Cycling UK Forum

I switched my front brakes to CR720s on my tourer after being dissatified with the performance of the low profile cantis it came with. The improvement was really noticeable - the modulation is really nice and you could probably lock the wheel if you were really going for it (in a good way - the brakes are plenty powerful enough without being 'grabby').

When I acquired a tandem last year, upgrading to CR720s on the front - again to replace low profile cantis was the first upgrade and a lucky one at that. The first ride we used them, we had to do an emergency stop thanks to someone cycling straight out of a side road across our path without looking. That wouldn't have ended well with the previous brakes.

Both of those are running with Koolsstop dual compound cartridge V brake pads and work very nicely indeed!

That said, I've never used Frogglegs, so can't comment on the difference between the two models.

My latest bike project is to upgrade my Mum's bike with is a 1965 Jack Taylor frame. It is currently nowhere near mint condition and many of the original parts are gone. The frame itself is in good condition, despite the fact much of the original paintwork is chipped and worn.

Now, many of the parts are easy to replace, but what to do with the gearing is causing me a bit of a headache. For a long time the bike had a Sturmey Archer 3 speed, before being 'upgraded' for an awful Shimano 5 speed derailleur in the early 90s (at the same time as I think many of the other original components were removed and presumably destroyed). I want my mum to be able to continue to enjoy riding it - its never going to be a museum piece now, which I feel gives me three options:

- Respray the bike and clean the existing derailleurs up as much as possible (not keen - the range is really too low as it is)
- Fit a hub gear (eyeing the Alfine).I don't know whether this would give a wide enough range as I was hoping to fit the equivalent gearing of 28 (front) 34 (rear) to 48 (front) 13 (rear). I believe it would be possible to modify an Alfine to fit the 120mm rear dropouts though.
- Go for broke and have the rear triangle respaced to 130mm or 135mm by someone who knows what they're doing (Bob Jackson, Mercian etc.). The frame is 531 so should be relatively easy to modify. Then fit modern 7, 8 or 9 speed equipment.

I'm currently favouring option 3 as it also gives most flexibility for the future, but does this risk damaging the frame uneccesarily?

It looks pretty likely that the frame will have to be resprayed to continue to last well and I am keen to have it done similarly to its original paint job. I have found a supplier of reproduction Jack Taylor transfers but it does also have a couple of unusual features such as double box lining and an uncommon red/organge colour. I'm looking at Bob Jackson, Mercian, Dave Yates and Argos. Any comments about the suitability of any of these for respraying/respacing work? Is there anyone else I should consider?

I'd be really appreciative of any thoughts or comments on renovating this frame - obviously it has a fair amount of sentimental value so I'm keen to get it right!

Thanks

Philip

Although it doesn't have to be a ferrous metal. Any conductor in close proximity affects the inductance of the loop. Have to say I've never had too much difficulty with the induction loops - its the IR(?) sensors that annoy me!

I wonder what the conductivity of carbon fibre is...?

DaveP wrote:I have a pair of the Altura Arran panniers. They are not "above" the Dryline model - quite the opposite ...

My apologies, you are quite correct. I was thinking of the Orkneys. Obviously I am easily confused by Scottish islands! This probably makes my review a little less relevant.

dodger wrote:Have a google on mechanical batteries. Really interesting developments using the power stored in a form of gyroscope.

This could be quite interesting... From what I remember about gyroscopes, cornering or a sharp change in road gradient would tend to make the car pitch or slew to the side. I suppose the exact behavioiur depends on the orientation of the gyroscope. The one you would really want to avoid would be a tendency to roll around the axis down the length of the car!

I recently bought a new pair of Altura Dryline 56 panniers. At 56 litres they're probably far bigger than you want, but I think they produce smaller drylines as well.

I've been very pleased with them - the main compartment is best described as cavernous and there is a separate front section with pockets for wallet, phone, bike tools etc. Also, they're double walled with a strong outer and waterproof inner. They don't come with rain covers, but they seem very waterproof anyway. They did very well in a 20 minute downpour, but thats the worst they've had yet.

Fixing is very easy and flexible. They use the R&K quick fixing system which is something of a revelation. The hooks can be moved over a range of about 10cm so as to best fit your rack, and the clip for holding the panniers on to the vertical rack stays can also be moved to fit the rack. The other great thing is that replacements are easily available. When I snapped off one of the hooks when I err... misjudged my width I simply ordered a spare pair, replaced the broken one in about 1 minute and now have a spare 'just in case'. I should stress the hooks didn't break to being weak - they're actually quite beefy. I just had quite a lot of momentum, and the solid unmovable object was very solid and unmovable.

So The Altura panniers seem to be a good buy. I think the Arran range are the one above dryline, so I assume they're virtually bombproof! The fabric is noticeably heavier - it depends whether this is important to you.

Last of all, my panniers came with decent carrying handles and a very nice padded shoulder strap for each pannier, which is a bonus for carrying them around town.

Hope that helps!

In my first year at Uni, both I and a friend bought Ammaco bikes from the Cycle King - myself a cheap MTB to avoid having to use my nicer Claude Butler hybrid around town and my friend's Ammaco hybrid. Whilst cheap, neither lasted very long.

The hybrid failed in multiple ways, all of which quite amusing - best of all was my friend taking apart the bottom bracket to find that the bearings were square (he'd only used it for say a few hundred miles of travelling around town). Mine never failed spectacularly apart from the tyre that exploded, but it has never worked particularly well even after replacing the drive train. Having said that it is suitable for what I wanted - cheap and I don't mind leaving it the centre of town at night. Would I buy an Ammaco again? Certainly not!

If you were willing to spend ~£200 on a bike made by Ammaco, I would suggest paying a little bit more initially and getting a basic Hybrid from a respected manufacturer as recommended by the previous poster. They're much quicker than MTBs though obviously not as fast as a racer but sounds more like what you'd be after. I would recommend the Claude Butler Odyssey as I have one myself, but again the bikes suggested above all look quite similar, so I suggest you have a look at that sort of bike