"- Optional upon joining, but highly encouraged, is for new members to provide a little profile of themselves: what bikes they have or wished they have, other experiences relative to these bikes and a bit about who they are... "
Mitch Harris in Utah Co. Member of the Bob and Tandem lists.
I ride most days and commute. Ride mostly mountain canyon roads near home, and I also ride trails nearby. But miss living near a track and racing two or three league nights a week. Don't really miss road racing though. Lots of hostel/B&B touring in Britain and Ireland with a saddlebag on my road bike. My wife kicks my butt on climbs these days. Hope you don't mind an extensive bike list, as I've enjoyed reading yours. My list is mostly nothing special, but offers a good profile of my riding.
Bikes: --1971-75? 60cm Gitane Tour de France, or similar high end Gitane. Bought this NOS when I was a young teenager, so I don't know exactly what year it is, or what model. It has spidery looking vertical Huret drop outs in the rear that should identify it, but I haven't seen others like it. (any help identifying is appreciated) Came with Mafac/Huret Jubilee/Stronglight 93/Brooks/Normandy Luxe/tubs.
Recently built it up as my quality beater (after being a fixie or in storage, for years), it still has the Huret ders, Huret/Simplex barends, a bad repaint, som NOS N.Record, NOS Superbe brakeset, TA cages, Gipiemme quill pedals, Brooks Pro.
--1970-1? 23.5" Raleigh Professional. Bought this frame cheap a few years ago but it rides great and paint and decals are good--gold/brown mink and grey panels, like the one in the 1970 catalogue. Has a full N. Record group--some age appropriate, some not. Flat skewer levers, high flange Record hubs, Cinelli Stem, mod. 66 bar, TA cages, Chrome quill Record pedals, Brooks Pro Select.
--1981-82? Mel Pinto Special tandem, fillet brazed. New to me, has full TA Cyclotourist crankset, Mafac brakeset, Huret Duopar and front deraillures, Huret/Simplex barends, Atom drum-brake 48 spoke rear, Malliard 40 spoke front, Wolber 27" rims, TA cages, Lyoard pedals, Atax carbon capt. seat post, Bardon oversize headset, low-rider braze on front rack, Brooks champion flyer and Pro, Tamer parallelogram stoker seat post.
Track bikes: --c. 1978 57cm Fred Williams (Nottingham) track bike, 531, Davis flat crown, round 531 fork blades, long track ends. N. Record track group, still in good shape after lots of racing, chrome quill Record track pedals, flite. --c. 1980 56cm Gosling track bike, 531, sloping Cinelli crown, round blades, N. Record gorup... --c. 1981 58cm E.G. Bates track bike, 531, flat Davis crown, round blades, N. Record group... --c. 1983 57cm Roberts track bike, SL, sloping Cinelli crown, round blades, N. Record group...
Post 1983 bikes are generally torch-bearers: --57cm Custom american (M-Cycles-Chapel Hill N.C.) SP frame bulit for me in 1985. Full original 1985 N. Record, SL Record pedals, Flite. --late 1980s 57cm Guerciotti SL, full NOS N.Record goup, with SL Record pedals, hi flange Record hubs, Brooks Pro. --late 1980s 57cm Pogliaghi SP track bike (Casati built? Basso built?), flat crown, N. Record track group, chrome quill Record pedals, Brooks Pro. --57cm lugged 531 "Salt" bike with worn SunTour Superbe group, mudguards, lowriders, for riding in winter snow and ice. Also sometimes taken to Ireland for winter touring.
MTB torchbearers (if a mountain bike can carry a torch): --199x Bridgeston MB-1, lugged with the cast crown. Bought as a NOS frame, has most of a SunTour XC Pro group, drop bars, Shimano 600 aero levers (no remorse when they get scraped up in trail falls). --1992 Bontrager Race mtb. built in Santa Cruz. My one attempt to ride with the mods turned out to be a 1" headset skinny steel tubed tigged torch bearer of sorts. Now has a Marz. Bomber 1" fork, XT ders., hugi and Mavic hubs, Ritchy OCR rims. Also has drop bar with remorselessly scrapable shimano aero levers. --1981 Custom mtb (M-Cycles-Chapel Hill N.C.), fillet brazed, and a very early east coast mtb. "Vintage" mtb parts, bull moose bar.
____________________________ --Lately I've been using non-campy 144 bcd. rings for my riding, and been questioning the wisdom of riding some of my campy stuff that's become valuable. I used to enjoy the sensible frugality of riding my N.Record in a group of Dura Ace spendthrifts. Now I wonder whether I'm the spendthrift by riding it.
--Still have some Tubular/sewup track wheels around, but have been content enough riding clinchers ("pressures") for a long time, even on the track.
--enjoy building wheels and built most of the wheels above.
--Recently putting back on the N. Record brake levers on a bike I'd replaced with Campy Record aero levers in 1991. I was racing it a lot then, and 12 years ago a N.Record bike could look pretty much like a regular bike if it had Aero levers. Now I look so hopelessly vintage in any group of screaming painted beer cans that there is no point in the aero levers.
--Explored more recent Campy stuff up close when I put a Record 10 group on my wife's 80s Batavus Professional, lugged SL. Used the Chorus ergo 10 levers though rather than the carbon record levers.
--Although I found I liked clipless on the trail a little more than toe
clips, I have yet to find, for me, any advantage with clipless for road
riding. Maybe I just didn't suffer from strap numbness, or have trouble
pulling a shoe out. I've ridden many clipless systems, some extensively, and
found them fine, but without any advantage for me, and I watch clipless
riders have plenty of problems with engagement/release and numb feet.
Meanwhile, I like to be able to ride any of my bikes with any of my shoes.
The only trouble is finding the proper shoes now.