and, time & weather permitting, take her on her maiden...

The intention was just to pull your leg mate, not to cause offence. No doubt that no retro bike will ever be able to match your build. As far as 12sp drivetrain - never tried, have no intention to, but can figure out the difference - higher gear ratio (extra downhill gear or two) and/or closer...

That's the thing. I'd love to try riding a penny, but falling off a safety bike onto tarmac is enough for me.

Well, I'm faster than most local roadies on the climbs, and I can go faster than my guardian angel can fly on the descents (albeit, significantly slower than most local roadies...their guardian angels must be running Di2 or something). And that's me on a humble 9x1. So what does a 12sp...

Penny farthing racing is getting more popular I hear.

600-700 miles? Won't be much good for L-E-L then, huh. Just mild friendly trolling mate. ;) Apart from the shimergo 9x1 drivetrain and rim brakes - that I'm dead serious about. The paintwork is exceptional, that is true. 😍 In all honesty, I am extremely sceptical about modern bike parts...

Gravel design before its time? Tell that to my 1950s Frannie ;) Absolutely lovely bike by the way!

I can recommend a set of good caliper brakes and a 9x1 Shimergo mechanical drivetrain. There are some hidden costs of going electronic. You can add £5 to the total cost to buy one of these for your emergency tool kit...