Hi all. I like what Tom said. Even I rode my bike today. I won't tell you which one, 'cause I'm in secret training. But, it has my original Unica Nitor steel rail, no padding, plastic three hole top road saddle. Not to mention my Ale alloy toe clip, old Binda strap, cut off road cage trackerized Campy SL pedals. Sew up tires, of course, and my st. st. Nitto spare tire cage. Sunshine and 70 degrees does it every time. Ted Ernst Palos Verdes Estates, CA
>
> John In Appleton, WI wrote:
>
>>I rode my old mongrel road bike:
>
> http://www.os2.dhs.org/
>
> My wife built this frame, from Columbus SL tubing over 20 years ago. She
> no longer rides, so I've commandeered it.
>
> Anybody else here *NOT* own any off-topic bikes?<
>
> -------I was going to jump up and down and shout "ME" but then I
> remembered the Schwinn 'Corvette' ballooner. At least it's from the '60s.
> The rest do fit; I believe I'm a lifer with the old stuff. I feel no need
> for, no pull from, any of the recent things; even '80s stuff generally
> feels too new and fails to move me. However, I am all for "KOF" work, and
> look forward to the day I can initiate a custom order. I'd love a really
> Herse-like machine by Berthoud, for example.
>
> Hurrah (in addition) for mongrel road bikes, and the pure-breds, and the
> garden-variety. Good to have one or some of each.
>
> My choice this evening for ambling along the river frontage along the
> Hudson in lower Manhattan was an orange '55 Hetchins Vade Mecum. I'd
> better double check that date, actually. I looked it up recently, but
> can't be quite sure of the year now. Anyway, it's a bit of a mongrel
> itself simply by way of the parts on it; a fair amount of steel (and not
> quite all of it British). The previous owner went to great pains to find
> NOS parts, however, and for all practical purposes it's a brand new bike.
> It has Huret 5-speed at the moment, with a Gnutti 46-tooth on the front
> (14-24 rear). I'd like to find a Huret rod-type front changer eventually;
> have a pair of TA rings in reserve for eventual installation when I find
> that front derailleur. No rush! I'm broke again.
>
> For those who enjoy this sort of thing, here's a quick component list of
> what's on this bike:
>
> Gnutti cottered cranks & ring, beautiful re-chrome I suppose.
> Bayliss-Wiley low-flange hubs, 32/40
> Dunlop Special Lightweight rims
> Universal sidepulls marked "Universal Mignon"; matching levers
> Chrome steel semi-lugged stem, no name, very pretty
> Huret rear derailleur and lever, Tour de France model I believe--you know,
> cable-to-chain, coiled-spring type.
> Brooks Professional, large-rivet saddle with chrome rails--a bit
> anachronistic, (right? large rivets type appeared early seventies, I
> believe) but looks great, and is comfortable.
>
> Does anyone know how many teeth the Huret TdeF rear can handle? I'm
> thinking of changing the 24 in the rear to 26, which would be fine I'm
> sure, but wonder if it might handle 28...though I don't think I want to go
> that far--mostly just curious if anyone has gone the limit with these. I
> think with this style of derailleur there may be more than simply
> chain-wrap issues--that they may have a physical limit just due to where
> the pivot is located.
>
> Anyway, that's what I rode today--a fairly plain, non-curly Hetchins (Vade
> Mecum model). It's orange, or maybe almost 'Fiesta Red' like Hank Marvin's
> Fender Stratocaster...with gold lug-lining and some generous gold banding.
>
> Best Regards,
> Tom Ward
> New York City