In a message dated 2/8/02 9:32:02 AM, george.rausch@cityofmonett.com writes:
<< My commuter bike is a '99 steel Paramount, Veloce running gear, and
assortment of non-effective dog deterrents. I get about 1000 miles a year
commuting. I've only crashed once so far, trying to jog around a speed bump
and having my Helium rear wheel collapsed in on itself.
>>
Now George,
I'm not the list moderator but I sometimes play one on the radio. We want to know who you are and where you are from so we can speculate what kind of person you are. For instance some folks assume I'm real skinny and that's a good thing.
Remember for vintage content you must remember that Helium was not used in wheels commonly until many years after the Hindenburg disaster. Really it's a 1990's innovation and not along the scope of this list. Hydrogen would be the appropriate wheel filler (Though ferrets have reported one E.Merckx used Helium in his tires -not wheels- to set an obscure record years ago) for this classic list. Even better would be plain old air, cheaper, longer lasting and readily available and a classic in a classic world. You can even breath it in some localities.
The demise of your wheel is easy to permanently fix with the classic 40 spoke rear steel wheel. Your can use aluminum but only a few people on this list would trust such an unproven material, maybe one day. And those derailleurs, how can you trust them. It seems that there is no conclusive position on commuters on this list the Sturmey Archer brand gear is prominent for this purpose.
Respectfully Submitted,
Gilbert" Plain old hot air" Anderson Raleigh, NC