[RBW] Re: My '99 Franklin Custom
So I'm apparently going back to drop bars and downtube shifters. Lowering the Alba bars has been so nice I find myself bending my elbows so much and reaching out I may as well just use some drop bars. I have some Zipp Service Course 70 Xsomethingsomethingsomething coming. They have the sort of flair that the Nitto Dirt Drop has, but with less reach, less drop and the drops hand position a little more flat rather than curved. It's a bead blasted silver, not my favorite but surely not the least ! The brake levers mount straight,/vertical not flaired, just the drop ends flair. 46cm width @hoods and 52-54 @ends. Good enough ! More and more I find more and more stuff I've tried from Riv, like higher bars for example, well it was good up to the point of raising drop bars to the saddle height in the 90's early 2000's. Beyond that the bikes handling goes wonky from what seems natural to me. Even swept back bars, a little bit is okay, like the Alba IF you have a long stem AND sufficient reach inherent in the frame itself. Big IFS ! I say the "raise your bars for every decade you age" thing is also a no-go. Why would you do that ? Planning for a limitation with another limitation is the very limitation that the planning for the limitation can't compensate for, so what's the point ? !!! ((( laughing wholeheartily ))) I'm as if not more flexible/corestrong than I ever was . The big wide bar crayze ... and the big wide tires, the big wide cassettes . sheesh ... all of it kaput ! Wide-r is only good to a point, to each their own to reveal that as no one can do it for you. I remember my 1983 Stumpjumper and how I disliked the 66cm bars that I got after mine were damaged in a botched theft attempt in Arizona(don't ask as I don't know what they were doing !). I went to a 56 or something like that and that was better but even to this day while I like the "idea" of mountain bikes I find many of the specialized parts just not to my liking. My idea of a nice mountain bike is one that feels like a road bike but with cushier tires. Not a cross bike, not a gravel bike, a this that or the other bike .. nope. How about* just a Bike that does Bikey stuff* a do it all Bike for all seasons and terrain . *A Bikes Bike !* Back to the Franklin Bikey ! I'll have to get some new brake levers and the only ones I have are Campy NR/SR and a Shimano 400 aero, both of which were always too darn small for my hands. Nowadays they make the bodies much bigger ! I saw some NOS Shimano 105 Golden Arrow downtube shifters for sale. What's tempting to me besides the gold painting of the engraving is they use a star washer in there to prevent loosening, nice ! Dia-compe Ene has a serrated Campy look-like set with ratchets. If I knew they held without heroics I'd consider those. I still have my Campys, I may try some different washers in those first. I've got a bunch of the Sprint shifters but those too always loosened. Only the sweet Power thumb Shifters form SunTour DON'T slip ! I know there's loctite hero-glue, but ... well that's just it, there's "but' with all those shifters that don't hold their tune ! While I have 2 sets of Phil FW hubs, I'm considering some Suntour 135mm Grease Guard FW hubs call me crazy ! I love 70's and 80's era parts. I could lengthen my Specialized to 135mm with wheels MFG axles, or I could not you know how that goes. The only axles I ever broke were Campy and I weighed a whole lot more then, and on 25mm tires pumped up to 100 psi. Campy axles, like their crown races, were not the best. I may change the crank to an Andel triple, the RSC6's, silver, 150mm, 110/74. I can order directly from Andel in Taiwan. I have some black ones shortened by Bikesmith Designs, but Andel makes them in silver 150mm , so I can't say no ! If not on this bike then on my upcoming custom, maybe with half-step gearing again. That's all folks, for now ! -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/7e502a0e-cc95-46e7-8de4-dc31c718aebfn%40googlegroups.com.
[RBW] Re: My '99 Franklin Custom
Craig, I would love to see more pictures of that Condor. On Thursday, May 26, 2022 at 6:39:05 PM UTC-4 Craig Montgomery wrote: > The Franklin. Another All Rounder for the Ages. A "lifetime" bike. I see > Englishmen, back in the 40's-50's, riding the backroads on bikes like that. > Back when you only had one bike and it cost you an arm and a leg (if I were > ever to open a pub, that would be its name) and you rode it everywhere and > you kept it a long time. What a concept! My '68 Condor is the same > principle. 35-38mm tires. Good on pavement, not afraid of dirt. > > [image: Fixed Condor At the Post Office.JPG] > > Craig in Tucson > > On Tuesday, May 24, 2022 at 12:15:51 PM UTC-7 Garth wrote: > >> >> Patrick asked for another photo of my '99 custom Franklin, here call the >> Bradley sport/touring model. So rather than post it in someone else's post >> i may as well do it here. >> >> I've since reconfigured it quite a bit differently than it's ever been. I >> flipped and lowered the stem so the bars are close to saddle height. I can >> go lower but I'll take it steps. No more seat packs on my bikes. I tried a >> Revelate Shrew which didn't attach to the post, thus further back, but my >> saddles don't allow it to go that far back as product photos show, so out >> with darn seat packs forever! I took the mini rack from the rear of the >> Bomba and put it on the back of the Franklin. Much much nicer looking with >> the mini rack than the seat pack. I'm using a stuff sack with the cargo net >> for now, but have a Lone Peak micro bag on the way. I hope it doesn't look >> awful! The Bomba got the full length top rack that Riv used to sell, it can >> be used front or rear but I don't like front loads up high so it goes >> behind too. >> >> The Franklin reach for reference, from the tip of the saddle to middle >> center of the bars is 63cm. To the bar ends about 54cm. These Alba are the >> 56 steel, which should still be in production as the 55's were notable >> narrower at the end of the flats, before it starts curving, so it's now a >> worthless bar @55cm , for me. The Billie, same story. I've been looking at >> all those "gravelly" kind of drop bars. I think I may get a Crust Towel >> bar, in a 63 I think. this is a road bike and only want a bit wide-err, to >> try at least, I'm more curious than anything what that wide of a drop bar >> would feel like. At the hoods it would be a bit wider than the upper most >> flats of the Alba, which I use a lot! I really don't need the reach back of >> the Alba, so that's why I may get the drops. But the Crust and the like are >> less deep and less reach than typical drops, which is fine with me. If it's >> too wide there are plenty of bars in between that and a 52cm Nitto Dirt >> Drop, which I originally had on the bike. I would like something with a bit >> more flare than that. A Towel bar might be even better for the Bomba. The >> Franklin handles like a fine (80's) European racing bike. I don't think bar >> width as as much of an issue as bar height. Too high and the Franklin feels >> all wrong. Saddle height or lower and it's vroooming into those turns with >> ease! >> >> My under the BB cable-over-and-through-the-casted-guides routing had >> developed a rough and sharp edge to the groove and was eating a cable a >> year or so, and getting worse. I wasn't terribly motivated to investigate >> it, thinking it was just crappy cables. Ooops. So I used an old brake cable >> as a sort of metal floss and worked that metal guide all nice and smooth. A >> touch of toe nail polish(it's what I has on hand) and .. and now what ? >> I wanted to use some cable liner but it was too big for the holes. Lo and >> behold, Jagwire sells that stuff in smaller diameter for shift cables. So >> after the angst of waiting for it arrive, with bait-ed breath that stuff >> went in all nice like! About 4 inches I used for both sides. I was so >> impressed I added little bit to my Suntour Power ratchet thumbshifters, >> where the cable curves around the groove in the body. I've had a cable fray >> there. It's Jagwire product JSAY051, slick lube liner. It comes in four >> 2300mm sections. >> 1.4mm ID, 1.9mm OD. >> >> When I had this made in '99 I was choosing between this and an Atlantis, >> the original, slightly longer one. I'm glad I chose to have it built by a >> local Ohio builder. It has the handling I'm accustomed to from riding race >> bikes of the 70-80's. So you know how people talk all nostalgic about >> Bridgestone, Trek, or whatever brand ? I had a nice Trek but like all the >> stock bikes back then and most today, they lacked the reach and length of >> the front end. It was like sleeping on a mattress that's too short. So >> while I love the styles of those bikes, particularly the European ones, I >> don't miss the lack of fitting in them ! All lookey but no fitty ! All >> those bikes have style, oozing with
[RBW] Re: My '99 Franklin Custom
Re: "old time bikes" - I was recently struck by how recently bicycles of any kind first existed, when I learned that Jonathan the tortoise lives on Saint Helena in the South Atlantic and was at least 40 years old when the penny-farthing bicycle was invented! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_(tortoise) On Friday, May 27, 2022 at 3:33:42 PM UTC-7 Garth wrote: > Yes Craig and Rich ! "Old time bikes!" laughing heartily ! I > use the term "time" rather loosely here as I figure a working bike and > parts at-hand and all are timeless. Their backstory, as interesting as it > may or may not be, has no bearing on the present use and working of it, you > know ? I mean ... here it is, let's ride and play bike ! > > I do love freewheels Rich ! Love love love ! Love the feel, the sound, > the look, the simple function, everything about them. I still have all my > Suntours I ever rode and have 3 more new Sachs 13-32 7-speeds on hand. They > sound great ! Besides 2 sets of Phil FW hubs I have 2 sets of Specialized > FW hubs too. While those are 126mm I could apply them to 135mm spacing by > using a solid axle. I did that on my Stumpie so I could use a slightly > larger/wider freewheel. > > I saw a video the other day about Sean Kelley reuniting with his > bonded/lugged/made-to-measure aluminum and carbon fiber Vitus racing bikes > from the 80's. He and the host were marveling over the "manual" nature of > the shifting, and the lovely sound of the freewheel. "How did you ride such > a bike Sean ?" "It's what we had and it was the best at that time" replied > Sean. > > I haven't seen a Condor a long time Craig ! Isn't it amazing how an "old > time bike" can be so all-around useful for so may conditions ? They were > all-around before anyone even applied the phrase to a bicycle. What's great > is always great, forever and ever ! > > My Franklin here was called a Bradley model and yes it Rich, it was the > "basic" custom option. I didn't know there was any other options at the > time though, nor would I know what to opt for even if I could. I mainly > wanted a bike with 18" chainstays and much longer TT, reach and > front-center than any production model. I got that, but wasn't aware that > to use fenders on that model I'd have to use 28mm tires. I was using 30 or > 32's I think. I had the width, but not the height. No regrets though, as > honestly I like seeing the tires bare from above and hear the changes in > sounds of the tires from various road surfaces. I've ridden it in the rain > more than my fendered Bomba and while the fenders do keep some junk off the > frame and headset, I can't say I've ever experienced anything adverse not > having them. Growing up in Minnesota nobody had fenders, at least in my > small city. In the Twin Cities people may have. I tried some fenders on my > '83 Stumpjumper with some smaller knobbies in '89 for commuting but the > fenders fit and rode poorly, Zefal I think. I took them off, for ever and > ever ! > > Speaking of which that's where I got the uncommon Shimano "Sport LX" rear > derailleur from, my Stumpie. The Mountech it came with was > "Mission-Impossible-like" self-exploding. so this is what the shop had > at hand. It works just fine, shifts a 32 with ease ! I had an XC Pro on > there originally but in attempting to quell a squeaking "sealed" pulley it > didn't go back together right and is draggy despite many fiddles, the > pulley that is. Frankly those "sealed" pulleys are for the birds ! The > Suntour Power Thumb Shifters were also taken from the Stumpie. I have a NOS > pair on hand also that I bought from Kraynick's in Pittsburgh for a song. > Same with an extra set of the NOS Suntour XC Pro cantis, they were in a > parts bin all loose so I assembled them right there and he was happy to > sell them ! That's where the Suntour Power rings are from too, all > chainrings were $10. He had a bunch of Suntour freewheels but none in sizes > I wanted, they were all $20 I think. I haven't been there in a decade ... I > wonder what's still in there ? Upstairs was a treasure trove of > various odd parts. Sift through at your own pace, bring a flashlight and > some gloves ! I love all that "old" bike stuff ! Not old, fresh as a daisy ! > > Talk about a practicable bike shop ! He even had a diy repair shop in the > back with any tool you'd need. The whole bike shop was help yourself, roam > freely. If you needed help, Jerry could point you in the right direction. > It's a cyclists Wonderland really. > > > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/7b0d095c-7b01-4ed2-a71d-4ad532897a39n%40googlegroups.com.
[RBW] Re: My '99 Franklin Custom
Yes Craig and Rich ! "Old time bikes!" laughing heartily ! I use the term "time" rather loosely here as I figure a working bike and parts at-hand and all are timeless. Their backstory, as interesting as it may or may not be, has no bearing on the present use and working of it, you know ? I mean ... here it is, let's ride and play bike ! I do love freewheels Rich ! Love love love ! Love the feel, the sound, the look, the simple function, everything about them. I still have all my Suntours I ever rode and have 3 more new Sachs 13-32 7-speeds on hand. They sound great ! Besides 2 sets of Phil FW hubs I have 2 sets of Specialized FW hubs too. While those are 126mm I could apply them to 135mm spacing by using a solid axle. I did that on my Stumpie so I could use a slightly larger/wider freewheel. I saw a video the other day about Sean Kelley reuniting with his bonded/lugged/made-to-measure aluminum and carbon fiber Vitus racing bikes from the 80's. He and the host were marveling over the "manual" nature of the shifting, and the lovely sound of the freewheel. "How did you ride such a bike Sean ?" "It's what we had and it was the best at that time" replied Sean. I haven't seen a Condor a long time Craig ! Isn't it amazing how an "old time bike" can be so all-around useful for so may conditions ? They were all-around before anyone even applied the phrase to a bicycle. What's great is always great, forever and ever ! My Franklin here was called a Bradley model and yes it Rich, it was the "basic" custom option. I didn't know there was any other options at the time though, nor would I know what to opt for even if I could. I mainly wanted a bike with 18" chainstays and much longer TT, reach and front-center than any production model. I got that, but wasn't aware that to use fenders on that model I'd have to use 28mm tires. I was using 30 or 32's I think. I had the width, but not the height. No regrets though, as honestly I like seeing the tires bare from above and hear the changes in sounds of the tires from various road surfaces. I've ridden it in the rain more than my fendered Bomba and while the fenders do keep some junk off the frame and headset, I can't say I've ever experienced anything adverse not having them. Growing up in Minnesota nobody had fenders, at least in my small city. In the Twin Cities people may have. I tried some fenders on my '83 Stumpjumper with some smaller knobbies in '89 for commuting but the fenders fit and rode poorly, Zefal I think. I took them off, for ever and ever ! Speaking of which that's where I got the uncommon Shimano "Sport LX" rear derailleur from, my Stumpie. The Mountech it came with was "Mission-Impossible-like" self-exploding. so this is what the shop had at hand. It works just fine, shifts a 32 with ease ! I had an XC Pro on there originally but in attempting to quell a squeaking "sealed" pulley it didn't go back together right and is draggy despite many fiddles, the pulley that is. Frankly those "sealed" pulleys are for the birds ! The Suntour Power Thumb Shifters were also taken from the Stumpie. I have a NOS pair on hand also that I bought from Kraynick's in Pittsburgh for a song. Same with an extra set of the NOS Suntour XC Pro cantis, they were in a parts bin all loose so I assembled them right there and he was happy to sell them ! That's where the Suntour Power rings are from too, all chainrings were $10. He had a bunch of Suntour freewheels but none in sizes I wanted, they were all $20 I think. I haven't been there in a decade ... I wonder what's still in there ? Upstairs was a treasure trove of various odd parts. Sift through at your own pace, bring a flashlight and some gloves ! I love all that "old" bike stuff ! Not old, fresh as a daisy ! Talk about a practicable bike shop ! He even had a diy repair shop in the back with any tool you'd need. The whole bike shop was help yourself, roam freely. If you needed help, Jerry could point you in the right direction. It's a cyclists Wonderland really. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/4aa2f7f1-d82b-4bd0-8a3e-6f31c437f7a3n%40googlegroups.com.
[RBW] Re: My '99 Franklin Custom
Hello Garth: Thanks for posting pictures of your Franklin. It really hits me! Fun and practical bundled together. Doesn't conform to a particular breed or look. Freewheel, reverse brake levers and simple lugs:-) The bike's simplicity and the mix of parts give it so much personality. Craig, always a pleasure to see one of the classics from your impressive stable. Best, Rich in ATL On Thursday, May 26, 2022 at 6:39:05 PM UTC-4 Craig Montgomery wrote: > The Franklin. Another All Rounder for the Ages. A "lifetime" bike. I see > Englishmen, back in the 40's-50's, riding the backroads on bikes like that. > Back when you only had one bike and it cost you an arm and a leg (if I were > ever to open a pub, that would be its name) and you rode it everywhere and > you kept it a long time. What a concept! My '68 Condor is the same > principle. 35-38mm tires. Good on pavement, not afraid of dirt. > > [image: Fixed Condor At the Post Office.JPG] > > Craig in Tucson > > On Tuesday, May 24, 2022 at 12:15:51 PM UTC-7 Garth wrote: > >> >> Patrick asked for another photo of my '99 custom Franklin, here call the >> Bradley sport/touring model. So rather than post it in someone else's post >> i may as well do it here. >> >> I've since reconfigured it quite a bit differently than it's ever been. I >> flipped and lowered the stem so the bars are close to saddle height. I can >> go lower but I'll take it steps. No more seat packs on my bikes. I tried a >> Revelate Shrew which didn't attach to the post, thus further back, but my >> saddles don't allow it to go that far back as product photos show, so out >> with darn seat packs forever! I took the mini rack from the rear of the >> Bomba and put it on the back of the Franklin. Much much nicer looking with >> the mini rack than the seat pack. I'm using a stuff sack with the cargo net >> for now, but have a Lone Peak micro bag on the way. I hope it doesn't look >> awful! The Bomba got the full length top rack that Riv used to sell, it can >> be used front or rear but I don't like front loads up high so it goes >> behind too. >> >> The Franklin reach for reference, from the tip of the saddle to middle >> center of the bars is 63cm. To the bar ends about 54cm. These Alba are the >> 56 steel, which should still be in production as the 55's were notable >> narrower at the end of the flats, before it starts curving, so it's now a >> worthless bar @55cm , for me. The Billie, same story. I've been looking at >> all those "gravelly" kind of drop bars. I think I may get a Crust Towel >> bar, in a 63 I think. this is a road bike and only want a bit wide-err, to >> try at least, I'm more curious than anything what that wide of a drop bar >> would feel like. At the hoods it would be a bit wider than the upper most >> flats of the Alba, which I use a lot! I really don't need the reach back of >> the Alba, so that's why I may get the drops. But the Crust and the like are >> less deep and less reach than typical drops, which is fine with me. If it's >> too wide there are plenty of bars in between that and a 52cm Nitto Dirt >> Drop, which I originally had on the bike. I would like something with a bit >> more flare than that. A Towel bar might be even better for the Bomba. The >> Franklin handles like a fine (80's) European racing bike. I don't think bar >> width as as much of an issue as bar height. Too high and the Franklin feels >> all wrong. Saddle height or lower and it's vroooming into those turns with >> ease! >> >> My under the BB cable-over-and-through-the-casted-guides routing had >> developed a rough and sharp edge to the groove and was eating a cable a >> year or so, and getting worse. I wasn't terribly motivated to investigate >> it, thinking it was just crappy cables. Ooops. So I used an old brake cable >> as a sort of metal floss and worked that metal guide all nice and smooth. A >> touch of toe nail polish(it's what I has on hand) and .. and now what ? >> I wanted to use some cable liner but it was too big for the holes. Lo and >> behold, Jagwire sells that stuff in smaller diameter for shift cables. So >> after the angst of waiting for it arrive, with bait-ed breath that stuff >> went in all nice like! About 4 inches I used for both sides. I was so >> impressed I added little bit to my Suntour Power ratchet thumbshifters, >> where the cable curves around the groove in the body. I've had a cable fray >> there. It's Jagwire product JSAY051, slick lube liner. It comes in four >> 2300mm sections. >> 1.4mm ID, 1.9mm OD. >> >> When I had this made in '99 I was choosing between this and an Atlantis, >> the original, slightly longer one. I'm glad I chose to have it built by a >> local Ohio builder. It has the handling I'm accustomed to from riding race >> bikes of the 70-80's. So you know how people talk all nostalgic about >> Bridgestone, Trek, or whatever brand ? I had a nice Trek but like all the >> stock bikes
