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An old mtb seemed like the right move.
Totally the right move. I switched from a rad road frame to my 90s Rudy mtb (similar age as yours) and it cured all the twitchiness issues with the child seat on the back. It's a combination of longer rear stays and a frame which is much stiffer side-to-side than a road frame. We go everywhere on that bike! Looks like yours has plenty of gearing range with what's on there and it really helps if you can use the gears to pull away and don't stand up to mash the pedals.
Jonny69
@hugo7
1992 Dawes Die hard
Catalogue here thanks to easy_rider and creindesign from Retrobike and Sven Krahe .
My old Dawes CX beater never really worked well as a kid carrier. Since moving to a rear child seat what was an uphill battle now feels like a loosing one - lack of bosses, high standover, twitchy steering, etc.
An old mtb seemed like the right move.
I've always liked these early lugged Dawes...and this was cheap. I'd hoped for 531st or even something fancier, but retro MTBs nostalgia X gravel randos X covid bike tax = £££s for bikes I'm not that emotionally invested in.
Instead I've landed a solid Reynolds 500 frame with cheapo 100GS 7 speed shifters and Excege hubs. Only had a brief look on pick up but it's alright. Lighter than I expected and although the hubs look shit the overall wheel weight didn't feel that bad either.
Aspirations are for a rad-dad Rivendell without the Rivendell kitsch. But we'll see what we get as it's more likely the neon will be switched to black. Ultimately this is a functional bike to move a kid around on paths and a bit of road.
3 phase plan (roughly in order):
A(i) Sort gears. Get it rolling. See if I like it.
A(ii) Light refresh service; chain, cables, install parts bin Tektro 720 cantis.
B. Switch / upgrade:
C. (if I really like it)