What bike do you have?

[han]

It's got a back rack and panniers, and painted black it looks nothing like that at all! In fact it looks a bit like a victorian granny bike...but I loves it

 

[theCIA]

this is my baby

been cycling to work and back for about 2 months now, cant imagine getting around any other way! ive had to ride in the rain for the first time last week, wasnt too bad except i kept gettng water splashed in my face, gross as its runoff from londons main roads, woudlnt want to know whats in those puddles!! got to get me splash guards or possibly catch some horrible disease.

 

[lights.out.london]

Kona Explosif 1999

 

[Mrs Magpie]

Kona Explosif 1999

Sounds like a cross between a naff SF TV series and an unstable coffee maker....wouldn't catch me riding one......

 

[lights.out.london]

Sounds like a cross between a naff SF TV series and an unstable coffee maker....wouldn't catch me riding one......

Could you have afforded one? £1450 new in '98.

What a shitty thing to write. Or am I having a sense of humour failure?

The forks are a different spec in the picture, but at the time it was near as good a spec hardtail trail bike as you could buy.

It replaced an M2 Stumpjumper Pro that was pinched. That cost me £1800 and I still mourn for it.

Cheers.

 

[Mrs Magpie]

Or am I having a sense of humour failure?

Yup...major sense of humour bypass but perhaps you're just too young to get the joke...Space 1999 was a science-fiction series, Cona make coffee pots and explosif is, well, I'm sure the penny must have dropped by now.....don't worry, I think your bike is very very nice, and I'm sure you must get lots of admiring glances as you pedal along.....

 

[lights.out.london]

Yup...major sense of humour bypass but perhaps you're just too young to get the joke...Space 1999 was a science-fiction series, Cona make coffee pots and explosif is, well, I'm sure the penny must have dropped by now.....don't worry, I think your bike is very very nice, and I'm sure you must get lots of admiring glances as you pedal along.....

My ego is now re-inflated. Thank you.

Lol. I remember Space 1999. I'm 39.

**Polishes spokes. Sniffs saddle**

Funnily enough, I'm actually trying to trade the Kona for a Specialized...or Cannondale....

 

[Mrs Magpie]

ooh, maybe you'll know this...why do I suddenly see Claud Butlers everywhere that aren't racing bikes?

 

[lights.out.london]

ooh, maybe you'll know this...why do I suddenly see Claud Butlers everywhere that aren't racing bikes?

I wondered that meself, wandering round the City last week.

And I've seen a resurgence of Muddy Fox frames and Reynolds stuff. Is there a retro thing going on?

Doesn't answer your question I'm afraid.

 

[Mrs Magpie]

Well, to me a Claud Butler is a thing of beauty, but these new ones just aren't....maybe just the name has been bought by some mass-production outfit in Taiwan or something...

 

[lights.out.london]

This is all I could find

http://www.falconcycles.co.uk/CORP/aboutFalcon.html



I may have missed it, but I can't find anything on their site about where they're made.

Some of the frames look okay - the geometry. Don't like any of the headsets. Bit 'sit up and beg' looking.

 

[twister]

I have a 7 year old Sachs, gold. Got it free 3 weeks back and has needed some work done to it.

this is my baby:

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

This is all I could find

http://www.falconcycles.co.uk/CORP/aboutFalcon.html



I may have missed it, but I can't find anything on their site about where they're made.

Some of the frames look okay - the geometry. Don't like any of the headsets. Bit 'sit up and beg' looking.

The Claud Butler name is owned by Falcon cycles and has been a mass prodcued outfit since the early 70's. Until 1998 the factory was still in Brigg, Linconshire and production was still largely Brititsh. They had a wheel building workshop in the croydon area back in the day and the Brixton based wheelbuilder 'sam the wheels' (workshop / house on Railton Road) was ace wheelbuilder for claud butler / falcon for over three decades. He's still working and builds excellent wheels and does on the spot repairs for peanuts...just don't let him loose on the rest of your bike!

Like almsot all bikes now Claud Butler is very much just a sticker on a generic Taiwanese aluminium frame with basic shimano and SRAM parts. There's no difference between a CB and a same spec Specialized/Trek/Marin/Giant, just the name is somehow deemed less cool and consequently prices are lower. If you were in the market for a good lower priced bike you could do a lot worse.

 

[lights.out.london]

Thanks for the heads-up Sigmund!

 

[Chi_Rup]

Lovely Ridgeback Storm Hybrid with smooth tyres. Light as can be, lovely on corners, can take me everywhere town or country.

Please don't nick it

 

[Mrs Magpie]

My advice to han was to give her nice bike a crap paint job...it's worked so far

 

[Mrs Magpie]

I learnt this when a bike anorak friend I was meeting by the bike racks outside Brixton Police Station asked me to guess which was the most valuable bike in the racks...I pointed to a shiny clean neat bike and he shook his head and pointed to one painted badly with hammerite, or household gloss or summat...apparently it was well over a grand's worth of bike...I'd never have guessed.

 

[Orang Utan]

this is my baby:

Shouldn't you tie it up the other way round?
e2a - the d-lock is not in use and the front wheel is looking very nickable

 

[ICB]

Me and my lovely yellow Gary

 

[robotsimon]

I learnt this when a bike anorak friend I was meeting by the bike racks outside Brixton Police Station asked me to guess which was the most valuable bike in the racks...I pointed to a shiny clean neat bike and he shook his head and pointed to one painted badly with hammerite, or household gloss or summat...apparently it was well over a grand's worth of bike...I'd never have guessed.

Painting a lovely bike frame with hammerite may make it less stealable but it will also make it less sellable. A grand's worth of bike would not be worth a grand covered in dulux! Might be better to cover it in electrical tape or similar. Depends if you ever want to sell the bike I suppose.

 

[ChrisFilter]

My Italia '05 with Campagnolo Mirage groupset.. mmmmm

 

[spoone]

Trek 7.0fx

light as a button i find (well for a hybrid bike anyway)

 

[mtbskalover]

My Italia '05 with Campagnolo Mirage groupset.. mmmmm

heres a simple question for you, why have a cyclo cross bike? ?

i did the beast of brecon at the weekend, and a few roadies did it on thier X bikes, they sped along the road sections, but the fun descents and technical climbs must have been great practise at shouldering their bikes...

 

[rutabowa]

my bike says "Team Saracen" on it, but the front wheel seems to be from a different bike and the saddle is Trek. It was free though.

 

[ICB]

i did the beast of brecon at the weekend

short or long route? what time? someone I work with did the short route and is trying to talk me into doing the long route with him next year

can't say I fancy it much given the shit I got from my knees doing 102 flattish miles last week

 

[foo]

my bike's purple.

other than that, i know nada. it's a bit scruffy but goes like a dream.

living in Cambridge, it's really not worth buying a flash bike (unless you like stress). i can't count how many bikes i've had (and had nicked) over the years.

i love bikes though.

 

[ICB]

my bike's purple.

other than that, i know nada.

<insert mandatory sexist comment>

 

[ChrisFilter]

heres a simple question for you, why have a cyclo cross bike? ?

I don't.. mine is the road version of that, but the picture for the road version is in black. I can't actually see any difference between mine and that picture.. same groupset, frame, wheelset, tyres, etc, etc.

 

[mtbskalover]

I don't.. mine is the road version of that, but the picture for the road version is in black. I can't actually see any difference between mine and that picture.. same groupset, frame, wheelset, tyres, etc, etc.

good good

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

I have a cyclocross bike

I use it to do cyclocross

?