LH special into a road bike ?

[Carbonmtb]

Hi All , I posted a bike here a while ago and got lots of info which was fantastic on the bikes history .

It’s built up as a tourer at present , would it or could it have been a road bike and it is possible with the geometry ?

Top tube ctc is 56cm and seat tube ctc it 57cm , my compact carbon modern bike is smaller but this bike doesn’t feel that big to ride at all, were late 50s early sixties geometry diff on road bike frames and tourer set ups?

Getting the frame re done it could make a nice looking road bike , just looking for advice .

Thanks

 

[ZG862]

...were late 50s early sixties geometry diff on road bike frames and tourer set ups?

Very much so. The following generalisation is pretty much true for anything with a horizontal top tube:

Tourer: Long wheel base, long fork trail, low bottom bracket height, "relaxed" frame angles (72 ish)
Road: Shorter wheel base, shorter fork trail, higher bottom bracket, more upright angles (74 ish).

Obviously there's a whole range of compromises between extremes - but that's what makes finding the right frame for its intended use such fun, right?
Hope I've answered the question you had in mind.

 

[Carbonmtb]

...were late 50s early sixties geometry diff on road bike frames and tourer set ups?

Very much so. The following generalisation is pretty much true for anything with a horizontal top tube:

Tourer: Long wheel base, long fork trail, low bottom bracket height, "relaxed" frame angles (72 ish)
Road: Shorter wheel base, shorter fork trail, higher bottom bracket, more upright angles (74 ish).

Obviously there's a whole range of compromises between extremes - but that's what makes finding the right frame for its intended use such fun, right?
Hope I've answered the question you had in mind.

Ahhh so looking at this frame with a long backend and forks it’s prob been a tourer all it’s life ?

There looks to be a boss on the right hand down tube that looks like the gear lever was down there at some point but it has a double on the front now .

 

[ZG862]

Ahhh so looking at this frame with a long backend and forks it’s prob been a tourer all it’s life ?

Indeed. I'd imagine that it is quite unusual for a frame to have been extended (not impossible, but unlikely to make commercial sense). Front forks support this hypothesis.

There looks to be a boss on the right hand down tube that looks like the gear lever was down there at some point but it has a double on the front now .

Yes. I notice that the saddle clip has been reversed from it's traditional position (the lateral bolt is ahead of the seat pin) and this would put the rider further forward relative to the bottom bracket - more like you'd find on a more racy bike.
There's a very good article by Dave Moulton on riding position here that you might find though-provoking. Might even prompt you into moving to drop handlebars on this one! - let me know what you think. I personally find stem mounted levers quite unsettling but some like them so each to their own. I see the sense in having combined brake/gear levers (aka "brifters") but also find down-tube mounted levers quite intuitive too - I guess it's what you're used to.

 

[Carbonmtb]

Re:

Thanks for the reply , I hadn't noticed , the bike is as I collected it , I will take a look at the article later thanks .

I used to have down tube levers back in the day so could prob use them again

 

[keithglos]

The frame looks like mid to late 50s.
A road racer then would often have had one bike, ride to work, change wheels for a race, ride it through the snow and ice. So needed full mudguards.

Possibly 73 x 71 which was commonly available lug set, so the saddle it not that far forward.

To give you some idea, in 1956 and 7 I rode to the start of the Bournemouth 3 day nearly 100 miles on the previous day, requirements for the race being limited to what I could carry.

My bike was a method of transport which turned into a racer on occasion.

Keith

 

[daccordimark]

To give you some idea, in 1956 and 7 I rode to the start of the Bournemouth 3 day nearly 100 miles on the previous day, requirements for the race being limited to what I could carry.

My bike was a method of transport which turned into a racer on occasion.

Keith

Those were the days, none of this "arrive in a car, get the rollers/turbo out do a bit of a warm-up and then off!"
Even in the 1980s there were plenty still doing it the hard way. A bit different to your road race experiences but I will never forget the likes of Gethin Butler riding out to a 50 mile time trial, winning it by a country mile, then taking the long way home for a bit of training.

I used to like riding or taking the train out to an event the day before never quite sure if I would find suitable digs. The worst I had to put up with was sleeping in a bus shelter on a quiet rural road - lucky I had a sleeping bag with me just in case!

Getting back to the subject, that bike definitely looks like the sort of thing I saw older riders using for races, as Keith says very often they only had the one bike to do it all.

You've all probably seen this before but I think this is a brilliant more recent example of that ethos: https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/andy ... bike-29431

Mark.

 

[Carbonmtb]

Re:

Thank you both , two great posts that remind me of things gone by , I was only born in 73 but I know in modern cycle sport how things have changed so much and how soft some have become

The bike was bought at a police sale in 59 by the chap I got it off , his cycling friend said you should buy that it’s a special frame !
Any way his wife used it for her own use which makes me think the flat bars were added for her comfort .

Also the wheels are Ridiga France with mallard hubs , they spin really well , but corroded , has a look on eBay and they do 27x1 1/4 re pops in chrome but not sure of the quality at that price bracket.

It’s a very good point re one bike for everything , I think my mind has been tarnished by today’s standards of people have a bike for each occasion !

 

[Old Ned]

When I was a lad (I was once, honest!) I rode out to lots of events. Had to, no other option most of the time. Usually carrying race wheels on 'sprint carriers'. Wrexham to Chelford for a 25, Wrexham to Stafford to ride the Stafford GP etc. Did me good for riding distance events later in the season.

Thanks for the link Mark. Really interesting.

 

[Carbonmtb]

Re:

Yes mark thanks , I will check the link when I get home later !