You are reading a single comment by @Thrustvector and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
London Fixed Gear and Single-Speed is a community of predominantly fixed gear and single-speed cyclists in and around London, UK.
This site is supported almost exclusively by donations. Please consider donating a small amount regularly.
@Thrustvector
I bought mine from a bloke on the CTC forums who was local to me and repaired/refurbed/sold bikes; he reset the back end, built a good set of wheels, and built it up with parts from his bits box. I got the bike because it was in my size and relatively cheap, but then liked it so much that after I'd put a couple thousand km on it I paid for a respray and to have bottle bosses added. Compared to a modern tourer I guess it's possibly less stiff - no oversized tubing etc, though that brings advantages in ride comfort - and possibly has slightly narrower clearances (though as noted I can fit 35mm tyres under the guards), but it rides really well for my kind of cycling, i.e. day rides and exploring with the odd bit of rough-stuffing. As a tourer, I've only really done light/credit card touring on it, but it's been great.
The only reason I'd consider replacing it would be to go custom; at 6'5" I could stand to have a slightly slacker seat tube so as not to have my saddle way back, and a slightly longer top tube would mean I don't need quite so long a stem and bars. I'd possibly/probably go for slightly larger clearances (handy for mud when rough-stuffing), though that would require the use of cantis or direct-mount centrepulls. I'm retrogrouchy enough not to be fussed about STIs and/or disc brakes; for my kind of cycling their advantages aren't overwhelming, especially when set against the cost/versatility benefits of the old kit.