DxMachina
Dirt Disciple
HI all
I was a member here ten or so years ago when I sought advice about rebuilding a 1980s Triumph 3-speed roadster for use as an everyday bike. I took the advice and followed it (singlespeed conversion, alloy wheels, Schwalbe Delta Cruiser tyres, slime in the inner tubes, modern bottom bracket & crankset, BMX chain, modern brake pads in the original calipers) and I still use that bike regularly and it's remarkably trouble-free for a 35-year-old vehicle.
Recently got engaged, moved in with my fiancee, and she expressed an interest in riding again - she hadn't ridden a bike since she was a teenager in Bavaria, we're in our 40s now.
For me, this was a perfect opportunity to scratch an itch I've had for a long time and get some retro Hybrid bikes... not too heavy to ride but fairly nimble, good stopping performance and comfort (important for a novice rider I felt)
2 weeks later I was in possession of a pair of Raleigh Pioneer Classics - a maroon 1992-ish ladies bike with a step-through frame and Shimano SIS 5-speed gearing and a probably late-90s sparkly green men's frame SIS-10-speed thats otherwise identical. Both are 700x35c trekking-type frames with full mudguards, the men's one has a pannier rack as well.
Both are secondhand from within a few miles of my home and neither have any obvious wear. The ladies bike had rotten tyres and one tube that didn't hold air when I got it home (walked it all the way) and has promptly been refitted with Schwalbe Landcruisers but the mens bike I had to collect from 6 miles away, I rode it home on the factory original tyres and they still hold pressure and have no visible cracking so upgrading these hasnt been as much of a priority. Both appear to have factory-original brake pads without wear on them.
Total spend - including the new Schwalbes - has been £120. Thats for both of them, in total.
Quite pleased with that.
I have no idea why such solid and good-looking bikes aren't more valuable. I honestly don't think either of them has ever been ridden Feast your eyes on these!
https://imgur.com/a/wTjJYZk
https://imgur.com/a/AmLq602
I was a member here ten or so years ago when I sought advice about rebuilding a 1980s Triumph 3-speed roadster for use as an everyday bike. I took the advice and followed it (singlespeed conversion, alloy wheels, Schwalbe Delta Cruiser tyres, slime in the inner tubes, modern bottom bracket & crankset, BMX chain, modern brake pads in the original calipers) and I still use that bike regularly and it's remarkably trouble-free for a 35-year-old vehicle.
Recently got engaged, moved in with my fiancee, and she expressed an interest in riding again - she hadn't ridden a bike since she was a teenager in Bavaria, we're in our 40s now.
For me, this was a perfect opportunity to scratch an itch I've had for a long time and get some retro Hybrid bikes... not too heavy to ride but fairly nimble, good stopping performance and comfort (important for a novice rider I felt)
2 weeks later I was in possession of a pair of Raleigh Pioneer Classics - a maroon 1992-ish ladies bike with a step-through frame and Shimano SIS 5-speed gearing and a probably late-90s sparkly green men's frame SIS-10-speed thats otherwise identical. Both are 700x35c trekking-type frames with full mudguards, the men's one has a pannier rack as well.
Both are secondhand from within a few miles of my home and neither have any obvious wear. The ladies bike had rotten tyres and one tube that didn't hold air when I got it home (walked it all the way) and has promptly been refitted with Schwalbe Landcruisers but the mens bike I had to collect from 6 miles away, I rode it home on the factory original tyres and they still hold pressure and have no visible cracking so upgrading these hasnt been as much of a priority. Both appear to have factory-original brake pads without wear on them.
Total spend - including the new Schwalbes - has been £120. Thats for both of them, in total.
Quite pleased with that.
I have no idea why such solid and good-looking bikes aren't more valuable. I honestly don't think either of them has ever been ridden Feast your eyes on these!
https://imgur.com/a/wTjJYZk
https://imgur.com/a/AmLq602
