i've just got a 70s vintage ladies' bike - a Raleigh Prima - for the 30-mile daily commute.
The gear shifter is an old pressure one. It doesn't work brilliantly and I'd be very happy to put new gears on, preferably with a step-type shifter.
Any advice on what sort? Or anything I can do to make the pressure shifter work better (ie not totally at random)?
The brakes have those dodgy 70s "suicide lever" handles that supposedly let you use brakes while holding onto the top of the handlebars. They don't work brilliantly to say the least; and the normal brake handles are positioned so far in front of where I'd put my hands on the drops, that I can hardly reach them. So again - new brakes? Or something I can do to fix the old ones? I'd be tempted to have interrupter levers since I quite like the idea of using brakes both on the drops and up on the top of the handlebars....
Any ideas?
The gear shifter is an old pressure one. It doesn't work brilliantly and I'd be very happy to put new gears on, preferably with a step-type shifter.
Any advice on what sort? Or anything I can do to make the pressure shifter work better (ie not totally at random)?
The brakes have those dodgy 70s "suicide lever" handles that supposedly let you use brakes while holding onto the top of the handlebars. They don't work brilliantly to say the least; and the normal brake handles are positioned so far in front of where I'd put my hands on the drops, that I can hardly reach them. So again - new brakes? Or something I can do to fix the old ones? I'd be tempted to have interrupter levers since I quite like the idea of using brakes both on the drops and up on the top of the handlebars....
Any ideas?
