Hmmm. Learn something new every day. Never seen THAT setup before. Pretty damn cool.

It is fun but won't be near any paceline. Clicks and shifts positive but confuses the mind... thinking of which way to change gear or reaching for DT shifter or brifter - lol. The shift set is a late 1930's design. Competition LE Lewis - French. Cyclo gear set. The 3 speed internal gear hub is made by Styria but a close copy of the Sturmey Archer.
few more:
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What is the leather strap along the chainstay?

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1404355896.jpg

Life's too short to ride cheap tires. I hate the way they feel. I am currently riding Schwalbs. They are really grippy and has a nice feel to them. Not rock hard like some of the cheap nylon casing tires. I stop riding tubs. Use to ride and train on them all day long. Flats were a btich. I was too poor to just throw them out, so out come the old orange Velox kit, the needle, thimble and some dirty and sticky fingers for the evening. I am so done with that, but still I have my GL330 with Vittoria CX and CG for those special days on my old Casati when i feel like a boy on his bike again. Normally, I ride Ksyrium SSC wheels. I can't break them.

With that, I bet I can keep up just fine. I must look into that but keep it hush hush. Its actually pretty cool.

^^^Sticky situation. So much for tubulars, eh? Reminds me of that story by LeMond. Forget where, but he mentioned of a steep and long descent where the organizer decided to have the pace motorcycle slow everyone down. Not the best idea. There were vast amount of flats and crashes.

Reason being the incredible amount of heat generated from OVER braking, glue meltdown, tubulars squirming to a point where the valves were shearing.

The only reason I still ride with tubulars is nostalgia. The $200 a pop crowd are goofy. However I do appreciate a mid level high TPI tubular for the ride. For a decent buy ($30) and nice tire, the Challenge Criterium works for me. For the super budget, the Vittoria Rally's are not worth it. Lower quality than in the past.

The bike tire technology today is excellent, especially clinchers. I'm really impressed with the Tufo concept. As the tubular / clincher is inflated, the entire assembly elevates off of the inner rim and just uses the rims bead hook. Very cool. The ride difference is immediately noticed and its a fast roller. The down side is not the best for wet. I'm not that confident with them in wet. Forget about repairing. One is supposed to carry a sealant OR install sealant before use (weight hinder). I've run over some fairly nasty crap and even take the occasional gravel route with them. No problem.

Curt-----The leather strap is a chain guard. Its attached and moves with the front rod type derailleur (some call it a suicide shifter).

Two awesome bikes posted - thanks for sharing!

I'm shopping for a set of tubulars now. Ooof, $100/per for Veloflex etc.

What do we think about 25 mm vs 21 mm?

There used to be a tire call the Paris-Roubaix made by Clement. I used that tire due to the robust built (I think it was 24 or 25 mm) for riding on the streets, it was really close to my brakes and my seat tube. It felt great especially pumped to 120+ psi, especially sprinting off the saddle throwing the bike around. Can't compare to the feel of any clinchers. Now, the Schawalbs Ultermo has been the best riding clincher tires close the slight feel of tubs I have experience so far. That being 23mm helps coming from riding 21mm tires for a long time.

Re: Affordable Tubulars. I've been happy with the Hutchinson Tempo 1 so far, old school 21 mm and a herringbone tread pattern - they look the part on a vintage bike. The Vittoria Rally is only so-so. The Panaracer Practice are nice. For ultra-cheap, Yellow Jersey sells unbranded tubulars 3 for $50!

Some days on the bike are better than others :cool:
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Good ole' pipe ride sold by Sears Roebuck - labeled JCHiggins -early 60's Austrian built Steyr Daimler Puch w/ Campagnolo.

http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/2813/jchiggins16dt.jpg

I'm very late posting to this thread and still perusing every single page....there are so many incredible bikes!

I wanted to share my current (and for a very long time, only) ride, a 2013 Cannondale Flash Alloy 1 29er. As Martin at Sunshine Bicycles in Fairfax says, "the one bike to rule them all!"

He was correct and I ended up selling my Cannondale 26" (F3) which just did not do it for me any longer even though it was one of the last Made in USA Caffeine frames...it really was a beautiful frame, however this bike is just about perfect now that I replaced the original brakes with Shimano XT M785 Disc Brakes / Shimano XT RT86 Ice Tech Disc Brake Rotors! :D

Ride on...
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Good looking bike! I love my 29er, hope I get to beat it down some desert trails more once it cools off

Thanks! Don't hope...do! :D

Love that JC Higgens resto, intake.

Excellent restoration, lots of patina but everything looks like back in the day...

Is this a gennie water bottle or one of the new reproductions (or would you rather not say?)

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Anyone have an old ten speed (or twelve speed, whatever) drop bar road bike that is < $200 shipped and:
- from 52 cm to 56 cm
- has eyelets for fenders, rack
- is a model and in a condition suitable to be a high school boy's ride-to-school bike for a daily 10 mile RT?

Meaning, mid-range to entry-level, maybe "vintage" but maybe just "old", not a trasher but not a theft magnet either?

thank you kindly - The bottle and cage are genuine. I had a few other to mix and match - make the best setup preserved bottle / cap / cage. Sold the others off. The cage is interesting in that it has a snap clip to secure the bottle and no rattle. I'm only using it for electrolyte drink with a taste of ally:D For H20, I use a camelback.

The Coloral repro's never materialized or maybe on hold. I think the kickstarter campaign was short or the company was under-funded.

As for the bike, its fun. Had a busy last couple of weeks so haven't put the miles in. Will make it up and this week planning for a back to back 80 milers with overnighter. Solo, no change of clothes, just a c.c. and a few extra tools... just in case. Have to be focused when riding this thing -lol. My cadence gets a bit out of sync as figuring which lever to use to get the r's I like. But the cool thing is having a realistic use or any combination of the 18 speeds. There's no cross chain gearing to worry of (only has a 3 speed rear cog and the 2 chainrings). Smooth and quick engagement. The seat tube lever for the chainrings is fast and direct. A little quirky reaching for it but it works well.

I don't know how to explain it but perhaps is fun lazy club rider. Wheels are light enough, at least in vintage terms.... helps on the climb and yet has momentum on the flats. Riding this bike at my level and age, should be able to hang with 17-19mph crowd.

Next on my list is finding the earliest version Cambio Corsa. Craziest shifting bike of all time but sooooo cool.

JB- not sure if my PM's are getting thru. RE: Factory equipped 23 / 24 pounder, late 70's Motobecane Grand Sprint 700c. Entry level racer of the day and for the budget minded but were very competitive. IMHO, best geometry of the classic 70's French and of higher quality. I personally like them over the Gitane in quality.

Lugged and Vitus tubing. Very rough looking but straight and no dents. Barn find. With the exception to the saddle, 99% original incl. reflectors, bars wrap. Positively a project. Perhaps dump some of the vintage parts and go for that fixie conversion, strip and repaint. Early Shimano 600, Altus (crane engraved decor). The only worthwhile part is the crankset - machined Motobecane into the arms. Might have been made by TA Specialties or Stronglight.