So here it is, my highly economic fixed speed bicycle. It’s environmentally friendly too as I’m reusing my old Triumph Tempest steel frame.
As you can see if you click on the picture the pedals seat and handlebars have been reused as well. The rear brake has gone, and the front brake is now reinstalled minus the (so called) suicide bar, a new brake cable was installed as the old one was discovered to be fraying!
I was keen to ride this to our regular monkey lunch meeting despite the rain. I rode fairly carefully and not too fast as this was the first time I’d ridden such a bike; well since being a child anyway.
What a revelation! I thought it would be interesting, but I didn’t expect it to be the great ride that it turned out to be. For a start the old steel frame doesn’t judder like modern aluminium frames seem to, giving a more supple and comfortable ride. True, this will be the same as before it was a fixie. Riding the bike is pretty easy really. Starting and stopping are the only bits that remind you that you are riding fixed speed. The most interesting bit is the level of control you get especially when I was riding slowly through the pedestrianised bit of the roads around Market Square. It is really easy to vary your speed accurately as long as you remain within the bounds of how much acceleration or deceleration are required.
I took the bike along the river; through a small flood which caused me to get my feet wet, and then up the slope to the Newmarket Road Tesco. This was a reasonable climb for this neck of the woods, and it wasn’t too bad at all. I’ve been told going down a steep hill at speed (and presumably trying to stop!) is the thing to watch out for so I will report back when I’ve had a controlled attempt at this sort of descent.
I will probably invest a little more time/money on the bike now. A new front tyre is required as the current one is horribly perished. I may also install clipless pedals, lights, and possibly a holder for the GPS or a simple bike computer. I don’t really want to have too much bumph on the bike as simplicity is really the key here.
Hi. Nice to see this beauty back on the road and to hear how it's running.
Got to admit, I'm a great fan of the original paintwork, in fact one of it's major assets. I bought a 23 1/2" raleigh (no idea which model!) and had it sprayed, mind it was an amalgam of different colours none of which were original, and felt disappointed at the finish. I just don't think that you can beat the original colours especially with the gold brake levers and calipers set off by the brown suede saddle.
Anyway, just a few questions.
What gearing are you running and how are you finding it?
How is the braking?
Have you thought about hub braking to assist the rear ot even front wheel braking?
Finally, as a point of interest, I have found (I think) the raleigh equivelent. It is also called a Tempest.
Here is the link. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=250158013710&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=015
Let me know your thoughts.
Paul.