Recent content by grahame

The late, great Sheldon Brown's website is a great starting place for aspiring wheelbuilders. https://www.sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html

Another of the late John Abbott Valentine (nee Stevenson)’s bikes. This time his Dave Yates tandem. Currently set up for the “school run” to our local railway station with my daughter.

I have a Ground Control Extreme (I think it is) 26" x 2.1" tanwall with black tread. I don't know the year, but it must be around that timeframe. It sat in Bromley Bike Company's basement unsold until I got hold of it a few years. It isn't NOS, but it is pretty close to mint. It still has the...

John’s funeral was yesterday. The rain held off until moments after the end of his committal ceremony. I was surprised, honoured and humbled to find he had bequeathed to me this work of art that Jo had done for him which is inscribed with an apology for the time that he “killed” Mint

John’s (Stevenson) wife messaged me early this morning to say that he died peacefully in his sleep overnight.

Build the C16R. Give/sell the Fuquay to me. Problem sorted.

This Klein Palomino XV used to be John’s - he wrote a glowing review of it https://autobus.cyclingnews.com/tech.php?id=tech/2004/reviews/klein_palomino_xv - he passed it to me in February, and I think my daughter has claimed it (“it’s weird, nobody else will have one like it, can I use it?”) Not...

Are you still looking for these? I *think* I have a pair with the fine threads kicking about in the spares boxes. If you still want them, I'd happily swap them for your blanking nuts.

If you have a Hahanna and are comfortable on it, and have suitable racks and mudguards. Then (with a rigid fork and some slick tyres of 1.5" to 2" section), I'd use that. My next multi-day tour is likely to be on my "gravelised" '92 Breezer Sky.

Disregarding at least some of the above (frame material). If you are a shorter chap (165cm to 175cm tall), then this, whilst listed as a women's bike would be on my list to at least try out: https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/women-s-gravel-bike-grvl-120/_/R-p-335712?mc=8667851&c=ash%20blue

Go for a steel frame rather than aluminium alloy or carbon fibre, purely for the "repairability" - you'll find somebody who can weld steel tubes well enough to get you to the next city on almost every farm or in almost every village. Exotic frame materials are much more difficult to get fixed up...

How much sag do you plan to run on the fork? 25% sag on 120mm travel fork (30mm sag) would leave the geometry effectively the same as running 10% sag on 100mm travel fork - they would both have 90mm of travel "left" and the effective axle to crown length would be about the same, but the longer...

I’ll look into postage costs when I’m back on campus early in January. Assuming it’s not ridiculous, they have your name on them.

Sorry for the confusion about the blue hat, but I had an offer of £56 (enough to run a research lab for an hour), so it has gone.

Orange Hot Rod bar sold to coombeF