Tom Bombadil
06-08-08, 05:05 PM
I picked up a modified Panasonic LX for $30 at a swap meet this past February. This is a 1980s lower-end road bike that had spent its entire life as a drop-bar road bike until just before I purchased it. An older guy who fixes bikes out of his garage had picked it up and salvaged it - replacing a number of parts, including ditching the drop bar and installing a steel flat bar. Along with brake levers, a stem, and grips from out of his parts bin.
So now its a flat bar road bike, has a steel cro-moly lugged frame, stem-mounted Suntour friction shifters, 53/42 double crank with 165mm crank arms, 6-speed 14-28 cassette, and 27"x1.25" Panaracer tires. The tires are very old and worn quite smooth. Oh, and it has a nice set of MKS pedals.
I'd never gotten around to putting it all together until today. I warily pumped up the tires to 80psi. Replaced the saddle and adjusted the height. The saddle is now almost even with the handlebar, which is very aggressive for me.
My first impression was -- Wow, these gears are tall! A 53/42 double is the anti-Tom crankset. I usually ride on my middle ring, which is 39t on the Fuji and 36t on the Trek hybrid. I can't believe that a lower-end road bike would come with such tall gears.
After coming to grips with this, and getting into it's lowest gears, I was pleasantly surprised by how well it still worked. Shifts were smooth, the wheels spun nicely, brakes worked fine. And the ride was smooth, smoother than many of the newer bikes I've ridden in the past year. I liked the 165mm cranks.
The ride was also fast! This bike took off on me. The road in front of my house has a new paved surface and a 2-3 degree slope (going up to 6-7 degrees nearer the top). As I was riding down it, to get the feel of the bike & brakes & shifting, it kept gaining speed. I rarely get over around 18 mph, the hill in front of my house is usually the only hill I ever ride. Not yet being comfortable with the bike or the more aggressive riding position, the bike kept getting out of control on me, zooming down the street at ever increasing speeds.
I only rode it for about a mile or so, stopping to tweak things a lot. I'll probably ride it a few more times before I donate it to some charity - where someone can get a lot more use out of it than me. Someone who can deal with a 53/42 double better than I can. Would make a nice bike for someone who can still cope with friction lever shifting.
So now its a flat bar road bike, has a steel cro-moly lugged frame, stem-mounted Suntour friction shifters, 53/42 double crank with 165mm crank arms, 6-speed 14-28 cassette, and 27"x1.25" Panaracer tires. The tires are very old and worn quite smooth. Oh, and it has a nice set of MKS pedals.
I'd never gotten around to putting it all together until today. I warily pumped up the tires to 80psi. Replaced the saddle and adjusted the height. The saddle is now almost even with the handlebar, which is very aggressive for me.
My first impression was -- Wow, these gears are tall! A 53/42 double is the anti-Tom crankset. I usually ride on my middle ring, which is 39t on the Fuji and 36t on the Trek hybrid. I can't believe that a lower-end road bike would come with such tall gears.
After coming to grips with this, and getting into it's lowest gears, I was pleasantly surprised by how well it still worked. Shifts were smooth, the wheels spun nicely, brakes worked fine. And the ride was smooth, smoother than many of the newer bikes I've ridden in the past year. I liked the 165mm cranks.
The ride was also fast! This bike took off on me. The road in front of my house has a new paved surface and a 2-3 degree slope (going up to 6-7 degrees nearer the top). As I was riding down it, to get the feel of the bike & brakes & shifting, it kept gaining speed. I rarely get over around 18 mph, the hill in front of my house is usually the only hill I ever ride. Not yet being comfortable with the bike or the more aggressive riding position, the bike kept getting out of control on me, zooming down the street at ever increasing speeds.
I only rode it for about a mile or so, stopping to tweak things a lot. I'll probably ride it a few more times before I donate it to some charity - where someone can get a lot more use out of it than me. Someone who can deal with a 53/42 double better than I can. Would make a nice bike for someone who can still cope with friction lever shifting.