mender
New Member
- Location
- Birmingham
Hi All,
Just joined as my partner and I have recently aquired road bikes. We got together about 2 years ago and initially bought MTB's to get around on, moved on to Hybrids and finally have our first half decent road bikes - wow how they move!
Karen's Carrera Vanquish (2009/10?)
We originally picked the "V" up for me through an ad on Gumtree. It was a total wreck - too wrecked for me to be bothered fixing. I told the seller that I could only give him £50 for it. After some teeth sucking we settled on £55!
We fixed it up as best we could and I took it for a spin - damn me if I didn't fit! The leg length was perfect but I didn't fit in the frame. Karen's legs are the same length as mine but her torso is shorter - the "V" fitted her like a glove. She'd been coveting the bike through it's re-build so what else could I do?
Only one thing - give it to K!
We changed the bars to a smaller size (for ladies hands), changed the saddle (twice 'till we got it right), new pedals and clips, new tyres and most importantly new wheels. We'll change the cassette soon enough. Being a little nerdy we weighed everything that we took off the bike and weighed everything new we put on - just shy of 1000g off the original weight - I'd say we're looking at a 10kg bike now. Not too bad for £200 spent in total. She says it's like riding on air
Having given the "V" to K that left me with my Hybrid. Sorry Hybrid owners, but that had to go. No way on earth could I keep up with Karen. I set myself a budget of £200 (funded by selling some hi-fi speakers) and began my search - it drove me mad but I think K was even more disturbed by my obsession...
Eventually it all paid off and I bought this...
All I've done so far is change the pedals and put new bar tape on. Not sure how old she is or even what her name is, I think it might be "Molven". But she rides beautifully...
Anyway - very much looking forward to joining you in the forums and chatting!
Mark
Just joined as my partner and I have recently aquired road bikes. We got together about 2 years ago and initially bought MTB's to get around on, moved on to Hybrids and finally have our first half decent road bikes - wow how they move!
Karen's Carrera Vanquish (2009/10?)
We originally picked the "V" up for me through an ad on Gumtree. It was a total wreck - too wrecked for me to be bothered fixing. I told the seller that I could only give him £50 for it. After some teeth sucking we settled on £55!
We fixed it up as best we could and I took it for a spin - damn me if I didn't fit! The leg length was perfect but I didn't fit in the frame. Karen's legs are the same length as mine but her torso is shorter - the "V" fitted her like a glove. She'd been coveting the bike through it's re-build so what else could I do?
Only one thing - give it to K!
We changed the bars to a smaller size (for ladies hands), changed the saddle (twice 'till we got it right), new pedals and clips, new tyres and most importantly new wheels. We'll change the cassette soon enough. Being a little nerdy we weighed everything that we took off the bike and weighed everything new we put on - just shy of 1000g off the original weight - I'd say we're looking at a 10kg bike now. Not too bad for £200 spent in total. She says it's like riding on air
Having given the "V" to K that left me with my Hybrid. Sorry Hybrid owners, but that had to go. No way on earth could I keep up with Karen. I set myself a budget of £200 (funded by selling some hi-fi speakers) and began my search - it drove me mad but I think K was even more disturbed by my obsession...
Eventually it all paid off and I bought this...
All I've done so far is change the pedals and put new bar tape on. Not sure how old she is or even what her name is, I think it might be "Molven". But she rides beautifully...
Anyway - very much looking forward to joining you in the forums and chatting!
Mark
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