Originally Posted by
genejockey
Second ride on the Circuit. 23.5 miles. I'd raised the saddle about 1.2 cm, and tilted the nose decree more nose down, as well as turning the handlebars down just a little. This made the brake levers reachable from the drops. Even though the saddle was a little higher, I felt less....interference...with my nethers. I also ran into the limitations of late 80s road bike gearing - 42 x 24 as a low gear? Suffice to say that I will definitely not be using this bike as my Mountain Goat. The brakes? Well, they sure aren't disks! But they will eventually stop the bike.
When I rehabbed my dad's 77 Nishiki, I built it with typical gearing of the era for that level of bike - 52/42 x 12-21. I don't ride it where things go uphill very much. The 39 x 29 on my #1 road machine, however, serves hilly needs just fine.