Recent content by sykerocker

The difference between The CABE and Bikeforums.net: Asking that question here has me answering as #10 over a period of nine days. Asking it at the other forum, we'd already be on page 12 of the comments, at least two members would be at the point that you never, ever put them within arm's...

Having owned a number of those early-80's Kent American-built Raleighs, I think you're going to find yourself quite pleased with the bike. These marked the end of the Nottingham-built bikes in the States, and I've always loved the finish on them, virtually screaming "I'm English!" in their...

Those pictures of the Batavus' (Batavuses?) bring back memories of one of the shops I worked for in Erie, PA during the Bike Boom. A hobby shop (trains, model kits, RC airplanes) that the owner decided to start selling bicycles and picked up the Flandria and Batavus lines. Very nice bikes back...

Damn, that's sharp! Sprockets on both sides of the hub? Is the wheel flippable?

I'm going to guess weight. Putting it up on its storage hook in the bike barn, it definitely feels heavier than the Tourist. I really need to ride the two of them back to back, because, although I think I have them geared identically, the Pigeon feel like I could go to a smaller rear sprocket...

Lubrication? In all honestly, we never did at the shop when they were new. The Shimano had two advantages over the Sturmey Archer AW back in the day: They were way less maintenance intensive (as in maintenance, what maintenance? other than ensuring the cable was properly adjusted), and if you...

Two weeks since the initial report, I've put 55 miles on the bike with only one minor adjustment needed (crank cotters needed pressed in better, will definitely need replaced with better ones sometime in the near future). It's reliable. It's reasonably comfortable. It rattles, and due to a...

Handling is entirely optional. My Raleigh Tourist is a sports bike by comparison. It's not an easy bike to ride. Did fifteen miles today on my '69 Raleigh Sprite (essentially a Sports but with a Sturmey S5 hub) keeping an average speed of 11.4mph. I was supposed to use the Flying Pigeon until...

Between Thursday and today, I've put about 8 miles on the bike. And walked it home this afternoon . . . . . . with a punctured FRONT tire. Will get back to this on Monday.

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...

Little-known secret of the Bike Boom: 95% of the people who bought 10-speed "racers" would have been much better off with a 3-speed roadster, seeing most of them got their total riding in after dinner around the neighborhood, maybe 2-3 miles per evening. Unfortunately, these kind of bikes...

Yeah, that's my plan. Once the bike is done, hopefully I'll find another vintage 3-speed, either something Bike Boom or later (preferably a Raleigh Sports, I actually have not owned one since that ivory one that was my commuter during that period), or something restorable from an earlier era...

Likewise, here. If I was keeping the bike, it'd go Brooks like the rest of my IGH bikes. However, this bike is a frame that too small for me, so it's being restored as trade bait for something that'll fit. Will drop you a note in the next day or two.

Plus, back in the day, thank God they were selling stuff heavier, cheaper, and stronger than Peugeot UO-8's. I can imagine how long the Bike Boom would have lasted if everyone had bought the good stuff. And beaten it to death, unknowingly, in the first two months.

Looks like that bike was either built by Huffy or Rollfast, definitely a catalog cheapie, probably late Bike Boom (or early Bike Bust) as it's got the BMA/6 sticker on the seat tube, so it's got to be a '74 or so. By that time, the Japanese component manufacturers were definitely on a...