[CR]Watch your lugs they may become someone's winter bike! And if I needed support for my addiction!

(Example: Framebuilders:Norman Taylor)

From: "Dr. Paul Williams" <castell5@sympatico.ca>
To: "Classic Rendezvous" <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Date: Fri, 26 Sep 2008 15:13:36 -0400
Subject: [CR]Watch your lugs they may become someone's winter bike! And if I needed support for my addiction!

A couple of recent things I have read might interest the crew here on CR. The first from Uncle Al in last week's RBR. Yet more competition for those lugged steel frames we covet? Fancy turning your Hetchins or Cinelli into a winter bike?

"7. UNCLE AL

Your New Old Off-Season Bike

In the backroom of your local bike shop or perhaps in a neighbor's garage, there's a bike perfect for your off-season riding.

I'm not talking about a bike that's wrecked or rusted. This is about bikes that simply have been abandoned. They've suffered nothing more than dust, cobwebs and passing time. To my mind they are diamonds in the rough and the foundation of the ideal bike to meet the challenges winter presents.

Nearly all of these gems will be made of steel. The 27-year-old Motobecane I use for my winter bike has French-made Vitus butted chromoly tubing. My wife's 29-year-old Trek is made of really nice Ishiwata tubing from Japan. These bikes were once considered "lightweights" but they now pale in comparison to the 18-pound wonderbikes we ride during the season. But who cares in winter?

If the bike you find is complete, you're lucky. Most oldies will have a couple of missing parts or something that needs to be replaced.

If the hubs and rims are still good but the wheels are 27-inch, that's not necessarily a problem. You could make life simpler by having the hubs laced up with 700C rims, but 27-inch tires and tubes remain available, although the selection is limited. Most old bikes have brakes with a reach long enough for slightly smaller 700C wheels.

Many old frames also have enough clearance around the wheels for fenders. I consider fenders essential for a bike that's going to be ridden in nasty, wet conditions. They keep road spray off you and the machinery. That means less time cleaning the bike and yourself, and more riding time."

The second comes from the Oct. issue of Bicycling gives me the ammo I need to explain my obsession for more bikes to others:

"when motivation lags, it's time to break out your other bikes - and remember why you ride ... use diversified training to keep your fitness moving forward and give yourself time to recharge for your next event specific period. The most fun way to diversify is to rotate through your stable of bikes"

- I can just imagine this going down with my other half - "honestly darling, I just need another bike because I am diversifying!"

Paul Williams,

Paul B. Williams, BAH, MPhil, PhD
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
castell5@sympatico.ca