Ed.

It's been at least 40 years. 'Sophia' was my ride for about 10 years, commuted to Northeastern one Summer, rode from Montreal to Boston another; after being at Raleigh for a bit I was helped to collect together bits to concoct a Raleigh Pro, and Sophie was put away. I just popped some tires on her, went out for a spin and took a few 'selfies'.



There's only one thing - she don't stop*! . I really have no idea, the pads might be original to 1961, but I need to do about that before venturing off Spring Lane. Oh, and another minor thing, I need to lower the seat to make of for the lost 3/4".

*Paraphrasing Sr Fanfanni, "Anyabody can maka da bike stop, it taka a genius to make it go fast." (anyone know this piece by the late, fabulous, Peter Ustinov?)

nesteel 

It's like running into an old friend you haven't seen in a while, isn't it?

John E

Nice-looking paint job, and nice half-step gearing (still my favorite shift pattern after all these years). There is nothing wrong with that bike that a fresh set of brake cables, housings, and KoolStop pads could not solve.

Ed.

Ummm, yes, but she ain't got the 'snap' that Geraldine has. Honestly feels a bit sluggish, but then Geraldine is still in her prime.

Ed.

The paint has some issues here and there, little 'tumors'. Shifting is a bit crude, LOL, and having the pump between the shifters is going to take some getting used to.

rootboy 

Nice Ed. How 'bout let's see some close ups of that old beauty.
NO...not you. The bike!

Say...anyone ever tell you you have a nice head of hair?

Ed.

More pix: https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...r-torpado.html

Ummm, hmmm, yes, actually. Mostly wopeople.

repechage

I have lost over an inch over the last four decades, but not in the legs, in the torso. The stem might need to be shorter, which is what I did, from 1 to 1.5 cm on each bike. Gravity strikes back.

catonec 

her chain looks slack

Henry III

What kind of calipers are on it?

rootboy 

Cool old bike. Thanks Ed.

OK. I give. How is the handle end of that pump held there between the shifters?

Oh…I see, I think, in the pic above that you have mounted an umbrella ???

randyjawa 

Ah, old Torpado bicycles - I love them and have had a few, in my time. The lovely old blue on the OP is riding is so similar to one I picked up for nothing, cleaned up for nothing and then spend a few dollars on consumables(she, too, was blue at one time)...



Those old Universal brakes(tried a few models, over the years), actually,don't stop worth beans, in my opinion...



You can get them to work better with new pads (old one have hardened with the passing of time) and cleaned rims (a bit of oxidation on alloy rims will negatively impact stopability, steel not so much). Next, make sure you have the brakes adjusted properly, ensuring that the drag in your cables is minimal (old cables, once again, are subject to the passing of time and can become oxidized inside the casing).

Try that and the stopability factor will increase, but do not expect modern V-brake performance. It just ain't gonna happen.

Ed.

LOL, you really, really, don't want to see a photo of my legs, do you?

Ed.

That's because it is. That was the first thing I noticed when I looked at the photos.

Ed.

Universal Mod 51, sidepull, with custom, rock-hard pads.

Ed.

Apologies for the photo that doesn't meet my usual standards. I bit of a guess as to distance, probably should have checked the f-stop setting; selfie photo taken by remote control. And, yes, there is now an umbrella clip.

Ed.

Hey, if she'd just show an inclination to slow down with a white-knuckle squeeze! Brings back memories of riding my brakeless fixed gear. I'd not considered the effect of corrosion on the rims - I guess that will self correct, and I'll be off to my LBS to see what we can find for pads that fit the Universal holders, or, worse comes to worse, new pads. I'm surprised that with all the different pads available from Coolstop (even for roller-lever brakes!), they don't list for Universal.

Ed.

I got a set of dia-compe shoes from my LBS. Near perfect fit in the Universal holders. Curiously, the original pads were different front and rear, on the back side (the part in the holder). The rear ones had a circular cutout, in the center of the back. The front ones had a square cutout. The dia-compes have a square recess that secures pretty well to the square on the treaded fitting of the Universal holder.

I wish I could say the braking was vastly improved- perhaps with more use and burnishing of the braking surface...

repechage

That was the style. Tight chain allegedly meant higher friction in the system.