Fork's bent.

Nah, just kidding, nice looking bike.

Say, here,s a thought, put two hooks on that nice wall get a comfy seat and just look at it (its wall art) .

Nope, it's kinetic art. First ride was today! The matter is settled, it's a keeper.
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...d/P1000831.jpg
I got out for a little over 2 hours today, climbed some hills, did some sprints and I am pleased. Smooth, neutral handling characteristics. It rides 'smaller' than my Bruce Gordon when I'm up n out of the saddle. It just doesn't feel like as much bike is there underneath me, less flex in the bottom bracket too. Riding on flat or rolling terrain, it seems to hold its speed like my Eddy Merckx but where the Merckx makes me use my glutes and hamstrings more than any bike I've ridden, the Singer makes more use of my quads (which I favor) when at speed in the drops. I think this might have to do with the steeper seat tube angle. I descended one hill at over 40mph and rode no handed at slow speed and the bike feels stable, trustworthy. As I was riding home looking down at the bike, I noted that the bike just looks cheerful in that light cream color and all that shiny chrome. This made me look forward to those long rides where at some point when I am tired I will look down a see that view and be cheered up, helping me through a low ebb in spirit.

Awesome pic, and grats on getting it up and running. That is a beautiful bike.
Are those Detto Pietro's I spy?

I was waiting with baited breath to see what your decision was. I'm glad she's a keeper. :)

So, what do you have planned for her next besides more riding?

Great pic of the cockpit - particularly from that angle. I'm going to have to try that :)

Bike looks superb - and it's good to know she delivers in the ride department, too. Enjoy!

Oh, and Happy Anniversary :)

DD

First off, I'll re-position the brake levers. Longer term, I think i'll contact Eric Eastlund of Winter bikes and order up a custom stem


I have some Berthet pedals coming in. I am not too fond of riding in the old Detto's. I'm hoping the new pedals will enable me to run a thin soled street type shoe when I feel like going out on a casual ride. Campy pedals are too narrow for that.


I have a TA water bottle cage to mount on the handlebars but I'll also look around for a TA Criterium cage for a second mount on the seat tube.


I'll put some fatter tires on before summer for gravel road riding. Scozim n I have plans to do an interesting route around Colfax in Eastern Washington then later in September there's Cino.


I'll be keeping an eye out for special things that I can hopefully afford here n there..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Drillium Dude (Post 15006452)

Happy Anniversary

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Thanks Jeff. 28 years and it gets better every year.

Love that bike. It's my size, even with the current stem so I was rooting for a "doesn't fit me; gonna have to part with it" outcome. ;)

Nice bike from a top-shelf builder. Very, very nice.

I agree, it's a very nice looking bike, however I don't think it was built in the Singer shop. I think it might be one of the out-sourced frames that Singer ordered during the Boom.
By 1974 the Singer built frame serial numbers were only in the 4 digits. Somewhere around the 1650-1700 +/-.
Adding a fifth or sixth serial number matches up with the frames I have seen that were out-sourced.
Also, the lack of the E. Csuka name on the decals would make me think this.
I'm sorry, I don't mean to rain-on-the-parade, but for posterity I thought I should at least say something. And I will ad that I'm certainly no expert.

I not too worried by it's pedigree. I bought it from a respected and well known collector in New York (Douglas Brooks) - he said the bike came originally from Canada and I got this reply from Jan Heine when I asked him about it (submitted photos of the bike with my questions):
" Hi Matthew,

Yours is a nice bike. Mid-1970s sounds right - I'd say late 1974. It appears to be one of a multi-frame order - the 7th of that order. The only shop who took that many in Canada was Bloor Cycle in Toronto.

These bikes ride very well, and I am sure you'll enjoy it.

Best regards,

Jan Heine"
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...d/P1040937.jpg

Might have to do the Iron Horse too.

Matt,

Two items.

1) Congrats on your anniversary. Outstanding!

2) You have an excellent eye for choosing highly functional and beautiful bicycles.

This one is certainly no exception.

Perfect bike for Iron Horse, that's for sure!

DD

What a beautiful bike, again the simple elegance comes through in a C&V presentation. Well Done, Sir!

A very Happy Anniversary to you and the missus, that is a great accomplishment for both of you. Monica and I have 36 and 1/2 years together, I would not give up even one minute of that time. Hope you both had a great day.

Bill

New stem, handlebar and wrap. 2 coats of of clear shellac on the tape..
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...P1010292-1.jpg

That sure is a beautiful bike to look at. I'm glad to read that it rides well also, otherwise it would just be a chunk of steel with lots of hype... IMO at least. Are the head tube and seat tube running parallel with each other?

Droolworthy, and pardon me but you did a better job on the bike than with the camera Northbend, she deserves better lighting! And the rest of us more pics.

Wow what a gorgeous piece of equipment! Gotta love those lugs! Very classy! Must be about the nicest bike I've seen on this board and the one I'd certainly covet the most! (Although it looks a bit bit for me! 22" is my size, yours looks like it's about 25-26"

Thanks for sharing!

- Wil

Beutiful example of a classic French ride Northbend. I visited their exisiting shop in Levallois, Paris this last summer, the thread is here:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ht=alex+singer

Just so you can see where this beauty was brought to life!

Grail bike! Congrats!

Beautiful indeed. Only one complaint, Northbend. If you'll allow me. I sure would like to see some pics of that bike taken with the white balance on the camera set properly. ;) Those indoor shots don't do it justice. How 'bout some outdoor closeups so we can really see the details on it? Thanks.
Really fine looking machine. They don't get much classier than this.

First, Mrs. Road Fan and I are coming up on our 28th, so congrats!!

I got a set of Berthets for my Trek for exactly that reason, and they do work. You still need toeclips because the Berthets are single-sided. My feet aren't too big, so I'm ok with standard strapped clips, but I could see going with mini-clips if your feet tend toward the girthy side. I have the MKS GR-9s on the Terraferma for the same reason. I'm also working out a mod to a pair of standard rattraps for my UO-8 to fill in the space between the pedal rails. But that bike is lower priority, and it needs better wheels first, anyway.

Yea that last photo wasn't very good. Sorry
I'll be sure to take some outdoor photos when the weather cooperates. I live up against the west side Cascade mountains where we average 90 inches of rain a year. It may be a while...
:)

Thanks NB. I hesitated before I wrote that, not wanting it to seem too critical. After all, it IS an Alex Singer. I'll take one so-so pic of a Singer over a thousand shots of lesser bikes...most bikes are....any day. ;)