sykerocker
Look Ma, No Hands!
I've finally gotten the Chinese Flying Pigeon that I picked up at the Westminster, MD swap meet this past February on the road and running. Originally the bike was a single speed roadster with a 46-20t drivetrain (a bit too high for the kind of cadence I like to ride), and a marked inability to go more than three miles without puncturing the rear tube - on the inside, the surface against the rim. After repeated efforts to correct the problem, I came to the conclusion that the rim wasn't allowing the tire to seat tightly enough, so it was shifting under pedaling, rubbing the tube against anything that I was using for a rim strip and eventually allowing small tears to form in the tube.
Thanks to BKH, who supplied me with pretty much everything he was stripping off a Raleigh Tourist, I've now converted the bike to a 3-speed using a 46-23t drivetrain (identical to what I'm using on my Raleigh Tourist), and much more comfortable for riding.
Considering that both this and the Raleigh are ostensibly the same bikes (my understanding is that this is a licensed copy of a 1920's Raleigh roadster), the two bikes couldn't be more different. First off, there's the build quality - or should I say lack thereof. I never knew a bike could be this big and this heavy, and still be this rattly. It's definitely slower. I'll use the Raleigh for commutes of up to eight miles one way, and usually keep an average speed of 11.8mph on the ride. Today's break in run, done on my usual flat, easy, 5 mile loop had me holding an average of 10mph. And I definitely felt more fatigued when I got home.
Crazily enough, the brakes on the Pigeon work better than those on the Tourist - and I've got Kool Stop salmon pads on the Tourist. The chainwheel on the Pigeon has a slight warp to it, ensuring that about three teeth rub the inside of the chain case once every revolution. I've attempted to pound the chain case out internally, but as luck would have it, this rub point is exactly where the chain case bolts to the seat tube. I'll live with it for awhile until the damn thing rubs down. Or through.
This is going to be an interesting playtoy. One of the reasons I grabbed it (besides the seller only asking $50.00) was for a replacement for the 1935 Armstrong I lost in the shop fire last November. I can see having some fun with it.
Thanks to BKH, who supplied me with pretty much everything he was stripping off a Raleigh Tourist, I've now converted the bike to a 3-speed using a 46-23t drivetrain (identical to what I'm using on my Raleigh Tourist), and much more comfortable for riding.
Considering that both this and the Raleigh are ostensibly the same bikes (my understanding is that this is a licensed copy of a 1920's Raleigh roadster), the two bikes couldn't be more different. First off, there's the build quality - or should I say lack thereof. I never knew a bike could be this big and this heavy, and still be this rattly. It's definitely slower. I'll use the Raleigh for commutes of up to eight miles one way, and usually keep an average speed of 11.8mph on the ride. Today's break in run, done on my usual flat, easy, 5 mile loop had me holding an average of 10mph. And I definitely felt more fatigued when I got home.
Crazily enough, the brakes on the Pigeon work better than those on the Tourist - and I've got Kool Stop salmon pads on the Tourist. The chainwheel on the Pigeon has a slight warp to it, ensuring that about three teeth rub the inside of the chain case once every revolution. I've attempted to pound the chain case out internally, but as luck would have it, this rub point is exactly where the chain case bolts to the seat tube. I'll live with it for awhile until the damn thing rubs down. Or through.
This is going to be an interesting playtoy. One of the reasons I grabbed it (besides the seller only asking $50.00) was for a replacement for the 1935 Armstrong I lost in the shop fire last November. I can see having some fun with it.