bigfatron":arsozn1h said:are you riding the full 100 miles?
i'm wondering if i can persuade my wife that i should ride it?
on ridiculously low gears and virtually no training!
as with all sportives you will be one of the very few, if not the only one, on a steel bike.
the upside of this is that if the photographers are riders themselves they are likely to take many, many pictures of you - i've regularly been told i'm on the best bike they've seen all day!
richie
bigfatron":1cn34zaw said:ha, replying to my own post.....
i didn't mention a couple of things and just thought i'd add an update.
my handlebars look at a wrong angle, but that's just the angle i've taken the picture from. i was concerned that i'd set up all wrong, but can assure you that, in accordance with the rules, i have checked the parallel to the ground state of the drops with a spirit level.
richie
bigfatron":cwe4s11f said:I have a frame number - 5498 - doesn't seem like anything Raleigh would have used, and there is nothing else stamped into the BB shell.
The cable routing is via brazed on tubes under the BB shell, between them is a round hole. not a screw hole for a cable guide, a hole of 8-10mm in diameter.
it rained all day in Staines (where I work), so no riding for me. Those of you who use Velominati will be telling me that I should be applying rule 5 and rule 9. And I can't disagree, I just didn't fancy it!
I've dropped a line to Cyfac and given them the frame number, asking if they can confirm it is one of theirs. They have confirmed that another frame I had was not one they made, so they don't just ignore you.
Once the rains stop I'll take some pictures of the details of the bike and add to my gallery. I'll post something to let the interested parties know.
richie
Could it be good luck though!! Have Cyfac confirmed that's it's not one of theirs? It will certainly be strange if it's not - seemingly not Raleigh, not Cyfac, but two frames in Castorama livery with a very unusual bottom bracket! Maybe we are due some luck (I am the same as you in golf terms as well!!)bigfatron":2jb8mkm9 said:thank you bodie - i only have old rides, the 653 is my most recent bicycle.
at the base of my post is the list of my super u/castorama frames, including the dead - i also have a vitus from 1984 (partington cycles) and a systeme u colours gitane from 1987.
so all my rides are on downtube shifters - i've never ridden with bar controls!
colnagoc59 - i have made a note, citta di bassano i have heard of but never seen one for sale, so i will search!
Matt - both you and i are unlucky people then (you should play golf with me) but we both have great frames - my frame number is by the downtube, as is yours as the bb shell is exactly as your picture. unlucky or what?!
my choice to ride on tubs and not clinchers.....in the 1980s, when i were a lad, i dreamt of riding on tubs. now that i can afford to choose the rims and rubber i ride on, it's tubs only. i have to say, they don't feel like hard work, as per the research into rolling resistance, and it seems like you just kiss the tarmac as it slides beneath you. beautiful, even if they are only vittoria rally, and a long time in coming!
richie
bigfatron":2gg703zl said:so all my rides are on downtube shifters - i've never ridden with bar controls!
richie