Terrible Luck with Second Hand Bicycles

[tyred]

If I come across something completely original, I will aim to keep it like that.

Otherwise, I will just use whatever works. I fitted an Audi 80 alternator to my 1963 Fordson Dexta tractor as it was lying under my bench, fitted without much modification, and will work better and more reliably than the original Lucas dynamo.

 

[wafter]

Ditto the new genesis...

I'll be driving down 12-18/4 so please arrange pick up!🤣🤣🤣

Why not get a mini bus and come down together?

Just let me know when so I have good time to add some more nails to my rounders bat in preparation 👍

Actually, 23mm isn't that bad - when on good roads. Alas, most of the roads out here aren't that good, and have deteriorated markedly in recent years. Which kind of limits where I can go with the road bike. My hybrid is my go-to bike for most things, and I'll be dusting it off soon - once most of the farmers out here have done all the mucky jobs i.e. harrowed, drilled seed and set potatoes. The set-up on that is more road-based, plus I've got luggage capacity, which makes it great for shopping and foraging.

I wouldn't get much use out of a full-blown MTB, given that the Raleigh is good enough for most of the trackways around here, even with 1.75 inch semi-slick tyres. In any case, I have an extra set of 24" wheels with full-on knobblies if needed. That is, unless I can find a decent hardtail frame cheaply, and just simply swap all the bits over. Thing is, even though it's heavy, the steel frame on the Raleigh is pretty forgiving.

No; sadly the qualifier about the roads is the big one though - isn't it? They're the same round here - utterly shameful tbh and only ever seem to get worse. I see the government has recently had a pop at councils about the state of the roads, although whether that results in any meaningful action remains to be seen.

1.75" semi-slicks sound ideal for a general purpose tyre tbh; I reckon about 45-55mm is probably the sweet spot for a multi-terrain utility bike and even view the Genesis as more of a fat road bike with its 37mm slicks. I've found fat slicks to be very good off-road as long as it's dry / not too loose, and unless you're doing loads of miles in really sloppy conditions I think are a better compromise than knobblies; which just sap energy and wear out quickly.

I’ve built up a lot of bikes from a bare frame over the years, none of them made sense financially but as you say, unbelievably satisfying, I’ve stopped doing them now, the last one I built was last year and that is my 1979 Carlton MkV Professional with mid 1990’s 2x9 Ultegra/Dura Ace. It turned out even nicer than I imagined, and every time I ride it I still get that lovely warm feeling of satisfaction that I built it myself!

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That looks lovely - got to love a sympathetic resto-mod. Can't beat vintage steel and STIs IMO 😎

 

[Reynard]

No; sadly the qualifier about the roads is the big one though - isn't it? They're the same round here - utterly shameful tbh and only ever seem to get worse. I see the government has recently had a pop at councils about the state of the roads, although whether that results in any meaningful action remains to be seen.

1.75" semi-slicks sound ideal for a general purpose tyre tbh; I reckon about 45-55mm is probably the sweet spot for a multi-terrain utility bike and even view the Genesis as more of a fat road bike with its 37mm slicks. I've found fat slicks to be very good off-road as long as it's dry / not too loose, and unless you're doing loads of miles in really sloppy conditions I think are a better compromise than knobblies; which just sap energy and wear out quickly.

The issue here is primarily down to the geology. We're in the fens, with peat soil over a layer of clay, and a very high water table. I actually live below sea level. So when it's very wet or when it freezes, the ground under the roads expands, and when it's very hot and dry, the soil shrinks, so it's almost like a constant accordion effect on the road bed. Which then leads to cracking, subsidence and potholes. Some of the roads also get flooded over the winter - like the causeway into Welney, which crosses the Hundred Foot washes. The washes are the "overspill" for the water in the drains, and when it's very wet, that's where the water gets pumped to.

And then you've the added issue of heavy farm machinery, the modern versions of which are too big and heavy for most of the smaller roads out here. Plus you have all the trucks moving potatoes and sugar beet around.

So even when things do get fixed, they don't tend to stay fixed for very long.

 

[wafter]

The issue here is primarily down to the geology. We're in the fens, with peat soil over a layer of clay, and a very high water table. I actually live below sea level. So when it's very wet or when it freezes, the ground under the roads expands, and when it's very hot and dry, the soil shrinks, so it's almost like a constant accordion effect on the road bed. Which then leads to cracking, subsidence and potholes. Some of the roads also get flooded over the winter - like the causeway into Welney, which crosses the Hundred Foot washes. The washes are the "overspill" for the water in the drains, and when it's very wet, that's where the water gets pumped to.

And then you've the added issue of heavy farm machinery, the modern versions of which are too big and heavy for most of the smaller roads out here. Plus you have all the trucks moving potatoes and sugar beet around.

So even when things do get fixed, they don't tend to stay fixed for very long.

That must be terrible if your council's as useless as ours - sounds like our roads have a much easier life and most still look like a '90's era Bagdad airstrip

 

[biggs682]

I can see a few issues in this one

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/926910095879403/

 

[Jameshow]

I can see a few issues in this one

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/926910095879403/

Not been ridden far though!!

 

[DCLane]

That's likely to have come from Halfords. It's 2 minutes to put it right, so why wasn't it supplied correctly in the first place? That's unless the buyer decided to do it themselves.

 

[biggs682]

Not been ridden far though!!

Can you imagine how it rides ?

That's likely to have come from Halfords. It's 2 minutes to put it right, so why wasn't it supplied correctly in the first place? That's unless the buyer decided to do it themselves.

Yes slacken of the stem and turn forks around and re tighten and then whatever else shows it's face

 

[Reynard]

That must be terrible if your council's as useless as ours - sounds like our roads have a much easier life and most still look like a '90's era Bagdad airstrip

I noticed today that someone's gone around the cracks and potholes with yellow spray paint.

 

[wafter]

I noticed today that someone's gone around the cracks and potholes with yellow spray paint.

IIRC from similar around here some time ago, that might mean that the council have identified them. This is potentially useful if they cause any issues as I was told (rightly or wrongly) that once identified the council are liable (rather than having the get-out that they were unaware of the problem) meaning laibility if you have an off / anything gets damaged due to the state of the road..

 

[Jenkins]

I noticed today that someone's gone around the cracks and potholes with yellow spray paint.

Surely there's not that much yellow paint in Cambridgeshire!

 

[Reynard]

Surely there's not that much yellow paint in Cambridgeshire!

There is, apparently...

 

[wafter]

Can you imagine how it rides ?



Yes slacken of the stem and turn forks around and re tighten and then whatever else shows it's face

Bars are fitted to the stem wrongly too, so will have to be stripped, removed and refitted correctly..

 

[Reynard]

I can see a few issues in this one

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/926910095879403/

Whoops!