reverborama

Today couldn't have turned out better. My wife has been looking for a road bike for a couple of months but was having trouble swallowing the price tag of a decent new one. She decided maybe that '80 Raleigh Gran Sport would be good to try to see if she even liked a road bike before committing the money. I put new brake pads and pedals on it and adjusted the seat and bars for her. She took her first serious ride on it and is hooked. It took a little bit to get used to friction shifters but she announced, on the completion of her ride, that the only thing she would have changed at all was the temperature (we're getting some mid-90's with high humidity today). So, for under $100 (purchase price AND parts) she couldn't be happier.

Thanks for the help ID'ing it and locating the brake pads!

FlatTop

From the subject line, I thought this was going to be about a Schwinn Traveler.
Congrats to Mrs. Reverborama for joining the fifth column. I'm still trying to find a bike that will tempt Mrs. FlatTop into riding.

Nightshade

YOU are a lucky man mate, to have a wife who knows quality when
she rides it. She may not understand that in the front part of her
brain but she's willing to listen to the message her body sent during
the ride. It said "THIS is good and we LIKE it" of the old Raliegh.

What's scary is what "might" have happened if her first ride were on
a crummy modern aluminum framed bike. My bet is it would have
been her first & only ride.

reverborama

One who supports the aims or philosophies of a political group without joining it. A “fellow traveler” is usually one who sympathizes with communist doctrines but is not a member of the Communist party. The term was used disparagingly in the 1950s to describe people accused of being communists.

It seems like an amusing way to describe someone who likes to ride a particular "classic bike" but isn't actually into old bikes themselves.


She did test ride a number of new bikes and was VERY unhappy with the entry level road bikes and that if she was going to get something that felt good, the wallet was going to have to open wide! What makes her even more happy with the classic ride is the fact that the pedals and shoes each cost more than the bike -- and that was money we were going to have to spend even if we got the new bike!

nlerner

I've been collecting "hers" bikes for my wife to match the "his" bikes in my collection: a bronze green Raleigh Superbe, a coffee brown Raleigh Sports (21" frame), a 1939 rod-brake, full chain case Tourist (to go with my '38 Sports). She still has her bought-new-in-college Sekai road bike that I converted to upright bars many years back. Problem is that I haven't had time to rehab any of those bikes, so I don't think any is currently rideable. Perhaps my bikes have been more of a priority? At any rate, the coffee Sports is next up for a full rehab/overhaul.

Neal