Hi-10 bikes for life thread
 

hi. I know a lot of people ride hi ten conversions, with stamped dropouts, 5 (10?) extra lbs., and a lot of shame. But hi-ten bikes are great, and not just surplus stove pipes cobbled into crude imitations of bikes...my raleigh super grand prix is a hefty,elegant steed. i'd post pictures,but that's stupid. other people should though. I think hi-ten really is the new cro-mo. Who's with me?

Wife's Fixte Pics

My Raleigh Pics

Project for a short coworker Pics

Raleigh I sold to another coworker Pics

"hi-ten is the new cro-mo"

"pink is the new black"

"huffy is the new bianchi"

"fail is the new win"

:trainwreck:

nice raleigh, i'll maybe post mine someday...those brits, bringing hi-ten to the level of a fine art. cro-mo. who needs it?

Be sure and toss any Reynolds or Columbus frames my way and I'll bury you with all the hi-ten you ever wanted. :)

Another ******* calling it stove pipe? Have you ever seen stove pipe? It's gas pipe, you fool!
:crash:

My SE draft. Hi-Ten, but love it. Bring it on haters...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...13-08_1757.jpg

With drops
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...s/684b2d56.jpg

Perfect street bike, IMO. Who wants to ride a $2000 bike over potholes and lock it up in front of the bar? Not I.

Exactly. Have a '09 lager frame on the way, but still gonna have this for those late night barhop rides home.

Nice bikes, especially the white Raleigh.

You should really post your bikes on the "Showoff your Townies" thread : http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=286515

Cheers

Stove pipes make fine coal and wood burning bikes, imho. have you ever seen a gas pipe? This whole thread should be moved to another forum, probably...

i feel dumb asking, but what is hi-ten?

hi-ten = high tensile steel. Non chromoly, heavier, thicker tubing. Still can give a nice ride but many bikes from the 70's "Bike Boom" were nasty hi-ten and heavier than lead. I rescued a low-end Gitane out of the trash. Looked cool but the frame was very heavy, had a "dead" feel to it. Gave it to someone who gave it to someone who finally converted it to a fixed gear.

Schwinn Varsitys are the Kings of hi-ten, heavier than a tank, bicycles.

did some changes to my newly named "stovepipe bike"

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...s/a5116bc2.jpg

and the rear with a different fork (chrome looks better)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...s/05c3fa11.jpg

Whole she-bang, again, the fork was replaced with the Chrome one
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...s/5f8002c0.jpg

yeah, varsities are curious beasts. kind of resemble (very shoddy) road bikes, but weigh more than most downhill rigs. Handle less well too. Raleigh probably made the classiest looking hi-ten bikes, i think. Some records and grand prix are actually pretty easy on the eye. I also have a centurion with butted hi-ten, it actually does feel a little lighter than other hi-ten bikes i've had. For what its worth, i agree that very nice cro-mo (the nicest frame i've ever owned was made from tange 1, if that means anything) is obviously lighter than hi-ten, and rides better, but i think the difference is often greatly exaggerated

Also, nice "stove pipe" draft. I don't think making new bikes out of hi-ten is a crime. looks sturdy enough. shame about that one piece crank though. Have you found it to be heavy and unmanageable, kind of like riding a boat anchor forged from pig iron? probably not, huh?

why so funny? It gets me from a to b doesn't it?

I think it was directed toward the Ourys on the road drops.

Oh, I agree. Changed bars back to flats. But... Not Ourys. Specialized BG MTB grips