ThermionicScott 

Ooh, this looks good.

michael k

I had the Mixte version and.well. Dang.

3speedslow

Never tire of seeing this Robin Hood ! What a survivor.

Did you get to put it through some miles this summer ?

dweenk

I have had my eyes on a Columbia ladies frame with a nice SA 3 speed wheel and shifter, fenders, bars, grips, brakes, saddle, etc.

I'm waiting for the seller to realize that my offer is the best he will get. If I don't get it, that's OK, I have too many bikes and someone in the household who must be consulted has reminded me of this lately.

browngw 

Thanks 3speedslow, I sure did. To me it feels like a bike of a different era! The "click, click, click" of the hub is a wonderful sound. I've used it as my town bike and it always draws attention. You can see since the last post is has some new Kenda gumwalls which improved traction and ride.

Next week it will be getting a new Brooks B67 in "Honey" for it. Cost more than I paid for the bike, but I think I'm going to love it. Maybe that will be an excuse to post another picture. This year, the Robin Hood has been the only bike that I ride without my Garmin. I quess I just don't want to sully the experience of piloting this great old 3 speed with mundane stuff like speed and distance!

Cougrrcj

My '75 Fuji S-10S is straight-gauge hi-ten, and I love it! My other 'road' bikes are DB CrMo. Do I notice the difference? Not really since all are different frame geometry. Weight difference? maybe a half of a pound in the frameset.

3speedslow

Browngw,

I could not see a Garmin on that machine nor even a computer. I hear you on the choice of a Brooks. Yes, will require a new pic.

I need to trade someone a blk B68 for some 3 speed parts to get my Rudge moving.

browngw 

@3speedslow What kind of parts do you need? I'm also working on a Raleigh DL1 rod brake full-chaincase bike and have a few parts kicking about.

non-fixie 

Nice to see this thread back on page 1. It gives me a chance to show off my chocolate brown Mercier. I bought it and rebuilt it just because of that color and it proved to be a really comfortable and smooth ride.

noglider 

@non-fixie, that's very nice. I like it better than a UO-8 for some reason.

non-fixie 

Thanks, Tom. I don't know what model it is, or where it sat in the line-up. Probably somewhere near the bottom, but as Mercier had 15 or so drop bar models in the European catalog at the time (late seventies) that's still a pretty wide range.

dddd

I can see why the Mercier is appealing. Just a quick look shows quite-racerly geometry, fork is straighter and the chainstays shorter, so appears to be more sporting of a road bike than the more multi-purposed UO8.

Are the brakes just Racers, or Competitions?

Huret is the better choice here In terms of longer-term ownership and survival.

And might the original rims be alloy?

JMONAY

Depending on what you need, I might have something as well. I have a couple AW hubs rolling around as well as shifter cable pulleys, ferrules, adjusting barrels, etc.

thrasher9905

I have only ever ridden Hi-ten bikes. I just bought my first Columbus steel bike and I will be building that up with a nice group. I have a 1981 Peugeot UO-10 and I had a track bike made from Hi-Ten. They were both comfortable frames, though the U0-10 was better..

non-fixie 

I think you're correct, and suspect this was the entry-level 'gentleman' racer of the late seventies. It came with aluminum rims and "RACER" brakes, like in the 'as bought' pic below. I'm pretty sure this was the original configuration, as I've got another one in red just like it.

As you can see all it needed was the removal of some superfluous metal, new bar tape and a B17 to make one of my favorite bikes.

I was pleasantly surprised by the Huret transmission. It shifts beautifully. Pity it's so rust-prone.

jimmuller 

I rode my highly upgraded "Record Du Monde" UO-8 to and from the office today. It predates the Carbolite 103 stuff. It's a pretty nice bike.

non-fixie 

I really got to get me one of those. They were typically destined for the Anglo-American market, I think. They did show up in the local catalogs in '75 and '76, but it was the only model in the Peugeot line-up with 27" wheels and schrader valves.

Steve Whitlatch 

Bike Boom Gazelle

Steve Whitlatch 

Bike Boom Coppi

non-fixie 

Very good-looking Tour de l'Avenir, Steve!

Sir_Name 

I'm fairly sure this is straight gauge Tange tubing.

Wildwood 

1990s Pinarello Cadore

BigChief

Performance and quality are related, but not necessarily parallel. Mild, low carbon cold rolled steel is not an inferior material. It is well suited to brazed bicycle frames with formed lugs. It can be heated without becoming brittle and can take a lot of bending and forming before it gets weakened. The fact that more exotic alloys can produce lighter weight and thus higher performance does not diminish the quality of a well designed and built CRS framed bicycle. So I consider the difference between a modern alloy and a "hi ten" bicycle a matter of design and not quality.

Mos6502

I would also imagine that 99% of riders cannot out-cycle their frame. While different steel alloys certainly make a difference, I feel the vast majority of riders could not truly exploit it, other than maybe appreciating a slightly lighter bike. It is/was mostly marketing.

I also think a lot of the perceived difference simply comes from hi-ten frames being designed mainly for casual riders, and consequently having long stays, conservative angles and lots of wheel clearance. More exotic frames tended to be made from higher quality metals,and probably a lot of the characteristics that are perceived to come from the steel have more to do with the design of the frame.

dweenk

I can't "out-cycle" a Varsinental, but that does not stop me from riding. I just try to avoid as many Freds as possible. I ride as fast as I want to, carry a camera to record what interests me, and stop whenever I want for as long as I want. That is what I do.