Newbie alert

[samsbike]

I would love to get an old retro bike to use to exercise and ride around with the odd commute.

I would also like to fix to it one of those hamex child seats.

In terms of components, I would like to have an italian groupset and a reynolds frame, simply because I wanted both when I was younger.

What should I be looking for and can I fit mudguards to it?

thanks

sam

 

[Ross 1964]

Hi Sam,

I ride my 1985 531c Raleigh Gran Tour and use a Hamax Siesta on it sometimes. It's a great child seat and I have no worries clamping it to the seat tube, as the connection bracket has its load spread over a large area of the tube.

Mind you, as well as an old classic, my bike is a workhorse which gets used for commuting and everything else, not a museum piece. I imagine not everyone on here would fix a kiddie seat to their pride and joy!

Good luck!

 

[samsbike]

thanks

I can understand why, but I also want to join a cycle club and do some road riding, because I hate the gym and in my advanced years, need to do some exercise

 

[Lazarus]

Hi Sam Your idea should work fine assuming you intend to fit & remove the child seat without damage to your bike, so that your bike looks "cool" & "functional" & " the way you dreamed of" on club runs, yet is stable & strong with the seat fitted.

The problem I always had with a chid seat was the way the bike had a tendancy to slew because of the extra weight placed over the back wheel area.

The seattube on my 531 was sufficiently strong enough to accomodate the childseat, but I also had it resting on a rear pannier rack for extra support and load distribution.

TIP: when clamping the seat to the seatube, use and old piece of inner tube wrapped around the seattube for the clamping mech to A: grip better & B: leave no marks on the frame.

The whole process to fit - remove the childseat + pannier was 5mins tops

So Sam, look for a decent Reynolds 531/Columbus SL - SLX framed bike on ebay/somewhere that has pannier/mudguard eyelets already built on. Buy your Italian/Campagnolo parts as and where you deem cheap enough/needed.

IMHO stay away from Aluminium frames for lots of reasons.

Hope some of this helps buddy & good luck, yours Laz.

 

[retro-rich]

Can't help with the seat issue really, but I'm wondering if a touring frame would be best as it should have clearance for the guards, something like a galaxy in 531st tubes.

If you do want guards though beware of some skinny racers as there may be no clearance for them, if you look at the specs in this catalogue for example it shows which ones can take guards or not http://www.bulgier.net/pics/bike/Catalogs/Raleigh84/

 

[hamster]

I'd second that, you typically need a slightly longer rear triangle to get the heel clearance and to stop the weight of the child on the seat from being behind the rear hub (otherwise unexpected wheelies can occur as Jr is loaded onto the seat :shock: )

I found the seats had seriously nasty effects on handling and went for a trailer. Essentially you can pull a trailer with almost anything, even a road racer (towed my kids with a Litespeed Catalyst).

I know that trailers aren't for everyone, depending on if you have the space to store it, although my Burley folded into a very small package. In my experience drivers give a trailer far more space than an ordinary bike.

 

[samsbike]

thanks for the comments

Thank you.

My issue is that I have no idea in what to buy in terms of parts etc. And I am not clear I have the necessary skill to put it all together properly. So my option is to buy something that is ready to go.,

I will just keep a look out on the classifieds

sam

 

[Lazarus]

Hi Sam This question of "which bike" will bring you a thousand different answers from just a few hundred people because of the nature of how cyclists love their bikes.

Bottom line for you my friend is this " Browse Ebay here

http://sports.shop.ebay.co.uk/Bikes-/33 ... 86.c0.m282

and get some ideas of what floats your boat style wise/ appearance wise. Use the left hand column in ebay to look through either Hybrids OR Racing bikes. They are ALL there for you to look at

Then post back here, and for sure I will look at what you're looking at and help where I can with whatever I know about the bike thats caught your eye It'll be cheaper than "trial & error". I'm sure others in here will help out too if they notice your post

All the best Sam, yours Laz.

 

[samsbike]

Laz

Much appreciated.

I saw a couple in the forum, but they were pricey.


What I really liked were Charge but they did not seem so light, and having had a reynolds frame before I would like one again.

I tried a hybird, but the single hand position sort of put me off.

I think what I would like is one of the older style touring bikes. I tried a specialised Allez and it was a long reach to the bars, while the specialised sircuss felt just right.

I also like the look of the frames - single tubing, all the same size etc.

This one seemed rather nice = teh Brian Rourke one in the classifieds now sold

Does that help?

 

[samsbike]

linky below

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=157700

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewto ... 72#1193472 (or this)