Originally Posted by noglider

I notice our style of writing becomes British in this thread.

Originally Posted by BigChief

I'd need to know how the O.L.D on a Super Course would work with a 4 1/2" SA 3 speed hub. But apparently, it can be done. I've also heard that you can use a crank with a 10 speed sprocket with a single speed chain, but I have no experience with this myself. Just wondering what problems I would have to overcome with a Super Course 3 speed conversion.

Originally Posted by icepick_trotsky

My point is that the distinction between road single, path racer, and club model seems pretty meaningless if the geometry is the same, the drivetrain options were the same, and the only difference is the type of dropout. I know they were marketed differently (and maybe existed in different periods?), I just don't see a functional difference.

Originally Posted by Lascauxcaveman

'72 Lambert certainly checks off the "English" box. Mudguards, chainguard, IGH, Brooks and old centerpull brakes all fit right into the category.

The aero brake levers and Shimano 8-speed IGH kinda push it right back out again. And black rims? Huh?

What say, you, O jury of my peers? Does the Lambert frankenbike belong in the club?

Originally Posted by Lascauxcaveman

'72 Lambert certainly checks off the "English" box. Mudguards, chainguard, IGH, Brooks and old centerpull brakes all fit right into the category.

The aero brake levers and Shimano 8-speed IGH kinda push it right back out again. And black rims? Huh?

What say, you, O jury of my peers? Does the Lambert frankenbike belong in the club?

Originally Posted by clubman

The Birmingham chainguard makes that bike hot.

Originally Posted by Lascauxcaveman

'72 Lambert certainly checks off the "English" box. Mudguards, chainguard, IGH, Brooks and old centerpull brakes all fit right into the category.

The aero brake levers and Shimano 8-speed IGH kinda push it right back out again. And black rims? Huh?

What say, you, O jury of my peers? Does the Lambert frankenbike belong in the club?





SuperCourse fixie is probably a shoo-in:

Originally Posted by Sedgemop

Hey! Nice composition with the photos. The ship is framed up nicely.

Originally Posted by BigChief

nlerner, I love your Super Course conversion. This is a dream project I've been thinking about for years. I'd love to know what you needed to do to fit the AM hub into the SC frame.

Originally Posted by nlerner

I finally had a chance to take a look tonight and see what it is I did. Looks like I added 1.5mm spacers to each side, and then just squeezed to make up the remaining 2mm and have that hub fit in a 120mm dropout. That's more do-able with a hub like the AM, which takes a two-piece indicator and is adjusted from where it comes out of the axle on the non-drive side.

Originally Posted by tricky

Tacoma waterfront? I thought Seattle at first, but that doesn't look like West Seattle off in the distance.

Originally Posted by Velognome

On the theme of "l-caveman's" Lambert, here's my '81 Comp GS with a Sturmey s3x hub, kind of an British Fusion thing I suppose but the Brooks tape, saddle and Bluemels shorties are certainly a nod to it's blood line.

Originally Posted by noglider

I love this thread.

Originally Posted by rhm

Oh, by all means, try it! This is one of those things where you really should not take someone else's word for anything.

But to answer your question, I don't really dislike anything about it. It's just that...

On one side of the equation, the thing I like about the true fixie is that it forces you to learn to pedal at every conceivable cadence. For example, on Saturday I rode my fixie 110 miles, 7100 feet of climbing, maximum speed 37.4 mph according to my gps program. I don't think I'll do that again! On some of the descents I had to pedal at a 175 rpm or so, which is getting pretty close to scary! To maintain control, you want to be putting power into the pedals at all times; so even when you're screaming down a hill and you can't imagine your legs going any faster than they already are, you try to ride the bike, not let the bike ride you. And I was struggling up hills at a walking pace, a cadence maybe 30rpm, which is almost painful. Now, I don't enjoy those extremes; so to get up the hills I attack them as fast as I can, getting up the hills with the highest cadence possible. The end result is that on a short to medium fixie ride (up to 60 miles or so) my average speed is a couple mph faster than on a geared bike. It's hard work, but it's a blast. Somehow the S3X doesn't give me that.

Neither the S3X nor the AW is quite as much crazy fun as a true fixie; but they come equally close.

On the other side of the equation, the fun of a geared bike, and this includes a regular old three speed, is that you can chose a cadence that works for the terrain. On a three speed you have fewer choices, but you still downshift for the climbs, upshift for the descents, and when gravity really takes over you just coast. It's a blast. But somehow the S3X doesn't give me that.

So it's not that there's anything bad about the S3X, but that it misses out on the best parts of fixed gear and misses out on the best parts of variable gears.

I should point out that @JohnDThompson has a Viscount set up almost exactly the same as my Lambert. It might be fun to hear his thoughts on it as well.

Originally Posted by jmeb

Whelp. Now that languishing S3X wheelset in the basement has a new goal. But all I have is a Japanese frame...

Originally Posted by Velognome

Whelp....the '81 GS is a Japanese built frame, like I said...Japanese/British Fusion....works for me.

Originally Posted by rustystrings61

It occurs to me that while the bike might not be vintage, it is certainly vintage-inspired -



- 2002 Mercian Vincitore road fixed-gear, designed to replicate a bunch of vintage Brit-bike features. If I were doing it all over again I would specify long forward-facing dropouts rather than track ends, but other than that this has been an awesome bike and remains my all-time favorite.