Stonechat
Guru
- Location
- Staines, Middlesex
I just about get to half my age!!
I am DONE with going fast down hills!
- Thread starter Andrew_Culture
- Start date
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HLaB
Marie Attoinette Fan
Never been fast enough to determine if its a Steel/Alu/Carbon or Ti thing but I think it'll be a lot more importants factors than just the frame material.
jefmcg
Guru
And even then, it can go badly wrong. Wouter Weylandt crashed on a descent in the Giro d'Italia, and was declared dead on the scene. I accidentallly saw a shot of him after the crash, and that's enough to make me carefully control my speed.
Brown trouser moment indeedIf there's any possibility of something happening I descend like a granny (no offence meant Gran); I can only ease of the brakes on a perfectly straight and clear rural road
I'm a grandad, and soon to be a great grandad, and have a couple of hills where I regularly get 30mph +. It's not scarey, it's exhilarating.
OP
OP
Andrew_Culture
Internet Marketing bod
- Location
- The People's Republic Of Suffolk.
67kph on this weekends forum ride with @ColinJ. On a steel frame road bike from yesteryear and a single pannier. Did say before I left that I wasn't gonna go silly but, well....I was enjoying the ride tbh. Great fun. For a shandy-drinking-southern-softy-daft-******* I think I did alright.
Although I do have 105 brakes, set up to within a knats-cock of perfect, and can honestly say it felt pretty solid.
Fit those 105s Andrew. Know you wanna....
Post-haste!
OP
OP
Andrew_Culture
Internet Marketing bod
- Location
- The People's Republic Of Suffolk.
Do you have same as mine? Mine isn't badged because it was bought by a wholesaler direct from the importer but it sure looks like a Ribble 7005. Although now I look I'm not sure it is.
Fascinating post hey...
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
No I have a Real Steel RIBBLE in Reynolds 653 built by Terry Dolan about 20 years ago. !!
OP
OP
Andrew_Culture
Internet Marketing bod
- Location
- The People's Republic Of Suffolk.
Does it flex much? My old steelie is really flexible, but I've never gone fast downhill on it
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
No. Doesn't flex, and neither does the Herety, which is Columbus SLX and has re-inforcing spirals running inside the tubes near the BB and headset.
653 is a mix of 531 main tubes and 753 rear end.
All depends upon the frame material. Quality steels aren't 'flexy'.
EltonFrog
Legendary Member
I too like going fast down hill, but I have had a few oopsfarttilt moments. There is a Tube of U vid somewhere of me going down Kirkstone Pass on me 'brid at 45mph, a couple of years ago, and last year on the Ride London/Surrey, after going over the top of Leith Hill, I was enjoying the ride down Hollow Lane, hit a pot hole at 38mph according to my Garmin and blew the tyre out. I was most vexed.
OP
OP
Andrew_Culture
Internet Marketing bod
- Location
- The People's Republic Of Suffolk.
I think quality might be lacking in the 80s steel frame I bought for £20 off the London SingleSpeed forum, even after the overall twist in the frame was corrected
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
Ah,I think quality might be lacking in the 80s steel frame I bought for £20 off the London SingleSpeed forum, even after the overall twist in the frame was corrected
My Columbus SLX frame cost £460, 24 years ago - think same price as a Colnago ! (same frame material).
Donger
Convoi Exceptionnel
- Location
- Quedgeley, Glos.
I discovered today that, under certain conditions, (into a headwind and at about 30mph downhill), a map holder can act a bit like an aerofoil! Not at all pleasant. Mother of all wobbles. Took it easy after that.
Jon George
Mamil and couldn't care less
- Location
- Suffolk an' Good
Glad you survived intact. Even though I've slowed down considerably over the years on my motorbike, I've had so many 'oh-this-looks-like-this-is-it' moments that I suspect I've built up a kind of mental immunity and gleefully hurtle down as many of the steep bits of Suffolk I can find on my cycles. (I did 38 down a certain hill in Ipswich yesterday, followed by a 41 down Wherstead Hill - this summer I aim to increase on these.) I am fully aware that at my age, broken bodily bits and pieces take far longer to heal than for young ones, but that thrill of driving down a hill on a cycle as fast as I can is part of my personality which I hope will never dim.
