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Zavo - I was at RA and heard about the event you were at. Would love to make it one of these years.

930 - wow, nice work on the fatbike :cool:

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That is awesome! Can't wait to see it with studded tires for winter.

why I love Italy
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I've thought about that a lot.

There is a lot of bike theft in Portland, not as bad as New York but pretty darn bad. I think the thieves are more interested in newer bikes, but they will steal anything. The bike racks at his high school are directly in front of and about 50 feet from the main building doors, smack out in the open, in the main courtyard. My plan is to have him keep a Kryptonite New York Chain on the rack, and carry a Kryptonite New York U-lock, so the bike's frame and wheels will be locked with two locks of different types. Neither of those locks can be defeated by anything less than an angle grinder or similar disc cutting tool, and both require two cuts of at least 16mm hardened steel, so I figure a thief will see something like 7-10 minutes of cutting, sparks and smoke, right in front of the main high school doors, and for what - a 30 year old bike? - move on to the next bike.

As long as he doesn't leave it there overnight, which he won't, I think the odds are good that the bike will make it through four years of high school un-stolen. Again, I'm aggravated that I'll spend $200 on locks to secure a <$200 bike, but . . .

I'm more worried about the poor bike sitting in the rain day after day. I have to think about how best to prep a bike for that sort of life. What do you think? Ever use Framesaver?

Framesaver is popular. You might get a laugh but since were all gearheads and probably have a cabinet in the garage full of lubes, grease, various rust magic stuff; I use Sea Foam Spray.

Also, if I'm rebuilding a bike and components, the parts I'm able to dismantle and clean will get a spray coat of MASS. Its some sort of waxy polish that will flow nicely into the small crevices, cavities. I let it set-up and then wipe clean + Q tip. After meeting the owner of the company years ago at a trade show was introduced to the product line. Works great and after muddy rides, the dirt seems to easily clean off.

Not sure how any of the above would work in high moisture or salty air environments. Maybe Byron can pipe in.

I treated the inside of my Gitane frame with Gibbs (several treatments over a period of weeks), then Boeshield. Mainly because I had both on hand and it seemed to make sense. It's sort of like the cosmoline used on Porsches but with a solvent added. Boeshield T-9

Those guys gave me the creeps. At least they didn't have clown makeup or a purple dino suit.

There's something so very, very wrong with this image ....
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qhat's wrong with it? Story of my life, every Saturday morning now. The professor knows the Ti spindle's about to break? He just didn't want to be Armstrong with only one.

The dawn of CF bikes. If someone has the urge for a different and unique vintage road bike, this KG66 frameset could be interesting. Load it up with period Mavic. Guessing its 1985 / 86? If such, could qualify and ride l'eroica events.
Seller is asking $240

Look Carbon frame and fork

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Ah, the grand daddy to my Look KG171. Damn nice riding bike and livery also.

jyl- No need to thnx and the Moto was just another 'forgotten' French ride. Post some pics of your son's fine ride when done.

As for the Grand Sprint. For old day measurement and flat back profile, I'm too big for it. BUT I raised the seat post beyond the max and swapped the saddle, took it for a good ride.... vintage crit style, surprisingly quick transition yet not bad over the rough stuff. What a hoot. With 170mm cranks, I have 1/8" of toe clearance to the front wheel.

French bikes of that era were great. I'm going to give it a go and make it work.

Might strip it down, color change - give it a faux early 70's team BIC orange paint add period decals, short stack the cogs, swap a few parts, shed a few pounds here and there and be a poseur on some club rides :)

Are you guys still riding 170mm cranks? I am not a big guy by any means, not even close, and I am still on 170mm cranks. I have ridden 172.5 for years, and can't really tell the difference between the two.

172.5 for me

edit: Compromise - some of the antiques I ride are 165.

Speaking of the dawn of CF, I think the first CF bike ridden in the TdF might have been this model

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I regret selling this. I'd accumulated some of the Mavic SSC bits for the build, but the way the price of the remaining bits was going up, it was going to be a $1,700 bike when done, and I just didn't want it bad enough. The buyer is a friend and I have first dibs should he sell.

Guessed yet ?












PY10FC, super clean, I think around 1983. As ridden into the clouds by Robert Millar.

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Interestingly, it is not just a rebadged Vitus Carbone. The tubes have a different (larger) diameter than the Vitus' CF tubes. Peugeot did something proprietary.

Most of mine are 172.5 but to be honest I can ride 170 or 175 without noticing. Just a troglodyte I guess

Both bikes have 172.5, I've used everything from 170 to 180, and only the 180 had any noticeable difference in feel...

Fignon on a Bianchi. It's disturbing :cool:

Crank Arm Length: About 2 years ago, I had a revelation when I borrowed one of my brother's bikes and rode it regularly. I couldn't quite figure out why it was the best bike I ever rode in terms of power output, acceleration (or AXceleration if you're Bob Roll), and smooth spinning. Finally traced it down to a 165mm crank! I've since switched all my bikes to 165mm. When I ride a 170mm, it is immediately noticeable. I have about a 29" inseam. There's been lots written and a couple of good methods for determining ideal crank arm length. Mine works out to 163.

As an engineer, it makes no sense to me that the cranks on 95% of all bikes are either 170mm or 175mm (less than 1/4 inch variance), yet inseam lengths can easily vary by 8 inches. It's based simply on production costs and compromise.