✩ My first 400 km on 26' MTB bike in a few weeks
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In 1972, freewheels with five sprockets were the norm on frames with 120mm rear dropout spacing, lugged and brazed frames were the norm but the more expensive were silver ...
either a Brooks Pro or an Ideale (spell?) leather saddle depending on where the bike was made. And I have not even started on derailleurs yet. LEDs for lights?, what is that?
either a Brooks Pro or an Ideale (spell?) leather saddle depending on where the bike was made. And I have not even started on derailleurs yet. LEDs for lights?, what is that?
Pogačar's Colnago from last year would fit me a lot better than Eddy Merckx 1972 TdF-winning bike. I'm almost positive that by '72 EM was getting bikes custom made so I'm a bit curious about the geometry. His desired geometry was probably even closer to today's race bikes than the average pro racing bike. Personally, my opinion is that around that time everyone lost their mind and went with steeper angles and less rake and tighter clearances for no significant gains. I know I did, but I was a teenager so I claim hormonal imbalances made me do it.
Last edited by unterhausen; 05-08-22 at 10:02 PM.
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#28
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Pogačar's Colnago from last year would fit me a lot better than Eddy Merckx 1972 TdF-winning bike. I'm almost positive that by '72 EM was getting bikes custom made so I'm a bit curious about the geometry. His desired geometry was probably even closer to today's race bikes than the average pro racing bike. Personally, my opinion is that around that time everyone lost their mind and went with steeper angles and less rake and tighter clearances for no significant gains. I know I did, but I was a teenager so I claim hormonal imbalances made me do it.
Pogačar's Colnago from last year would fit me a lot better than Eddy Merckx 1972 TdF-winning bike. I'm almost positive that by '72 EM was getting bikes custom made so I'm a bit curious about the geometry. His desired geometry was probably even closer to today's race bikes than the average pro racing bike. Personally, my opinion is that around that time everyone lost their mind and went with steeper angles and less rake and tighter clearances for no significant gains. I know I did, but I was a teenager so I claim hormonal imbalances made me do it.
Sounds like we both have experience from that era, but the two experiences are quite different skill sets and knowledge.
I worked in a Raleigh shop that also sold Gitanes, so I knew the British bikes well, but we did not sell Schwinns. The shop was big enough that we had some mechanics that knew the French bikes well so I never worked on a Gitane or Peugeot. I only worked on the Brit bikes.
A couple years ago I donated my 1972 Raleigh Gran Prix to a bike charity.
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I only owned 4 steel bikes from the 70-80's. A half decent Miyata, a super nice Dawes Super Galaxy, an Italian Masi Gran Criterium, and Peter Mooney (more of a century or touring geometry). I am pretty sure they all could fit 32mm wide tires in 700c. I know for sure that anyone of those would be easier to do a 400k on than a mountain bike. The Miyata dropouts destructed one too many times touring and one of the tubes at the BB shell broke on the Dawes. The 531 tubed Dawes would probably have been my all-time favorite long distance frame. It was springy and fit me like a glove.
If OP is riding the Mtb on brevets due to costs, sometimes these old bikes can be bought for a song and if they have good wheels, they can be made into wonderful long distance bikes.
If OP is riding the Mtb on brevets due to costs, sometimes these old bikes can be bought for a song and if they have good wheels, they can be made into wonderful long distance bikes.
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I have an early 60s Columbus tubing bike that has a very nice ride, but I have not upgraded the derailleurs, so still friction downtube. I put a triple on it, it came with a Campy 52/48 double with a 151 mm BCD that I was happy to replace. I bought a used set of clincher wheels with a 126mm spacing and 6 speed freewheel. I would post a few photos of other semi-modern components I put on it, but I do not want to hijack this thread.
My rando bike, I paid $450 for the new frame from Velo Orange in Dec 2015. Put some wheels on it that I had built up in 2004 for a touring bike. Eight speed cassette, road triple (Campy square taper). Campy brifter for rear, front shifter is friction downtube, rear derailleur is a mid 90s vintage Shimano XT. I did upgrade a year later to a dynohub and dyno powered lights, so it is not pure budget. I am not saying that anyone can go out and buy the parts to build up a nice bike, that is a skill that comes from long experience. But, you certainly can find some good affordable stuff out there that will make the time cutoff.
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Yeah, but if you get one with 27 inch wheel sizing, there are long arm brakes that will work on 700c but they can be hard to find. And then there were a lot of different bottom bracket threads. My Raleigh had the Nottingham bottom bracket thread. French was different from everything else, etc.
I have an early 60s Columbus tubing bike that has a very nice ride, but I have not upgraded the derailleurs, so still friction downtube. I put a triple on it, it came with a Campy 52/48 double with a 151 mm BCD that I was happy to replace. I bought a used set of clincher wheels with a 126mm spacing and 6 speed freewheel. I would post a few photos of other semi-modern components I put on it, but I do not want to hijack this thread.
My rando bike, I paid $450 for the new frame from Velo Orange in Dec 2015. Put some wheels on it that I had built up in 2004 for a touring bike. Eight speed cassette, road triple (Campy square taper). Campy brifter for rear, front shifter is friction downtube, rear derailleur is a mid 90s vintage Shimano XT. I did upgrade a year later to a dynohub and dyno powered lights, so it is not pure budget. I am not saying that anyone can go out and buy the parts to build up a nice bike, that is a skill that comes from long experience. But, you certainly can find some good affordable stuff out there that will make the time cutoff.
.
I have an early 60s Columbus tubing bike that has a very nice ride, but I have not upgraded the derailleurs, so still friction downtube. I put a triple on it, it came with a Campy 52/48 double with a 151 mm BCD that I was happy to replace. I bought a used set of clincher wheels with a 126mm spacing and 6 speed freewheel. I would post a few photos of other semi-modern components I put on it, but I do not want to hijack this thread.
My rando bike, I paid $450 for the new frame from Velo Orange in Dec 2015. Put some wheels on it that I had built up in 2004 for a touring bike. Eight speed cassette, road triple (Campy square taper). Campy brifter for rear, front shifter is friction downtube, rear derailleur is a mid 90s vintage Shimano XT. I did upgrade a year later to a dynohub and dyno powered lights, so it is not pure budget. I am not saying that anyone can go out and buy the parts to build up a nice bike, that is a skill that comes from long experience. But, you certainly can find some good affordable stuff out there that will make the time cutoff.
.
I had a custom frame built for 4 grand and also "saved" the Mooney for less than $200. The custom fits me a little better but in fairness I new the Mooney was a touch tight. It would be a quibble to say one is better than the other. Buying wheels and parts to fix up an old frame is probably a losing proposition financially. I did PBP on a used Felt AR1. I think it was just under $2K. I did sell it and some of the parts, so, my out of pocket might have been $1k but I still have the Zipp 404 wheels, saddle, bars, stem, crank, brakes, 10 speed ultegra sti derailleurs, and shifters. Once your parts bin is full, making a new bike off a frame isn't too hard. Starting from scratch? Expensive.
I don't want to discourage OP but 400k on a mountain bike will be harder than necessary
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I am not a high wattage rider, but it is embarrassing if someone beats you on a fat bike. More so when their shifter causes them to pedal much of the distance in a bad gear. Later Kingston said she did a 400k or 600k (I do not recall which Kingston said) on that fat bike too.
So, you never know.
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Yeah, if OP has already completed a 200k and 300k on an upright MTB with knobby tires, he’s definitely more of a beast than me, so I’m interested in how the 400k goes.
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There is a PA randonneur who has done at least one complete series on a fatbike. I didn't manage to finish the 600k he did, too hot. I try not to compare myself to others, but the time someone passed me and dropped me on his wife's 3 speed commuter after 100 miles was dispiriting.
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Primo Racer Wire Bead Tire, 26 x 1.25", Black
This will exclude the wheelchair variety. I've bought them from Amazon and Modernbike before, but they don't seem to be in stock.
But there's this:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/363760109011
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1.25 is not 20, for sure.
Pics show 20. I'd be tempted to contact the seller and find out what they actually have.
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Historically very few 26 inch bikes were built with narrow tires in mind, so most bikes with 26 inch wheels have rim inner widths that a 20mm wide tire could be a problem.
I usually rely on the chart at the bottom of this page to figure out what tire widths I should use for different rim inner widths.
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html
I usually rely on the chart at the bottom of this page to figure out what tire widths I should use for different rim inner widths.
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html
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I get a lot of hits for wheelchair tires when I search for those...
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Used to be the non wheelchair version was called Comet, available 20" and 26". Now the Comet is 20" only and the 26" is confused with wheelchair Racers.