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Burberry bar tape?
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Burberry bar tape?
Ha ha... I can't tell if you're being serious or not. Anyway I suggested it to her and she promptly decided on green.
Hmm... I wonder if Armourtex do tartan paint, might ask them on Monday morning.Surely drops are not a good idea for someone who lacks confidence on a bike.
Also get her to go on bike training. It's probably free from your local council.
She doesn't have to use the drops but they are there if her confidence builds. Riding on the hoods is just like having bullhorns, straight bars would lack the variety of hand positions.
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This? -
+1 for risers and a basket!
Great project.
The bike I made for my wife has four levers because I hoped she'd venture into the drops... And to her credit, she does now. She shows off to her friends about the various grip positions and the versatility of the bike and I have heard her say "You don't need a geared bike in London" knowing that she's overheard me saying the same thing!
I did the same as you too though... I basically made the bike for myself!
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I've finished! Bit of a full handlebar but it does the job nicely. She's only ridden it once so far and that will be that I suspect...
https://www.dropbox.com/s/mp12mq7xqsgypfl/photo%20%282%29.JPG
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ynaandmqoy8um4l/photo.JPG
https://www.dropbox.com/s/0l0mo40xu3ab6bw/photo%20%281%29.JPG -
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Nice project, the handlebar set up looks a bit like an F1 steering wheel but if it inspires confidence it's all good.
ChadTheInhaler
hugo7
general_greyharbour
unicanitor-
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About
Nigel Dean for the lady?
Posted by
@faribaldy
I thought I would start a piece about building up a bike for my missus. She don't really want a bike, won't even pick a colour for me to finish it in, she's scared of bikes. When I was wooing her she drunkenly coasted down a steep hill on my old mountain bike and then at speed clung on for dear life to the front hydraulic disc brake lever... It made her cry, but then I got to comfort her :-D
Since then she's had a hefty 14kg mountain bike we got from Recycle in Elephant & Castle. It hasn't really done much mileage but she has discovered on it that leg muscles can hurt and keep you awake all night if you use them suddenly. Recently I have been through a string of racers and now as I have the right one for me, to keep my hands busy I have started this project.
I started off looking for a mixte frame bike because they look fancy and I thought she would appreciate a ladylike fame. I found a Nigel Dean touring bike on ebay...
*Hang on, I think I need to stop you here and state that this is not a fixed gear bike project. I know this is probably the wrong forum to be on but It's the best (first) one I have joined. I did have a BMX once and I promise that I will probably get a fixie one day if my knees feel up to it.*
...l then I realised that she never wears skirts and ditched the mixte idea because a proper, man shape frame would be lighter and easier to find. In the course of searching for a suitable candidate I found a Nigel Dean on Gumtree, here it (she?) is...
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/mocfpc26d6cijkx/qdrpIE9Z9a?m
I was really looking for 531c not st because she is not at all muscular and I am a pedant when spec'ing especially when it comes to something for her. At the price it was offered I couldn't refuse, and really it's still light enough for her to pick up when she's on the cyclo-cross track (that will most definitely not happen ever). The bosses for cantilever brakes will give me a bit of peace of mind that she has very strong brakes.
She's reluctantly tried it for size and weight in the living room, and has said she likes it through gritted teeth, so that's a green light for me to commence with the tinkering.
She has small hands so I'm going to put Cinelli Little Wing drop handlebars on because I like the idea of the notches. I may go for short reach Tektro RL341 brake levers but am unsure if the reach may end up too short when combined with the Little Wings. I also might get some RL720 levers on too so she can have 4 brake levers! The last thing I would want is for her not to be able to get to the brakes :-/
I just know that she will never be riding on the drops.
It's stripped and ready for a trip to Armourtex, but the colour scheme is still undecided. Ideally it will be fluorescent yellow in keeping with the original set up, however that colour will probably cost more than the bike itself so I need to come up with a plan B. I like the idea of restoration so I might go for Red and get the stickers from Reynolds and H LLoyd, but can I really make her ride a bike called Nigel?? I need some inspiration here, pink is a bit of a cliché.