# Upright bike for a month, sw London?



## jefmcg (28 Jul 2016)

A friend is recovering from back surgery (recovery very well, running 5k in 32 minutes) but can't bend to ride her hybrid yet. She's frustrated having to drive to the gym to ride a stationary. So if anyone has a bike with a very upright riding position (eg classic Dutch) that's going unused that they could spare for a month or two, that they are prepared to lend to a stranger, let me know.

It doesn't have to be in great condition, just ridable. 

Thanks


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## jefmcg (28 Jul 2016)

User said:


> How tall?


5' 5ish


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## raleighnut (28 Jul 2016)

Can't she just change to higher rise bars on the hybrid, only take an hour to swap em over.


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## mjr (28 Jul 2016)

raleighnut said:


> Can't she just change to higher rise bars on the hybrid, only take an hour to swap em over.


You can do that, or more swept bars and a taller adjustable stem, but some hybrids have a geometry that will still leave you leaning forwards in order to balance the pedal-saddle angle.


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## jefmcg (29 Jul 2016)

User46386 said:


> https://www.decathlon.co.uk/elops-100-classic-style-bike-black-id_8305485.html
> 
> This is cheap, she could get this and then sell it or keep it for if she gets ill again.


That's exactly what I suggested to her (a friend bought that one 6 months ago, and loves it), but she doesn't want to spend any money. 

Thanks everyone, there seemed a tiny chance that someone had "just the thing" in their shed, so worth an ask.


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## coffeejo (29 Jul 2016)

User46386 said:


> Sounds like shes tight!


Or skint? I appreciate that she may well be rolling in it but not everyone has got disposable income.


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## jefmcg (29 Jul 2016)

User46386 said:


> Sounds like shes tight!


She is a leading designer in her field (you probably would know her work, but she's private, so I am not going to say which field) but was recently made redundant (design department relocated to US), and now is designing products and taking the prototypes to manufacturers and potential investors. She has to be frugal.


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## jefmcg (8 Aug 2016)

Update: Turns out my friend had a skip rescue bike in _her garden_, left there by her ex. She's cleaned it up and bought ebay tyres. Now she has to find out if she can actually ride it.

Note: her worry that her back injury will prevent her riding it at all is the main reason she didn't want to spend much.


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## jefmcg (13 Sep 2016)

had coffee with said friend today. She was on the bike - it's proving painful, but she's trying to power through it. 

It's a beautiful old thing, exactly what i was hoping someone had in their shed.


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## mjr (13 Sep 2016)

jefmcg said:


> had coffee with said friend today. She was on the bike - it's proving painful, but she's trying to power through it.
> 
> It's a beautiful old thing, exactly what i was hoping someone had in their shed.
> 
> View attachment 143827


Nice. A £8 saddle and £10 handlebars would bring that bike much back to its classic look and I suspect might be easier to control than it is with those MTB bars... or if it ain't broke, don't fix it.


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## jefmcg (13 Sep 2016)

mjr said:


> Nice. A £8 saddle and £10 handlebars would bring that bike much back to its classic look and I suspect might be easier to control than it is with those MTB bars... or if it ain't broke, don't fix it.


If she makes the recovery she's hoping for, someone here can buy it off her and finish the restoration.

(though swept back handlebars might be worth it, making it a little more upright.


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## Roadrider48 (13 Sep 2016)

She could have borrowed my London road.
It has flat bars and chunky tyres. But I'm a bit late.


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## jefmcg (3 Feb 2017)

She's not making as much progress as she hoped, and her surgeon has told her that there's not much he can do for her: if something hurts, stop doing it. She stopped riding for a couple of days, and had much less pain. So cycling on the skip rescue wasn't doing her any favours.

That's the bad news. The good news is that she's pretty sure it's the weight of the bike, + the hub is frozen in top gear. So inspired by me sharing this link with her...


mjr said:


> £10 handlebars


we have done this


raleighnut said:


> Can't she just change to higher rise bars on the hybrid, only take an hour to swap em over.


Seems to have worked really well. Couldn't wipe the smile off her face (which I have cropped out, sorry)


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## mjr (4 Feb 2017)

From the presence of the classic trigger shifter and them being known for "failing high", I guess that's A Sturmey Archer three speed. If so, if it's really stuck in high and not just got the gear cable set wrongly (look for the photo guide to setting a Raleigh twenty gear cable up - something like Warrington Cycles blogspot), then put plastic and paper on the floor, lie the bike down with the back wheel on that, disconnect the gear cable, remove any plastic axle cap, unscrew the shift rod and remove it, then flood the hole with wd 40. Leave for a bit, spinning the wheel occasionally, flooding it again if you think it's that stuck, depending on whether any crud is being washed out, then fill with oil, then reassemble the gear shifting Gubbins and see if it's unfrozen. My SA hub was rather dysfunctional until it had some crap washed out, but it's done many hundreds of km and I've still not dismantled it... which I probably ought... it's not like it can fail any harder than my Nexus did


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## jefmcg (6 Feb 2017)

Thanks @mjr

As you can, the month stretched out and this is now - sadly - the new normal. So she bit the bullet and has got her much loved Spesh modified to suit. So the seized bike is now surplus to requirements. If it ends up in my hands I will either attempt to unseize it and find it a new home or pass it on to a forum member who wants to put in the work.


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## mjr (6 Feb 2017)

Now I'm back at my desk, here's some links just in case anyone here is in the same situation:

Adjustment of a Sturmey Archer and why the shift rod is properly called an INDICATOR rod - http://workingoncycles.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/raleigh-twenty-sturmey-archer-gear.html (Working On, not Warrington! )

Discussion of the pros and cons of flushing and stripping - http://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-m...lush-fill-old-sturmey-archer-3-speed-hub.html


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