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Thanks, Eamesy.

I think I would gather a few chain rings and sprockets (and chains) and work it through on a trial & error basis, adding in some science as you get to know how easy/difficult it is to ride over different terrain. Personally, I would start low (46x20 or lower) and work up. I don't know how you ride or how strong you are. Also, you'll work out what is the best compromise. If you're only going to be shredding the trails, I would go lower (although, expect some speedy feet on the descents). If you'll be mostly on road, you'll need something higher, or you'll just get frustrated. I reckon you may want to try a lowish free gear. That way, you can climb pretty well and run less risk of tangling your legs up. But, I hear you say, where's the fun in that?!?!

Good luck and have fun experimenting!

I ran 42x18 when I set mine up for a bit of lightish dity off-road fun. It was, erm, entertaining. It was a compromise between being able to get up the hills (could do unless it was really muddy) and not having a heart attack on the descents - it's quite fun trying to keep up with the pedals.....!

If you're interested, below is my current set up (changed to 46x18 and 40 mm city tyres). I run 40 mm tyres on 19 mm rims with little problem. Current disc front wheel is a Mavic Aksium. Seems to do the job, but more road orientated.

I just have slightly slopey, forward facing drop outs. They work.

Have fun!

That was a fun lunch time....!

They are all different. But, all very spendy!

PEUGEOT YALE – A LIFE STORY
This "lovely" bike started life as a perfectly normal Peugeot Yale town bike, complete with some gears and brakes and stuff. Then, it was abandoned like a stray puppy. But, rather than send it to the knacker's yard, I decided to give a new life...

It has been a bit of an ongoing project. So, I thought I'd lay down some of its transformation over the last couple of years.

At its core is a fairly trusty steel (CrMo) frame, which formerly came with canti-brakes, 21 gears, twist grips, funky adjustable stem, an arm chair of a saddle and some round things covered in perished rubber. Fortunately, I had a shed full of odds and ends that were totally inappropriate. So, on they went!
First job was to remove 20 gears. Off came the Shimano something twisty whirly bits and lots of cable. Now, the next bit should have been easy - grab pretty much any fixed hub rear wheel, slip in frame, etc. But, no. Of course, no. 130 mm chainstay spacing meant a bit of a search. After a bit of a search and a short wait, a pair of Single Speed Components 32-spoke wheel arrived at my door (bearings on original front were knackered, so went for new wheel = shiny). Keeping costs under the radar was one of my main objectives. So, having shot my bolt on new wheels, I dug around the shed and found a Token 18t sprocket, BrevM 48t chain wheel, Sugino Pista (170 mm) cranks, some Clarks levers to use with the original Shimano canti brakes, a Selle Italia SLR saddle with fally off cover and flat bars and bottle cage from a scrapped 90's Raleigh MTB. Finally, having splashed out on a new chain, some brake blocks and a pair of On One lock-on grips, I was ready to do some commuting.

It took 1000 miles to realise that the stripped down saddle was not the most ideal commuting solution. To make things a little more comfortable it now has a Planet X Superlight (via a cheapo Velo saddle, which gave up the ghost after 10000 miles), which is much kinder to my nethers.

For a bit of fun and to make it more compatible with family rides in the summer, I reduced the gearing to 42/18 and popped some Schwalbe G-One 700x40c tyres. That all made it great for some light duty off road stuff and keeping the speed down for riding along with my daughters. But, for commuting, it was just rubbish – I didn’t get anywhere. So, it’s now back up to 44/16. I’ll probably notch that up to 48/16 when I next replace the chain. That’s not too far off, as I only seem to be getting around 2000 miles out of a chain. What do others get out of theirs?

Since I’ve had two rather embarrassing and surprising front brake cable failures, I thought I’d try something a bit different and whack a disc brake on the front (no need to do the back with fixed, I reckon). Of course, that also required getting a new fork and wheel. So, it now has an eBay special “slap on whatever brakes you like” fork, Avid Elixir brake and Mavic Aksium wheel. And, since the back wheel was on its way out, had more new spokes than old and, most importantly, was the wrong colour, that has now been replaced with a black rimmed Santa Fixie wheel. The tyres have replaced with 700x40c Schwalbe Citizens, which seem to do the job for what it’s used for. The disc hasn’t increased stopping power. But, it is more consistent and doesn’t suffer from poor brake or wheel alignment. Plus, I shouldn’t get cable failure!

I’ll probably keep it much as it is with a few mods here and there as things go pop. But, that’s it – for now.

Now sold.
Thanks, Josh. I hope your friend enjoys it.

Price drop bump
Knocked £50 off. It's now £315
Thanks for looking

Quite probably, yes. I'm no lawyer.

Yep. It's a nice one. (I really wish I could have found out who built it. Still happy to find out...)

Erm, sorry about the size! :-p
I'm a smidge under 5'10", if that helps anyone, and it fits me nicely.

Thanks, littleK.

We'll see (on the price). It seemed "in the ball park". But, I guess that's what counter-offers are for...

OK. Thanks for the clarity.

While I can see why the forum doesn't like eBay auctions running alongside classifieds here, I'm interested to know what the objection to "Buy It Now" is?

N.B. the bike is still not on eBay...

Ouch, indeed! Feeling a bit tender today?

It's difficult, isn't it? Pedestrians always have the right of way. For instance, I had a situation a couple of months back going through Tooting...

Couple of chaps walked out from between cars to cross the road as I was overtaking. That was fine, I was riding at an appropriate speed (I thought), which allowed them to pass in front of me before I got there. So, all good. Except, someone behind me shouted at them and one of them (not both for some reason) decided that, having got most of the way across, the safest option was to head back from whence they came. Now they were right in front of me. Fortunately, my brakes worked (very well, as it happened, causing a rather impressive stoppie) and I stopped without hitting him. Quick swear (more our of relief than anger) and I was on my way; no more said.

What I should have done, I suppose, is stop and wait until they had both arrived safely at their destination on the pavement.

Does it not depend on how quickly you talk?

I'm quite slow and can only usually manage about half a swear word before performing an enormous stoppie...

Why guilty? If the driver hadn't been on the phone, maybe she would have been more attentive, passed you more safely and avoided having to explain two new words to her child...

(I do try and avoid swearing, gesticulating, punching, etc. near children - especially my own! Sometimes the swear just fall out, though!)

:-)

Just replace it with your butt plug.....!

Oh, dear. Sorry to all. I didn't realise that. It's now pulled from eBay.

Also, I forgot to say, I have a box of spares (chainset and brakes mainly) that will go with it. Might even chuck in some stuff from the shed, if it goes for the asking price (hubs, more brakes, etc.).

😂

Thank you, Oliver.
Looks like I need to learn myself up. Now, where are my old Ecce Romani.......?

I think it's a proper noun. But, you can choose your gender, as it's not a Latin word. So, we're just making it up. It will depend on how you refer to your car. If you refer to it as a woman, then you're probably stuffed, unless someone can tell me that there are feminine words out there with an -us ending.

Well, at least we got our Latin grammar sorted this afternoon. It hasn't been a complete write-off!

I've been "stuck" outside our office in Epsom for way too long waiting like a numpty to move off. Then, as soon as I decide I've waited long enough and it's safe to go anyway, a line of speeding buses will turn up.....!

Indeed, SwissChap. My Latin teacher would be proud (maybe)!

Although, my brain now hurts. I may have to stroke it better with some maths!