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It's a whole other thing. I'm now retired and it's fair to say that the pace of my life is somewhat slower than it was - apart from on my road bike, where I'm faster than I've ever been. Anyway, since I'm no longer in a hurry, and in the interests of reducing my carbon footprint, I thought I should use a bike more for, you know, useful things.
Unfortunately, although I have a few bikes, I wouldn't be happy leaving any of them tied up in town - even the steel singlespeed owes me quite a few £££. So, inspired by a visit to Amsterdam I decided to get myself a useful bike. I bought a Specialized Crossroads hybrid from a local bike refurbisher. From the kit on it and the fact that it's on cantis not v-brakes, I'd guess it's mid-90s. It has 3x6 gears with gripshifts. It really didn't look as if it had been ridden much. I've replaced all the nasty black-painted steel bits (bars, stem, seatpost) with nice alloy bits from Nitto and Velo Orange - the latter being a set of Tourist bars with a bit of rise on them.
Just been out for a ride around town in the sunshine. It is a completely different experience, and although UK infrastructure is much less friendly to cyclists, it felt quite a lot like the vibe of cycling round Amsterdam or Copenhagen. The bike rides quietly and smoothly, and the upright position really helps with visibility. There's no pressure to chase Strava segments, and indeed, wearing everyday clothes encourages taking it easy to avoid getting sweaty. It just made me smile, although the weather certainly helped with that.
So what's the point of this post? I guess it's just that bikes are great. All bikes are great. And I can enjoy pottering around town just as much as scaring myself on the Jeffsy, beasting myself on the Defy, pottering round the woods on the Soloist, or riding the Gradient on inappropriate trails.
Just pooped over from the classic Dutch bike thread to see this.
Lovely that. Everyone should have a bike like it. Although not with a saddle quite like that on it! 😖
Lovely that
Thanks!
Although not with a saddle quite like that on it
No, you are right about that. It came with an enormous sofa, which I couldn't cope with at all, and that Fabric was just what I had lying around. It really needs something Brooks-ish, but I'm too tight to spend that much.
Nice.
Jeremy Corbyn would approve of that stem as well.
The Nitto FU-82DX Periscopa Stem. It is a very fine stem. I did try a rather racier Nitto stem, which looked lovely but left me with too much weight on my arms, which wasn't really the point.
Nice bike and provided the saddle is comfy you could ride a long way on that no bother, just need to take time.
Only improvement I could suggest for town use is a basket. So much easier for popping to the shop for milk, bread, beer, other essentials.
Good choice! We have an old ridgeback Dutch style bike. Basket on the front, bike bag / box rear, sat up position and sofa like seat. It’s ace, I love just tootling around on it 😀
Although not with a saddle quite like that on it!
And today's Deal of the Day at Planet X is...
£35. I think that will do nicely.
Ace!
Only improvement I could suggest for town use is a basket.
+ decent long sidestand and a more sitty-uppy seat (as mentioned). A step-thru frame and hub gears (or SS) 😉
Before getting more serious about pottering/grocery-run bikes I built up a couple of 90s rigid MTBs like that and found that the older-style Specialized Sonoma (175 or 155) saddles were perfect for the posture/pressure relief. I put one of those saddles on the Dutch bike (which replaced those bikes) and it transformed the ride from nasty sofa that it came with, making the bike altogether more suitable for all day utility/transport.
*edit Would you adam and eve it…
Also Raleigh North Rounder handlebars.
Kalloy or Decathlon quill-risers are cheap as chips also.
Why bother with a side stand when you can have the far superior centre stand.
Pletscher do a nice folding one that sits in the place of a side stand taking up no more real estate. Run them on our tourers because side stands suck for loading up the bikes.
Ursas do a range the Jumbo is nigh on untopplable. Have one on the cargo bike for loading Jnr into the rear seat.
Why bother with a side stand when you can have the far superior centre stand.
Can’t argue with that for superior function, especially with a basket on front. But I can load up the Dutch bike fine (with 20-30kg) using the (big, tough) side stand provided. Not so on the old tourer with a more traditional (weedy) stand, but I wouldn’t wish to weigh it down so I just load the panniers off the bike. For me it’s a weight tradeoff all said and done. If carrying big loads regularly/have large basket then the weight of a centre-stand is probably justified.
@trail-rat I’ll look into the folding one for my tourer as it’s taken over grocery duty of late. Also handy for roadside repairs?
A
*edit. Drats. My panniers (loaded) often weigh in excess of 20kg so with the 12kg bike I’m well over the recommended 20kg limit according to Pletscher
*25kg limit 🙄
I would bet my life savings on my tourer being in excess of that when on tour by a fair amount.
It's never grumbled.
I refer to mine as the pub bike, also handles shopping and light off-road duties.