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05-10-11, 11:06 AM
Hey from North Carolina,
I have recently gotten back into cycling after a lapse of over 20 years. I was an avid rider from the early 70's to the late 80's when a couple of heart stopping traffic incidents caused me to reflect on mortality. Last fall, I was prompted into starting to commute by bike into work. After dusting off the bike I normally used for commuting, I tore it down to check and relube all the moving parts. The first week of commuting was a real shake down. Every day I discovered new things that needed attention. The bike was a 1973 Raleigh Competition so the other thing I discovered was that parts were not easy to get any more. Anyhow, I am closing on a year of commuting and find myself getting the bug again.
A few insights:
1. When all your bikes are at least 25 years old, you don't worry about equipment snobbishness.
2. The pile of spare parts I had in a cardboard box seem to be worth some $$ nowadays.
3. My bike is an old school 10 speed. My commute is 5-8 miles one way (depending on route) with rolling hills. Now that I have achieved a bit of conditioning, I find myself using only 42-17 to warm up and then 52-17 for most of the commute. Why do riders need so many rear cogs these days?
Anyhow, I expect to be hanging around in the Classic and Vintage bike forum for the most part.
Gary
I have recently gotten back into cycling after a lapse of over 20 years. I was an avid rider from the early 70's to the late 80's when a couple of heart stopping traffic incidents caused me to reflect on mortality. Last fall, I was prompted into starting to commute by bike into work. After dusting off the bike I normally used for commuting, I tore it down to check and relube all the moving parts. The first week of commuting was a real shake down. Every day I discovered new things that needed attention. The bike was a 1973 Raleigh Competition so the other thing I discovered was that parts were not easy to get any more. Anyhow, I am closing on a year of commuting and find myself getting the bug again.
A few insights:
1. When all your bikes are at least 25 years old, you don't worry about equipment snobbishness.
2. The pile of spare parts I had in a cardboard box seem to be worth some $$ nowadays.
3. My bike is an old school 10 speed. My commute is 5-8 miles one way (depending on route) with rolling hills. Now that I have achieved a bit of conditioning, I find myself using only 42-17 to warm up and then 52-17 for most of the commute. Why do riders need so many rear cogs these days?
Anyhow, I expect to be hanging around in the Classic and Vintage bike forum for the most part.
Gary