Road Cycling - Its official I'm a road biker now.

I just went for my frst ride on my newly overhauled Le Tour. I needed to spruce it up before it was really rideable. It was only a mile and a half but its the first real ride I've had on my new acquasition, the up untill now they were just half block test rides during adjustments and fixes. I didn't realize how much the old wornout shocks on my mtb actually smoothed things out my vision was getting blurry on some of the faster rougher sections, the road is old chipseal not new asphalt no real potholes or patches its just rough. And straight sided 27" rims with 11/4" tires can take 90-100 psi without problems (tires say 80 max, HA) of course thats part of the roughness right there.

I just went for my frst ride on my newly overhauled Le Tour. I needed to spruce it up before it was really rideable. It was only a mile and a half but its the first real ride I've had on my new acquasition, the up untill now they were just half block test rides during adjustments and fixes. I didn't realize how much the old wornout shocks on my mtb actually smoothed things out my vision was getting blurry on some of the faster rougher sections, the road is old chipseal not new asphalt no real potholes or patches its just rough. And straight sided 27" rims with 11/4" tires can take 90-100 psi without problems (tires say 80 max, HA) of course thats part of the roughness right there.

BOOYA! beautiful bike, welcome to the club. by the way, i think there was a thread somewhere back about riding a road bike in the dirt/trail... recently i did that and it's still just as fun :). although i dunno about those high psi tires :p

sd

Man, I had one of those over 20 years ago! :beer:

Nice! I have an 80's Peugeot (not sure of the model) I do know its as heavy as a dump truck though...its been collecting dust for about 15 years now... maybe I should clean her up and take it for a spin...

Hi,
if the road is that bad, drop the pressure to 65-75 lbs depending on your weight. You don't need to worry about pinch flats with that much rubber; and the ride will be much better. There is really no point to high pressure on an old Schwinn, you are never going to be fast. So relax, enjoy the ride. I liked those old LeTours. I have a friend who has one and never uses it, and I have been debating for years asking him to sell it. No real reason, just notalgia.

I just went for my frst ride on my newly overhauled Le Tour. I needed to spruce it up before it was really rideable.

Congrats! and nice job on the bike. The Le Tours were very nice bikes. You should get years of use out of it. You really will notice a difference if you take some of the air out of your tires.

Not all of the roads around here are quite that bad, I think most of it was the shock of the change over.
It looks even better in person, the glint of the waxed paint and crome wheels didn't make it into the picture, totaly detailed.
I need a different seat.

The complete book of bicycling 4th ed by E.A. Sloan, SheldonBrown.com, and Barnetts all kick as$; the rest is just care on the part of the person doing the job, quality of the part(regardless of age/miles), and a dash of common sense.


Nice! I have an 80's Peugeot (not sure of the model) I do know its as heavy as a dump truck though...its been collecting dust for about 15 years now... maybe I should clean her up and take it for a spin... The grease in the hubs and bb and headset is probably all dried into earwax by now, repack 'em for a world of difference.


There is really no point to high pressure on an old Schwinn, you are never going to be fast. We'll just see about that, as soon as I get down to the lbs for a cheap cycle computer.(The way I packed the berrings they have less friction than cartrige berings and the frame is quite stiff; lots-o-steel)