Ajax Bay
Guru
- Location
- East Devon
Is that an old French gear sysytem?
The weirdest and most obscure cycling subcultures
- Thread starter david.rolls
- Start date
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All uphill
Still rolling along
- Location
- Somerset
I think riding a bike that doesn't move is exceptionally weird; but me thinking something is pointless is usually a good indicator of its commercial potential.
- Location
- The TerrorVortex
Well, my SS has a 39/17 freewheel and 39/15 fixed. Not sure if that counts. 61 and 69 inches iirc.
And I've toured on it
Ajax Bay
Guru
- Location
- East Devon
So off topic, however . . .
I'll have you know GBR has a serial world champion: Emily Benham:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_Benham
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
Ho ho!Little by little @ColinJ invents the geared bicycle.
I'm going to see what the chainline is like with just 3 gears. I prefer the idea of one gear to do most of my riding, one for tough climbs, and a 3rd one for descents which have freewheeling speeds of about 30 km/hr. (Shallower descents could use the middle gear. Steep descents would be fast freewheelers. A 30 km/hr freewheeler could be an easy 40-45 km/hr with the 3rd gear.)
Typing on a phone screen and not spell-checking! (Was your typo deliberate?
)
StuAff
Silencing his legs regularly
- Location
- Portsmouth
Never have, even under Simon…
wiggydiggy
Guru
That'll be the 1% then....
matticus
Guru
Are you thinking of mudguards? Don't think there was ever a rule, but I believe they were a major irritation to Simon (due to being a source of mechanicals).
Dogtrousers
Kilometre nibbler
No, there were never any rules on bike or equipment eligibility, other than that it should be mechanically sound, and all kinds of bikes have been seen on Fridays rides.
But there were opinions . The great leader Simon had a bee in his bonnet about mudguards and the carrying of excess stuff. But there were no rules, and lots of us rode heavy, mudguardy bikes laden with extra clobber, much to Simon's derision. And if your mudguards started rubbing and making a horrible noise or if you experienced some kind of luggage SNAFU you could expect an "I told you so"
wiggydiggy
Guru
I could be, it's at least 7-8 years ago. Don't know who Simon is/was but I remember whatever it was I read it put me off and I never did a ride.
I'm eyeing up the Manchester>Morecambe ride for later this year as that's my nearest. It's been around 10 years since I did an overnight and I'm well overdue a re-run.
Dogtrousers
Kilometre nibbler
Go for it.
Simon was the originator, organiser, benevolent dictator, and the driving force behind the Fridays. He left in about 2015??? These days it's run by volunteers and is somewhat less eccentric but still a fantastic night out.
Edit. The old website (fnrttc.blogspot.com maybe I think) no longer exists. From memory it ite used to say something like this: "If you don't need it, don't bring it. Mudguards, panniers, racks - have away with 'em. ... mudguards ... if they aren't rattling they are working loose and causing problems ... you won't starve on one of our rides so there is no need to bring along your aunty Mabel's famous fruit cake and cheese and pickle sandwiches ..."
It was all pretty tongue in cheek. From a ride organiser's point of view he wanted to minimise mechanicals and other problems, and also people over-reaching themselves and getting knackered due to having brought the kitchen sink along. But I can see how it could seem a bit overbearing and off-putting if you didn't realise the sense in which it was meant.
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matticus
Guru
Now there's a co-incidence ... I only just found out there is a club about 10 miles from me. They must know they're weird, as they've kept it very quiet!
