In a message dated 10/26/00 8:03:18 PM Eastern Daylight Time, monkey37@bluemarble.net writes:
> I'm interested to hear the stories of the bikes we still miss and wish we
> still
> had. I think many of us find our love/lust for bikes amplified by bikes of
> the past. I know most the fat-tire crusier guys are looking for the bikes
> of their youth. I wonder if the same holds true for the skinny tire set?
My interest is in comparing the ride as I remember it to the ride as I would
experience it today. For example, my first 10-speed bike was a "Robin Hood"
from "Nottingham, England" (ie. - a Raleigh) which I bought from Flythe's
Schwinn Cyclery while it was still also a lock and mower shop in downtown
Raleigh. I seem to remember old man Flythe himself getting upset with me
because I had chosen a "foreign" bike over a USA-made Schwinn (Varsity or
Continental, depending on whether I wanted centerpull brakes or those cheap
sidepulls). He got *really* angry when I brought it back to him because the
gear cables were no longer properly adjusted (normal cable stretch) and asked
him to please re-adjust them or tell me how to. He told me then to "not
change gears so often, them English racing bikes aren't made for a lot of
gear changing !" The bike eventually got stolen as a result of riding it to
my high school and I bought a Varsity to replace it, then when that got
stolen too, a Continental, and after that one died or went missing or
whatever I bought a Louison Bobet from Cyclopedia out of Cadillac, Michigan
which I miss.
> Needless to say once the fixed-road thing killed my knees I traded it to a
> friend for a MTB frame and fork.
My do you say the fixed gear bike "killed" your knees ??? I ride my fixed
gear bike as a recovery ride to alleviate joint pain and stiffness caused
bike riding hard on my derailer bikes. If I was to have to give up all my
bikes but one, I think I'd rather keep the Miyata fixed gear over anything
else I own, except maybe the Rudge 4-speed or the 1975 Trek 910 or maybe the
"Ti-mobile" - no, I could live without the "Ti-mobile". Well, the Proteus is
pretty cool too. And my cute little Nishtinky with the toe-clips that I ride
to work sometimes on the Ideale saddle Rycki Garni gave me....and the Raleigh
that I think is a Competition but haven't got the rear wheel rebuilt yet on
so that's not really fair...
> enjoy,
> monkeyman
"Monkeyman" ? Not that I really mind, but I think our noble moderator and list-owner has asked we identify ourselves in each post with true name and general location ? (Let's see if my new signature really works with AOL 6.0...)
Glenn Jordan - Durham, NC (I don't trust AOL 6.0 since it ATE my email archives)