Appreciate your Thorn - fix-up an inexpensive bike

[sdg_77]

Towards the end of last week one of our friends asked me if I would take a look at the gears on her old (~20years old) Halfords Apollo MTB.  Our friend's niece was coming to stay, and having an extra bike meant they could go out together and also gave me an excuse to encourage another couple of people for our local SkyRides.

Well - all I really had to do was clean the rear derailleur, clean and lube the chain, reset the limit screws and indexing, replace two brake blocks and both tyres and tubes.

It was a sunny day, and I had and enjoyable couple of hours out in the garden .... but having lifted it onto a work stand and generally footered about with it,  I now appreciate the quality of construction my  Sherpa.  Even more - Gill rode it back to their house,  she really does appreciate the ride quality of hers now ;-)

sdg.

[Danneaux]

Sometimes, a person appreciates the sweet all the more having just re-tasted the sour.... 

All the best,

Dan.

[JWestland]

After years on student hand me downs, I can appreciate my XTC just fine 

At the same time, even a bad push-iron is a 100 times better than none.

[jags]

The early bird catches the worm
sorry it was the only thing i could think off

[Danneaux]

...even a bad push-iron is a 100 times better than none

Agreed -- maybe 1000x better! I'm reminded of this during my daily 5 mile walk. Feet don't coast! Cycling is so much more efficient...faster, farther for a fraction of the effort going afoot.

Best,

Dan. (...who is similarly grateful for simply having wheels)

[sdg_77]

Absolutely - my main  motivation is to get our friend to try one of the Sky Breeze rides,  the local coordinator lives in the same area and organises a few mid week early evening rides.

sdg.

http://www.goskyride.com/ (for anyone outside the UK)

[Danneaux]

My, Steve, those Sky Breeze rides look like wonderful opportunities for riders of all abilities -- and maybe especially for those who aren't a avid -- to get out safely and to see some beautiful countryside with like-minded Others.

Kind of thing I'd like to be a Ride Leader for. There's times I sorely miss my days leading touring groups.

Best,

Dan.

[JimK]

Visiting my parents... today I put new tires on my Mom's bike, a 1971 Schwinn Suburban. Probably hasn't been ridden in 30 years! Tomorrow I will see if I get a get a spoke wrench locally - the wheels aren't too bad but a bit of a wobble and a few loose spokes. There is a nice hill close by, 250 foot climb and around 12% grade. My brother tells me he's taken my Dad's Suburban up that but I am in no hurry to try that out! There is a bike shop closer by that doesn't involve that climb, happy to report!

[JWestland]

That's actually a nice vintage bike

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Devil%27s_Staircase_Wales.jpg
25% ugh!

Now there's a challenge...

[in4]

With my 'Curious' hat on I clicked around that 25% incline photo and found this ace blog of the author's trip to Solovetsky Island ( yes, me to! ) Looks tremendous fun. Here's the link: http://bikesandbees.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/making-beeline-to-russia.html?spref=tw

[JimK]

Our ride today:

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/225321737

There was talk of rain in the forecast but it turned out to be a great day for riding. Here is my brother with my parents' two Suburbans. Note the shiny new Schwalbe Marathon tires on my Mom's bike!




That's the Schuylkill river back behind. A great bike path alongside:

http://www.schuylkillrivertrail.com/

We met one young fellow, Gary, on the trail with his bike loaded up... 11 days out of Boston, on his way to California!

[Danneaux]

Ah, not there's a nice photo and ride, Jim; glad you were able to take it with your brother.

Your Mom's Suburban looks fine, thanks to your rehab efforts, and be on the road a good long time from now as a result. That color was called "Campus Green" and is the same color as my first Schwinn, a 1968 Sting-Ray with 3-speed Sturmey-Archer IGH and the eunuch shifter option (looked like a Hurst automotive shifter, sprouted out of the middle of the top tube, and could not be avoided on dismount -- ouch!). Still, nice memories.

As I recall, that speedo/odometer combo on the bike at left was originally sourced from Huret by Schwinn, then branded by them as "Schwinn-Approved".

I can't quite remember, Jim...are the front forks tubular, or are they flat-forged from solid steel, as on my 1970 Schwinn Varsity? If solid...Man! Those things just did not flex!

Really nice ride too, Jim, with that loop through Valley Forge National Historic Park. Good-sized hill in there, too!

Best,

Dan.

[JimK]

are the front forks tubular, or are they flat-forged from solid steel, as on my 1970 Schwinn Varsity?

I don't know how to tell the difference! They look a lot like the forks on a Varsity, so probably that's what they are, but I am just guessing!

Great fun, though, to hop on an old bike this this and really very little work to make it able to ride quite effectively. Not fancy bikes but plenty sturdy!

[JimK]

Here it says the Suburban has tubular forks:

http://www.thebicyclingguitarist.net/schwinn/history.htm

[Danneaux]

...the Suburban has tubular forks

...And a whole lot better than the forged ones they were, too. Jim, the forged Schwinn forks looked like (and were!) flat strips of solid steel. They were horribly stiff front-to-rear with *no* real sense of shock absorption.

I was so excited to get that Kool Lemon^® Schwinn Varsity in 1970 at age 10 (earned with a couple summers mowing lawns for money), but soon learned its biggest drawback: It had a wicked amount of toe overlap, made worse by the clearance-eating Schwinn chromed-steel fenders (mudguards) and toe clips. I took some of my hardest falls at near-walking speed on that thing as the toe clips either wedged against the 'guard or the guard snagged the clip while turning. Either way, it was bad. I'd really loved that bike, then felt betrayed by it.

I swore I would never, ever own another bike with toe overlap. I passed-up some very nice bikes along the way with those falls on the Schwinn Varsity still in mind, and it was a major reason I was drawn to Thorn. Andy Blance's efforts to avoid toe overlap put Thorns right at the top of my short-list over many others. Sure, some toe overlap may be fine for road bikes where you are more apt to lean than steer, but when you're negotiating a goat track with a 20%+ grade loaded with camping gear and picking your way between the larger rocks, the steering angles become ridiculously large and you can't just stop pedaling to avoid fouling a front tire or mudguard.

I think the Suburban's tubular fork may have had a little different geometry, or perhaps the Varsity situation was aggravated by my frame size at the time. In any case, I was no fan of the flat-forged Schwinn fork on that bike.

Best,

Dan.