Tom,
You were complaining about the chainring being too close to the chain stay. Actually a half step plus granny needs to be as close to the chain stay as possible to get the best chain line with bigger freewheel combinations. Mine were so close on my Sachs tourer that I was getting capilary action between the chainring and stay when it was wet. Probably not a problem if you're staying with a five speed freewheel, but even with six speeds, you'll want to use the big big combination if you can, probably not a lot, but you'll want it. You can set up the front shifter to shift a bit past the granny to get a reliable shift and use a third eye chain watcher to keep the chain on the granny. If that doesn't work, an old bike shop guy could do a bit of bending on the derailleur cage to maximize the shifting down to the granny. A lot of those older front derailleurs seemed to work better with a bit of modification. Its been years since I've worked in shops, but I've been warned that newer mechanics generally don't have the expertise since they've been dealing with shifting systems that work well in their newer sloppy way. Good luck with the bike. It looks great from the website.
Dan Artley in Parkton, MD
>>> "Thomas R. Adams, Jr." kctommy@msn.com> 11/09/2003 11:22:59 AM >>
Here are a few pics of my newest paramour. We met on an eBay blind
date, courtesy of Tom Hayes. The paint was done by Franklin Frames.
I've only had one short test ride, but she rides very nicely indeed.
The geometry is on the sporty side in the back, with 16.75 chainstays,
but the wheel base is a plush 41 inches. Handling is more on the quick
side, but not twitchy by any means. Comfort was excellent, although the
32mm Paselas and broken in B17 had a lot to do with that.
Tom H. didn't mention what year it was, and I don't see any frame
markings providing an obvious clue. However the Headbadge is probably
either early or late in the company's life, as it mentions only Mason
and Metacalfe (M&M) without the K. I'll assume it's a '72 to '73, with
the headbadge predating the period when Ron Kitching got involved with
the business. BTW, the bike came with the MKM crest decal on the seat
tube similar to Dale's MKM shown on the CR website, but Lloyds Transfers
didn't have them. Luckily we were able to save the headbadge.
I haven't tried it out in Mark II form yet (Cinelli R stem). Waiting
for noon to ride, as it's darn cold now. Thanks for looking.
http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/