Sheldon was right--don't write off those (formerly) ubiquitious old Raleighs

[landotter]

I'd posted a while back in excitement at finding a large '76 Sprite
drop frame with 27" wheels, AW3, and nice paint. I rode it as the beer
and dog food fetching bike for a month. Liked it so much, I stopped
doing spandexed training runs, just made excuses to, er, fetch stuff,
go to the post office, etc. Such a darn comfy ride!

So I dropped a "whooping" $80 into my $25 ride. New cheap Alex rims,
the X404s work better with the brakes than skinny CR18s, Zaffiro
rubber, a recycled Shimano 600 caliper up front, and some Koolstop
contis with washers.

Holy smokes! For anything under 5 miles, this is heaven! Rolls as fast
as any high falutin' thousand dollar luxe shopper from the LBS, and
takes zero brain space to ride. Tires are silent, brakes are strong and
quiet, drivetrain has downhill, flat, and uphill/wind settings, and the
ergonomics are majestic. Heck, even the Union rubber block pedals kick
butt, comfy even in bare feet. :-)

Everyone needs a fancy red girly bike, even us 6' Swedish men. :D

Recomended!


http://static.flickr.com/117/254286235_b867326dd2_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/83/254286233_35f40ec18d_o.jpg

[Earl Bollinger]

"landotter" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> I'd posted a while back in excitement at finding a large '76 Sprite
> drop frame with 27" wheels, AW3, and nice paint. I rode it as the beer
> and dog food fetching bike for a month. Liked it so much, I stopped
> doing spandexed training runs, just made excuses to, er, fetch stuff,
> go to the post office, etc. Such a darn comfy ride!
>
> So I dropped a "whooping" $80 into my $25 ride. New cheap Alex rims,
> the X404s work better with the brakes than skinny CR18s, Zaffiro
> rubber, a recycled Shimano 600 caliper up front, and some Koolstop
> contis with washers.
>
> Holy smokes! For anything under 5 miles, this is heaven! Rolls as fast
> as any high falutin' thousand dollar luxe shopper from the LBS, and
> takes zero brain space to ride. Tires are silent, brakes are strong and
> quiet, drivetrain has downhill, flat, and uphill/wind settings, and the
> ergonomics are majestic. Heck, even the Union rubber block pedals kick
> butt, comfy even in bare feet. :-)
>
> Everyone needs a fancy red girly bike, even us 6' Swedish men. :D
>
> Recomended!
>
>
> http://static.flickr.com/117/254286235_b867326dd2_o.jpg
>
> http://static.flickr.com/83/254286233_35f40ec18d_o.jpg
>

I have a old Schwinn World Tourist that I am quite fond of.
My old Ross bike is pretty good too. After all these years the rims still
look new too. :-)

[Smokey]

landotter wrote:
> I'd posted a while back in excitement at finding a large '76 Sprite
> drop frame with 27" wheels, AW3, and nice paint. I rode it as the beer
> and dog food fetching bike for a month. Liked it so much, I stopped
> doing spandexed training runs, just made excuses to, er, fetch stuff,
> go to the post office, etc. Such a darn comfy ride!
>
> So I dropped a "whooping" $80 into my $25 ride. New cheap Alex rims,
> the X404s work better with the brakes than skinny CR18s, Zaffiro
> rubber, a recycled Shimano 600 caliper up front, and some Koolstop
> contis with washers.
>
> Holy smokes! For anything under 5 miles, this is heaven! Rolls as fast
> as any high falutin' thousand dollar luxe shopper from the LBS, and
> takes zero brain space to ride. Tires are silent, brakes are strong and
> quiet, drivetrain has downhill, flat, and uphill/wind settings, and the
> ergonomics are majestic. Heck, even the Union rubber block pedals kick
> butt, comfy even in bare feet. :-)
>
> Everyone needs a fancy red girly bike, even us 6' Swedish men. :D
>
> Recomended!
>
>
> http://static.flickr.com/117/254286235_b867326dd2_o.jpg
>
> http://static.flickr.com/83/254286233_35f40ec18d_o.jpg

For a '76 that bike is still looking good! I bet it is a blast to ride
around town. Is that a Brooks Champion Flyer mounted on it?

Smokey

[landotter]

Smokey wrote:
> landotter wrote:
> > I'd posted a while back in excitement at finding a large '76 Sprite
> > drop frame with 27" wheels, AW3, and nice paint. I rode it as the beer
> > and dog food fetching bike for a month. Liked it so much, I stopped
> > doing spandexed training runs, just made excuses to, er, fetch stuff,
> > go to the post office, etc. Such a darn comfy ride!
> >
> > So I dropped a "whooping" $80 into my $25 ride. New cheap Alex rims,
> > the X404s work better with the brakes than skinny CR18s, Zaffiro
> > rubber, a recycled Shimano 600 caliper up front, and some Koolstop
> > contis with washers.
> >
> > Holy smokes! For anything under 5 miles, this is heaven! Rolls as fast
> > as any high falutin' thousand dollar luxe shopper from the LBS, and
> > takes zero brain space to ride. Tires are silent, brakes are strong and
> > quiet, drivetrain has downhill, flat, and uphill/wind settings, and the
> > ergonomics are majestic. Heck, even the Union rubber block pedals kick
> > butt, comfy even in bare feet. :-)
> >
> > Everyone needs a fancy red girly bike, even us 6' Swedish men. :D
> >
> > Recomended!
> >
> >
> > http://static.flickr.com/117/254286235_b867326dd2_o.jpg
> >
> > http://static.flickr.com/83/254286233_35f40ec18d_o.jpg
>
> For a '76 that bike is still looking good! I bet it is a blast to ride
> around town. Is that a Brooks Champion Flyer mounted on it?
>

It's a Flyer I picked up for $50 a while back. It's OK for short trips.
Mainly mounted as it's visually the correct saddle for the bike, but
for longer riding I'd mount something more sensible with firm padding
and a plastic shell.

[[email protected]]

landotter wrote:
> I'd posted a while back in excitement at finding a large '76 Sprite
> drop frame with 27" wheels, AW3, and nice paint. I rode it as the beer
> and dog food fetching bike for a month. Liked it so much, I stopped
> doing spandexed training runs, just made excuses to, er, fetch stuff,
> go to the post office, etc. Such a darn comfy ride!
>
> So I dropped a "whooping" $80 into my $25 ride. New cheap Alex rims,
> the X404s work better with the brakes than skinny CR18s, Zaffiro
> rubber, a recycled Shimano 600 caliper up front, and some Koolstop
> contis with washers.
>
> Holy smokes! For anything under 5 miles, this is heaven! Rolls as fast
> as any high falutin' thousand dollar luxe shopper from the LBS, and
> takes zero brain space to ride. Tires are silent, brakes are strong and
> quiet, drivetrain has downhill, flat, and uphill/wind settings, and the
> ergonomics are majestic. Heck, even the Union rubber block pedals kick
> butt, comfy even in bare feet. :-)
>
> Everyone needs a fancy red girly bike, even us 6' Swedish men. :D

Would you like to swap me that narrow, hard riding, old Brooks seat for
a nice, comfortable, cushy, modern seat that you wouldn't have to be
concerned about if you left it out in the rain? :-)

Lewis.
>
> Recomended!
>
>
> http://static.flickr.com/117/254286235_b867326dd2_o.jpg
>
> http://static.flickr.com/83/254286233_35f40ec18d_o.jpg

[landotter]

wrote:
> landotter wrote:
> > I'd posted a while back in excitement at finding a large '76 Sprite
> > drop frame with 27" wheels, AW3, and nice paint. I rode it as the beer
> > and dog food fetching bike for a month. Liked it so much, I stopped
> > doing spandexed training runs, just made excuses to, er, fetch stuff,
> > go to the post office, etc. Such a darn comfy ride!
> >
> > So I dropped a "whooping" $80 into my $25 ride. New cheap Alex rims,
> > the X404s work better with the brakes than skinny CR18s, Zaffiro
> > rubber, a recycled Shimano 600 caliper up front, and some Koolstop
> > contis with washers.
> >
> > Holy smokes! For anything under 5 miles, this is heaven! Rolls as fast
> > as any high falutin' thousand dollar luxe shopper from the LBS, and
> > takes zero brain space to ride. Tires are silent, brakes are strong and
> > quiet, drivetrain has downhill, flat, and uphill/wind settings, and the
> > ergonomics are majestic. Heck, even the Union rubber block pedals kick
> > butt, comfy even in bare feet. :-)
> >
> > Everyone needs a fancy red girly bike, even us 6' Swedish men. :D
>
> Would you like to swap me that narrow, hard riding, old Brooks seat for
> a nice, comfortable, cushy, modern seat that you wouldn't have to be
> concerned about if you left it out in the rain? :-)

It's not all that comfy, but it works fine on such a bike. It's an
aesthetic thing. I'd hate to ride it more than five miles though.
Modern saddles are far superior, but don't look appropriate on a
Raleigh.

[landotter]

landotter wrote:
> wrote:
> > landotter wrote:
> > > I'd posted a while back in excitement at finding a large '76 Sprite
> > > drop frame with 27" wheels, AW3, and nice paint. I rode it as the beer
> > > and dog food fetching bike for a month. Liked it so much, I stopped
> > > doing spandexed training runs, just made excuses to, er, fetch stuff,
> > > go to the post office, etc. Such a darn comfy ride!
> > >
> > > So I dropped a "whooping" $80 into my $25 ride. New cheap Alex rims,
> > > the X404s work better with the brakes than skinny CR18s, Zaffiro
> > > rubber, a recycled Shimano 600 caliper up front, and some Koolstop
> > > contis with washers.
> > >
> > > Holy smokes! For anything under 5 miles, this is heaven! Rolls as fast
> > > as any high falutin' thousand dollar luxe shopper from the LBS, and
> > > takes zero brain space to ride. Tires are silent, brakes are strong and
> > > quiet, drivetrain has downhill, flat, and uphill/wind settings, and the
> > > ergonomics are majestic. Heck, even the Union rubber block pedals kick
> > > butt, comfy even in bare feet. :-)
> > >
> > > Everyone needs a fancy red girly bike, even us 6' Swedish men. :D
> >
> > Would you like to swap me that narrow, hard riding, old Brooks seat for
> > a nice, comfortable, cushy, modern seat that you wouldn't have to be
> > concerned about if you left it out in the rain? :-)
>
> It's not all that comfy, but it works fine on such a bike. It's an
> aesthetic thing. I'd hate to ride it more than five miles though.
> Modern saddles are far superior, but don't look appropriate on a
> Raleigh.

Update:

I've been riding the crap out of the girlie Raleigh on short utility
trips and the Brooks is making sense. I'm still annoyed by the tiny
availability of any fore aft options, but with a slow cadence like the
old AW's encourage, it's quite nice.

Funny, although back in the day it was a pretty cheap Raleigh, it's an
attention getter now that it's overhauled. Had two teenage girls swoon
over it when I picked up the paper at the store, "we LOVE your bike!"
they crooned in unison. People wave at me as I ride by, might as well
get a fez to match. Even a country boy in a 67 Chevy pickup was swayed
on tonite's beer run. He called it "SwEEEt" in as many syllables as a
southern accent allows by law.

And to think that you can't buy a basic thing like this at your local
*mart anymore.