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So I got my city rider around 7 years ago, which 2as someones nr1 road bike until he got some cf to get along with. It looked and went pretty decent for a city bike.
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But after 7 years of riding this almost unchanged, with exception of some minimal maintainence here and there, inspiration from the forum and old age got me into the riser-culture. I had no idea what to expect, but I had some deore brake levers about and got a lovely narrow sawn-off riser from the local classifieds (of a lovely chap called Kahn). I tried to fix it all up meself but the stem was stuck af after 7 years in cold weather wetness and salt. Luckily my guru lbs and moral compass Theo helped me out. He put the fork crown in his vice, with a strap attaching the stem to a lifting beam at string tension that would encourage Bootsy Collins to play a funky bass line. Theo really ripped that stuck stem right off and gave me room to make this nice old road bike into a proper riser rat.
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Now it rides really sweet, I can recommend the riser to anyone who likes a little unstableness and daily bit of danger in their commute. But it also feels more upright than before (it's a 59cm frame), which makes me feel old, rigid and unagile (is that a word?) in the saddle. Now I want to stick with the riser, but should I change the frame? I have this kinda cool 56cm Batavus Professional track frame, which was converted to a road bike by the previous owner. Yes, that's correct, a track-to-road-conversion:
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I will try the Gazelle for at least a week, but if this upright position starts to bore, I'm keen on getting that Batavus out of the storage and try the track geo on the streets. But I'm also ready to be influenced by some more experienced riser riders here. So feel free to let me know what to do.
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Welcome to the Forum :) That batavus track bike looks awesome. I also ride a 56cm batavus professional with riser bars and I really enjoy it. I generally prefer slightly ‘too small’ frames since I prefer the shorter top tube. Judging by the photos, it looks like you live in the netherlands so if I were you, I’d turn the track batavus into a single speed and keep the brakes.
P.s. keep in mind that the track bike has a higher BB, so the standover height of the 59 road and the 56 track should be fairly similar. So the bars won’t neccessarily be lower when measured from the ground but there will be more saddle to bar drop due to the high BB.
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Thanks for the welcome and tips! You're right about the bb hight, didn't think of that yet. That's why you have to track stand at the traffic lights I guess. Riding fixed has crossed my mind a lot, but indeed not without brakes since I've never skid in my life and considering the traffic here combined with my clumsy self would be lethal. It's drilled feont and rear so no reason to ride without. Is riding fixed with a rear brake something frowned upon by y'all fixie fanatics?
btw Great Batavus you got there! Looks like a tight crit geo. What are those fenders may I ask?
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It might have been frowned upon back in the days but the tide has turned meaning that functional fixed gears with brakes are now en vogue. With the fork and bridge already drilled you can avoid the dilemma of having a road legal bike v keeping it in its original state. You could try a flip flop hub and see if you like it better as a fixed or a single speed. Cheers for the kind words for my batavus. The geometry is indeed pretty aggressive, it’s columbus slx and rides really well. The mudguards are sks longblades modded with a full extension to cover the tyre around the seattube. The three flaps are DIY additions.
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Wow this riser thing is so much fun. I feel like a kid again swerling through them tourist folk.
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Apparantly my mudguard was having a party in my rear spokes and invited the rear derailleur. What a mess they left.
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Fun!
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Last week, I sort of encouraged myself to see what's in the shed after years of neglecting my old hobby of the dated cycling machine. First up is this well used Rossin frame, for which I would like to try a full make over with a respray (my first). But first I want to know if it will be worth it and if the frame is still sound. I measured some things and it seems the frame is still straight as can be, but then I tried to fit a 27.2 seat post, which went in only by 5cm or so. After that, only brute force would work. A 27.0 went in more the way it should, but that had a little slack at the top 5 cm. I did not tighten the clamp yet, but I do wonder if this may be a sign of future trouble?
Lousy pic is a few years old btw, this mavic groupe may answer my question of the post size, but it's hidden in the back of the shed somewhere and I've not bothered yet to dig it out.
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Aww, would be sad to see that paint job disappear
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Circumstances made me dig this Batavus out of the storage. Me and two mates are having a little bike trip in the Ardennes planned, starting next Friday, and one of them had his bike stolen :( It was the road version of this rainbow coloured Van Tuyl, fitted with 600 ultegra (obv not the one in this picture).
So this road conversion Batavus is kind of ready to go. Just some new rear brake pads and fresh grease in the headset and front hub away full smoothness.A sharp eye notices the front bake pads, which are a little tilted, due to the pads just missing the preferred brake track on the wheels. The front fork is probably drilled a bit too low... The rest of the rim is plain alu, the's no significant difference from the normal brake track. It brakes of fine now, though tested just up and down the street.
Anyone wants to talk me out of this noobish workaround? Or riding through the Ardennes on this converted track bike as a whole, in possibly wet(tish) conditions?
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Not your average road conversion fixie! I like it but I think I would have gone for a dual pivot in the front for peace of mind on descends. Nice artwork in the background - who’s the artist?
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Yeah dual pivot would be better, but I don't have any of those without a sunken bolt. And I don/t have time, tools and most of all skills to fix that on a short notice.
That rear dropout is also a thing, since the derailleur is in the way of a quick wheel change. Would need to carry an extra tool just for that lol
The art work btw is signed bij Marja Konijn. I don't know anything about the artist I'm afraid. Very 80s, I like the colours. It comliments the view from our penthouse (aka tiny apartment on the top floor in a building with no elevator).
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My mate didn't dare to ride that batavus, as he was able to get a giant tcr last minute. I packed up my merckx for the first time, weighing almost 15kg without bottles. Pretty much the same weight as when I bought it, build up with campa xenon 😎
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Have you ever had a mate that declined your kind offer to use a 40 year old batavus track bike for your road trip, and broke a spoke of his substitute tcr advanced within the first 5km of the first ride?
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Apparently, schwalbe has bought old cigarette machines and turned them into inner tube machines. What a world we live in. Let's burn tyres instead of lungs. I challenge you for a less corny metaphor. Come on, should be easy.
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Ha! Oh the irony...
That MXL looks like a great ride.
Sig_Arlecchino
Heldring
Creek_Tebsin
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About
damsko's lil projects
Posted by
@damskodonny
This is my way to say thanks to this forum. I've learned a lot here, about a lot of things I guess. One would say about bikes, but you've got so much more to give: from brexit info and the latest news from down under to the dankest memes and local quarrel popcorn thunder (English is not my native tongue but I try). I decided to actively join just recently and I hope I can contribute to this community that has brought me so much useful and useless knowledge. It has also brought me new inspiration to do stuff with my stuff. Therefor I need a CP thread of my own. I hope you don't mind.