MGBLemonrider
Active Member
- Location
- Stevenage, Herts
Whoops, not quite my first post.
Probably a story fairly similar to others- I had a 10 speed racer (Falcon Black Diamond - it was red) as a teenager, used to ride this every where, especially backwards and forwards between a friend house in the next village and mine and then into town and repeat several times a day.
I turned 16 and discovered mechanised transport, but the cycle wasn't forgotten and my friend and I made an overnighter to visit his grandparents some 66 miles away. Hard work when not ridden for 6 months except to pedal start your moped, made worse when the last 13 are done on one toe strap pedal and the stub of the other.
Nearly 10 years later and it's out from the bottom of the garage for a two mile commute down the cyclepaths of Stevenage where I'm now living and working. These commutes rapidly turn into cycle in, run home, run in, cycle home and repeat. Then one day the cycling element stopped.
5 years later the bike is now two tone with a grey top where left in the cycle shed at work, and ended up been got rid of.
Another 5 years later and a change of domestic circumstances, the running has stopped and I have a MTB ( before suspension) tried to commute on it, plagued with punctures so tried solid tyres- ha ha don't, like riding on flats, but you all knew that. Despite now having Kevlar strips it's still no fun commuting and when work moves out of town the cycling commuting stops.
10 years later I find myself at 19 stone
and needing yet another new suit for a funeral. Drastic action required, so lots of white fish, boiled egg and plain rice with a dash of Worcestershire sauce and fruit lots of fruit, as the main part of my diet, I'm upping the exercise: running or squash at lunch time. Work offers C2W but has to via Halfords and nobody makes anything like my old bike. I wasn't too keen on the indexing ( never really got it set up properly) or have GT brake levers, with only a month of opportunity I never take it up. But do lose 2 1/2 stone.
A year on the person I lift share with has been posted away, so I decide to give the cycling a go for my 11 mile each way commute. The first trip on my MTB 55 minutes and on the way back the bottom bracket destroys itself. The cassette is so corroded it disintegrates and can't be got out the frame.
A few weeks later I have liberated my fathers old 10 speed Peugeot drop bar just like my old bike but 700C wheels. So new seat; tyres; tubes; pedals; toe clips and lights I set to go. I fitted Kevlar strips following my experience on the MTB. First trip in 45 minutes, this is much more like it.
Puncture on the way home, spare tube is one of the originals doesn't last so end up walking half the way home. Luckily there is large Halfords as you come into town and caught it just before closing time. Tubes on 3 for 2 so thats what I have and a track pump, because the original is a bit below par.
So in the car park change the tube and just one more pump - BANG - that'll be overinflated then. Put the second spare in. Ride home just as I roll in I notice the front is flat, picked up a thorn, despite the Kevlar shield. So thats my third tube gone.
So next day cycle to work and at lunch time walk in to town to get a spares. Got home with out a puncture but managed to splay the rim hitting a huge pothole. So hammered that back.
I made about six trips on the bike, getting a puncture at some point on each day. I then decided that the cause was the Kevlar strips., and I'd take the remaining one out when I got home. I never did as the rear derailleur managed to bend itself in to the wheel, bending the frame mount also. My extremely LBS advised me that they didn't make anything like that these days. They concurred that I did need a drop bar for the length of my commute but themselves only carried hybrids and MTB as there wasn't the demand locally, and referred me to their sister shop.
However my father in law came to the rescue and donated his 1984 Dawes Lightning. I changed the 27 x 1 1/4 tyres. However they new ones where rounder in cross section and wouldn't accommodate the guards and still rubbed the frame.
I had done a little research and whilst work weren't offering the C2W, I knew some of the things I wanted and had fortunately been presented a cheque by the building society that I had some life insurance through because they'd demutualised several years ago. In principal I'm against building societies demutualising, and as only a straight life insurance policy holder it doesn't actual effect me at all, unless they ceased trading and stop providing the cover, but in this case it was free money and I needed a bike.
So LBS in next town over carries Dawes amongst others, so bank holiday Monday I went over there and was able to press my nose against the window. On the Tuesday I went back when they were open and ended up coming away with the Dawes Giro 400.
I liked the Dawes because it gives the option of adding guards/rack.
I'm one month into ownership now and I've used it every working day bar one, when I need the car to move some heavy stuff, and a few rides for riding sake. I've done over 430 miles on it, and the journey is down to sub 38 minutes and whilst the weight might not have come down much in this month I've actually dropped a second jean size since last summer.
The cycling bug has bitten, so clipless pedals next and perhaps when a few more miles in my legs join the local CTC and smaller Audax rides.
My user name is my initials MGB and refers to my motorcycle a Moto Guzzi V11 Lemans. The pun on the name Lemans - Lemon is quite apt as a temperamental Italian prone to character issues. Though at this time the correct nomenclature should be MGBLemonowner as not ridden for over a year due to failing out of love with her and not trusting the bitch not to kill me.
Probably a story fairly similar to others- I had a 10 speed racer (Falcon Black Diamond - it was red) as a teenager, used to ride this every where, especially backwards and forwards between a friend house in the next village and mine and then into town and repeat several times a day.
I turned 16 and discovered mechanised transport, but the cycle wasn't forgotten and my friend and I made an overnighter to visit his grandparents some 66 miles away. Hard work when not ridden for 6 months except to pedal start your moped, made worse when the last 13 are done on one toe strap pedal and the stub of the other.
Nearly 10 years later and it's out from the bottom of the garage for a two mile commute down the cyclepaths of Stevenage where I'm now living and working. These commutes rapidly turn into cycle in, run home, run in, cycle home and repeat. Then one day the cycling element stopped.
5 years later the bike is now two tone with a grey top where left in the cycle shed at work, and ended up been got rid of.
Another 5 years later and a change of domestic circumstances, the running has stopped and I have a MTB ( before suspension) tried to commute on it, plagued with punctures so tried solid tyres- ha ha don't, like riding on flats, but you all knew that. Despite now having Kevlar strips it's still no fun commuting and when work moves out of town the cycling commuting stops.
10 years later I find myself at 19 stone
and needing yet another new suit for a funeral. Drastic action required, so lots of white fish, boiled egg and plain rice with a dash of Worcestershire sauce and fruit lots of fruit, as the main part of my diet, I'm upping the exercise: running or squash at lunch time. Work offers C2W but has to via Halfords and nobody makes anything like my old bike. I wasn't too keen on the indexing ( never really got it set up properly) or have GT brake levers, with only a month of opportunity I never take it up. But do lose 2 1/2 stone.A year on the person I lift share with has been posted away, so I decide to give the cycling a go for my 11 mile each way commute. The first trip on my MTB 55 minutes and on the way back the bottom bracket destroys itself. The cassette is so corroded it disintegrates and can't be got out the frame.
A few weeks later I have liberated my fathers old 10 speed Peugeot drop bar just like my old bike but 700C wheels. So new seat; tyres; tubes; pedals; toe clips and lights I set to go. I fitted Kevlar strips following my experience on the MTB. First trip in 45 minutes, this is much more like it.
Puncture on the way home, spare tube is one of the originals doesn't last so end up walking half the way home. Luckily there is large Halfords as you come into town and caught it just before closing time. Tubes on 3 for 2 so thats what I have and a track pump, because the original is a bit below par.
So in the car park change the tube and just one more pump - BANG - that'll be overinflated then. Put the second spare in. Ride home just as I roll in I notice the front is flat, picked up a thorn, despite the Kevlar shield. So thats my third tube gone.
So next day cycle to work and at lunch time walk in to town to get a spares. Got home with out a puncture but managed to splay the rim hitting a huge pothole. So hammered that back.
I made about six trips on the bike, getting a puncture at some point on each day. I then decided that the cause was the Kevlar strips., and I'd take the remaining one out when I got home. I never did as the rear derailleur managed to bend itself in to the wheel, bending the frame mount also. My extremely LBS advised me that they didn't make anything like that these days. They concurred that I did need a drop bar for the length of my commute but themselves only carried hybrids and MTB as there wasn't the demand locally, and referred me to their sister shop.
However my father in law came to the rescue and donated his 1984 Dawes Lightning. I changed the 27 x 1 1/4 tyres. However they new ones where rounder in cross section and wouldn't accommodate the guards and still rubbed the frame.
I had done a little research and whilst work weren't offering the C2W, I knew some of the things I wanted and had fortunately been presented a cheque by the building society that I had some life insurance through because they'd demutualised several years ago. In principal I'm against building societies demutualising, and as only a straight life insurance policy holder it doesn't actual effect me at all, unless they ceased trading and stop providing the cover, but in this case it was free money and I needed a bike.
So LBS in next town over carries Dawes amongst others, so bank holiday Monday I went over there and was able to press my nose against the window. On the Tuesday I went back when they were open and ended up coming away with the Dawes Giro 400.
I liked the Dawes because it gives the option of adding guards/rack.
I'm one month into ownership now and I've used it every working day bar one, when I need the car to move some heavy stuff, and a few rides for riding sake. I've done over 430 miles on it, and the journey is down to sub 38 minutes and whilst the weight might not have come down much in this month I've actually dropped a second jean size since last summer.
The cycling bug has bitten, so clipless pedals next and perhaps when a few more miles in my legs join the local CTC and smaller Audax rides.
My user name is my initials MGB and refers to my motorcycle a Moto Guzzi V11 Lemans. The pun on the name Lemans - Lemon is quite apt as a temperamental Italian prone to character issues. Though at this time the correct nomenclature should be MGBLemonowner as not ridden for over a year due to failing out of love with her and not trusting the bitch not to kill me.
