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Bicyclists - Opinions on this as an all round option?

Well the Kona that I rode on Tuesday was sold yesterday and Evans have no more left.

I don't want to rush into spending so much on a bike but it looks like the few options are already dwindling.

In terms of building up a bike from a steel frame, I have nowhere near the expertise to do it myself and paying someone else to do it might prove to be prohibitively expensive.
 
I would suggest looking for a 2nd hand steel bike. I got a fully hand made, campag group set bike for 230 quid.

Best bike I've ever owned and very light given its steel.
 
Bicycle plus in purley are selling Trek 520 08 models at 639.99. was £800

520 Basics Specifications

Frame Trek butted Cro-Moly

Fork Cro-Moly Touring

Wheels Shimano Deore LX hubs; Bontrager Maverick rims

Crank Shimano Tiagra 50/39/30

Rear Derailleur Shimano Deore LX

Color Titanite Black
 
It's a pity the Haole costs so much more...

kona-haole.jpg
 
i work in a shop selling all sorts of bikes, including dawes.

My advice - dont get a dawes. they are shit. crap frames. heavy and shite. not what they used to be. (still, back in the day they still weighed a ton).

Get an old steel frame and build it up. surely there are shops that will do this. or buy a complete old 531 bike of ebay. much nicer...

p.s - downtube shifters. nowt wrong with them. much better or commuting! not much to go wrong, and unless your in a hilly area. how often do ya change gear?
 
update - I've managed to find a Kona Honky Tonk out in Chelmsford and have reserved it. They should be building it this week then I can go out, check it over and, if it so pleases me, buy it.

However over the weekend my brother mentioned that his old racing bike was gathering dust outside in his garden.

I got hold of it and have taken it over to a bike shop who quoted 150 quid as the minimum to get it roadworthy, also warning that it might have more fundamental problems that would only come out in the thorough going-over.

Which all sounds great because it's steel framed and that's what I want. Except for the fact that it weighs an absolute ton.

It's an old Reynolds 501 frame. Can people tell me anything about this?

Also, if I were to just go with the frame and fit modern components and wheels and a new seat etc how much might that be in total and would that route lower the weight significantly?
 
Diamond said:
It's an old Reynolds 501 frame. Can people tell me anything about this?
Click to expand...

There's a fairly full description here (2nd post) which fits with my memory of it in the 80s being a 'mid-range' tube set, designed for high volume production.

If you couldn't afford 531, 501 was a reasonable option. A 531 frame is more likely to have had more careful hand-crafted assembly and to have left the factory with better components.
 
i would suggest a lafree twist comfort by giant. its an electric bike - smooth ride as the front wheels and seat post have suspension. it will go up the steepest of hills, get you to commute, has kevlar tyres so few punctures, you do get a workout but it doesnt strain you, reliable panasonic battery. only problem is they stopped making them quite recently, there are alernatives - some good i've been told. i will be adding a folder to my collection but i have been spoilt by t he lafree and nothing else i've tried comp[ares
 
lintin said:
ps why are al frames worse than steel and does that apply to folders too?
Click to expand...

They have to be very stiff because of the strength/flex characteristics of alu basically. Steel doesn't. The stiffness is actually an advantage on hills, plus alu frames tend to be lighter so I wouldn't say they were 'worse'.
 
thanks, i undertand that alu needs stiff structure due to its flex compared to steel, was wondering how secondary ride was affected, due to damping or weight charateristics.
 
Well I got it and it's bloody fantastic.

I've been on a few short rides and a couple of big ones around London. It's very fast and quite twitchy which takes a bit of getting used to because at low speeds it's not the most stable but generally speaking it's great.

Cycling is clearly the way that everyone should travel. You get a far better appreciation of London as a city cycling around it than you do getting around any other way. It's also brilliant fun. I'm finding any excuse now to cycle from A to B.

A new saddle though looks to be the next investment. Getting back on the bike in the morning can be a painful affair for the first five minutes or so.

Also, with racing bikes in general, do you have saddle at a height that means that when sitting on it your feet can't touch the ground?

At the moment mine is set so that my toes can just about steady myself while I'm stationary and in the saddle but it feels that when I open up at higher speeds it'd be better to be sitting even higher above the pedals.
 
Diamond said:
Also, with racing bikes in general, do you have saddle at a height that means that when sitting on it your feet can't touch the ground?
Click to expand...

You want your saddle to be raised to the point where your leg is straight at the bottom of the down-stroke of the pedal....
 
^^^ this

[one] rule of thumb for calculating it is that the distance from the upper surface of the pedal (when the crank is in line with the seat tube - i.e. at the bottom of your stroke) to the top of the seat should be 109% of your inside leg measurement.

e2a: Usually this will mean you'll have to come off the saddle or lean the bike over to get [both or one of] your feet on the ground. It does depend a bit how high up the bottom bracket is and the length of your cranks, though.
 
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