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In answer to my own question, yes, they did and still do.

However I still can't work out what spline pattern this freehub has...

Did Miche make hubs with their own spline pattern (i.e. neither Campagnolo-style nor Shimano-style)?

I have one on a 2007 Bianchi; the hub is labelled "Bianchi/Miche", and has a ten-speed cassette (Campagnolo Mirage groupset, so whatever the splines it has Campagnolo spacing).

Thanks,

Daniele

make sure there is 5+mm free space between the bottom bracket cup/flange/sleeve and the crank arm now

I don't follow that - as long as nothing fouls anything else, isn't that enough? Why is there a need for an extra 5mm between the cup of the bottom bracket and the crank arm?

After a lot more puzzling and searching, I think I am able to answer my own questions: BC1.37 x 24 is just the specification of the thread, and most 68mm bottom brackets conform to that.

So I should be looking for a 103mm spindle width bottom bracket, and it seems simple enough.

I have a bike with a Shimano bottom bracket fitted; its label says:

BB-UN54 [part number]
68 [bottom bracket shell width]
BC1.37 x 24[what do these mean?]
LL113 [113 is the total spindle length, what does LL mean?]

It's just about OK on the bike, but the chainwheels (a Sunrace R90 Road Double Chainwheel - 50/34T FCR96) are further out than is ideal. They could easily come in 5-8 mm. So, I'd like to find a bottom bracket that fits better.

What specifications should I be looking for?

I guess I can say goodbye to the paintwork under the Tubus clamps. At least they look like they won't be moving much.

And that AR-1 should be exactly what I need... are racks like that simply not made any more?

I could have sworn that I'd asked about this here already, but I can't find any sign of it, so here it is.

I have an old Dawes Galaxy. It doesn't have seat stay bosses to secure a pannier rack. The best option seems to be some sort of bracket that will use the rear brake bolt, and provide mounting points for a rack.

I have a rack already - it's just the bracket I need (otherwise I'll need to use P-clips I think). I previously made one; it broke.

I can't find such a bracket anywhere. Does anyone actually make such things? What are they called?

(A seatpost clamp with rack mount points won't work on this bike, so that's not an option.)

Hey, I'll gladly take the saddle if you're willing to post to the Netherlands

I am travelling to Leiden from the UK on the 20th June - if that solves a problem, I don't mind being a saddle courier.

For a triple chainset, in case that makes any difference, and ISO pedal threads (older ones had French threads).

Vintage Dia-compe hoods are a perfect fit on Weinmann levers, and they
can still be found as new-old-stock.

That would make sense, since many Weinmann brakes were made by Dia-Compe.

How well do different hoods fit Weinmann levers? It would be pretty annoying to have loose hoods because they were not quite the right shape.

These things (not just about bikes) come and go for me too. It seems normal, and as you hint, a bit sad to know that something once gave you a lot of pleasure but no longer lights up anything in you.

I think it has a melancholy in it because it's like seeing something that was important in your childhood, and remembering the feeling but no longer having it, and that's a recognition that part of your life has gone and won't come back.

I also think that the past 18 months have washed the light and enthusiasm out of many people for many things. For me, I'm hoping that some of those will come back when this all passes.

I decided against having downtube shifters in the end, and decided to go for a Campagnolo groupset throughout, because I couldn't be confident enough about the compatibility of a modern 9/10/11-speed cassette with friction shifters, and couldn't find any conclusive information about how well they work together.

I can always experiment later at my leisure if I feel a burning need to have friction levers; this way I will start out with something that I know works.

What's Steve's current 'expected'waiting time?

He said it would be ready for September (and I've just booked a passage Plymouth-Santander for a week in the mountains, so I hope so!).

Also if it were mine I'd use modern brake hoods for comfort and
aesthetics, even if using a quill stem.

That's the trouble, that such a lot of the pleasure of riding a bicycle is aesthetic pleasure in the machine itself.

I actually like the look of old-style brake hoods with the cables curving over, and the way a handlebar bag fits inside them. (The tucked-away Campagnolo cables on my Bianchi make for an elegant profile too - but the gear cables that shot out sideways from the Shimano hoods on my stolen Dawes tourer, no, not pleasurable to look at).

So yes it's a cost... but clearly not enough that I ever need to be
concerned about it and the majority of costs are definitely met by
donations.

Thanks for mentioning it. All too often one forgets that something like this costs someone money. I just made a small contribution, because the forum has been helpful to me.

Of course I've discussed it with Steve. But (like everyone else, I imagine) even if I were receiving the advice of a top surgeon on which treatment to have, I would still find it useful to hear the perspectives and experiences of people who've had it.

It's interesting, to me anyway, and it adds context.

Indeed so! He suggested Zona, but I'd still like to know about other people's experiences and thoughts.

Any opinions on Columbus tubesets suitable for a touring bike (with traditional diameter tubes - I don't believe they are all available in those diameters)?

It's hard to work out what they are; I think they are Zona, Life, SL and Spirit, in that order of price and general desirableness. But I don't know how suitable they are for a touring bike.

Do Campagnolo brakes have sufficient clearance for 28c tyres plus mudguards? I've heard conflicting advice.

I wouldn't normally bother, 25c is what I am used to, but apparently 28c is the way to go now. I wouldn't want to miss out.

I'd love to hear from someone who's actually done it!

I made a trip up to Skelmersdale yesterday from Cardiff and met Steve Goff. As everyone said, a really nice fellow, who gave me a lot of time and clearly knows his craft inside and out. I liked him a lot.

He has my deposit now for a tourer.

I still have to decide on a few things. Mainly: can one get mudguards and 28c tyres under Campagnolo brakes? If so, I'd go for that. Otherwise, I'll stick with 25c

A friend of needs a new bike so last night I visited the Cardiff Cycle Workshop website (a good source for refurbished bikes) to see what they had for sale.

I was astounded to see the bike I owned 40 years ago - a Giordani Emy, in exactly the same colour. I had that bike in Italy from about 1979-1984. I was practically glued to it from morning till night. It finally broke in half at the hinge (we used to zoom down the hill from the beach and at the bottom, there was a ramp that would launch us into the air). The local blacksmith made a repair, but that was the end.

The listing describes it as a "shopper", which it's absolutely not. It was the standard bicycle of the era. (Alternatives were chopper-style bikes, and the occasional racing bike - but this was an "ordinary" bicycle, the bicycle that everybody had.) The rack at the back was for your friend to stand up on with the hands on your shoulders as you pedalled around.

I emailed them right away - and picked it up this morning. Obviously I am completely thrilled.

I'm delighted that he's still going, absolute top man! If you want to
see an example of his work, search 'shiny bits' which will bring up
the road fixed he built for me and I still love.

Really gorgeous.

Seems kind of mad to me that you'd want a bike built today that is
this limited. Why 25c tyres for instance? The rest of the stuff I can
almost understand.

Basically, because I like them. I like the look of them. I like the way that when I ride a bike with downtube shifters, I hardly every change gear, whereas when they're at my fingertips I inevitably seem to shift for every corner. I honestly don't really have better reasons than for example I feel happy when I see a quill stem.

OK, sure! I would be glad of input.

I'd like to have a traditional light tourer, with a steel frameset.

The basics:

• flat top tube
  
• quill stem
  
• shifters on the downtube
  
• old-style brake hoods
  
• braze-ons for mudguards, rack, bottles
  
  

wheels:

• perhaps say https://www.ison-distribution.com/english/product.php?part=WHHAR6SF, or perhaps the version with hub dynamo on the front
  
• 25c tyres
  
  

transmission:

• compact chainset, say 50T/34T chainring (e.g. https://www.geneticbikes.com/shop/products/chainsets/cranks/clubman-crankset/) and an 11-28 eight/nine-speed cassette. I feel the crankset needs to look right.
  
• shifters - not bothered about indexing, but is it better to have clamp-on or bolt-on shifters?
  
  

the rest:

• handlebars perhaps https://www.geneticbikes.com/shop/products/handlebars/road/heritage-bars/
  
• calliper brakes, but not sure exactly what, or about the levers