Cycling UK Forum

Heard that too but don't know any date he moved or again when he left Orbit. The Orbit business has obviously changed hands over the years too.

Does anyone have any information on frame builder Andy Thompson? I found some information on the Tricycle Association website:-
http://www.tricycleassociation.org.uk/THFThompson.html but there is little other information. Can anyone confirm when Thompson Bicycle Company in Huddersfield stopped trading in the 1980s and does anyone have any information on his bicycle frames as opposed to tricycles?

Just acquired a Giant Speeder steel bike this evening. Appears to be one of the steel tubed base models. Been trawling the web looking for information on these but catalogues and information appear thin on the ground. Bike has forged pattern short horizontal rear dropouts and braze on bosses for down tube levers. Guessing manufacturing date early 1990s. Anybody any info on these early Giant bikes?

As a CTC member for 25 years I have paid an increasing subscription as the years have rolled by in the false belief that this was because of rising costs of the administration and running of the Club. I am appalled that my subscription has been hiked to support the CTC Trust whilst the club magazine quality and content has declined. I believe this should be one of the core functions of the club. I also wonder how much the CTC trust has spent on cycle campaigning and development in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland as a percentage of the annual Trust budget on (i) an annual basis (ii) over a decade? It is not that long ago the local DA was asking for donations from members because of the decreasing capital grant from head office. I didn't realise that subscription money was being syphoned off to the CTC Trust to the detriment of club members and club services.

If the CTC committee wins the day and the club becomes a charity I will leave as the CTC as it no longer offers me anything. It does very little for cyclists in my area and a major road scheme which threatens a multitude of side roads used for access and cycling are threatened with abandonment orders. I raised the issue and was met with little response. If I need insurance I can get it via BC.

What needs to happen IMO if the the proposals are rejected is a detailed report by committee to members on exactly what our money has been spent on, why club services have been eroded. The spurious argument that members don't need to know everything or won't understand won't wash. I would further suggest a change to the CTC constitution to ensure that any financial changes affecting the ethos and membership of the club cannot be implemented without approval of 75% of the total membership and not 75% attending the AGM and that any proposals like the present one which affects the ethos and character of the Cyclists Touring Club cannot be proposed again for a minimum period of 10 years.

I have to agree with Chris Juden on this. I hear a lot of horror stories about outboard bearings wearing out very quickly. What has to be acknowledged is that component manufacturers want to sell you new equipment which keeps production lines rolling. That is why the bearings are inadequate and wear too quickly. Another example is overly narrow chains for 9, 10, and 11 speed systems breaking after 500 miles of use. Cycling has embraced consumerism with a the rush to buy the latest gimmick. Modern bicycles are certainly light but the engineering of bearings is suspect and comfort of ride questionable hence gel saddles and two rolls of handlebar tape on the bars. No longer will a cycle manufacturer boast in it's sales literature 'guaranteed for 50 years' like BSA used to do. Durability is deliberately not built in, so a crash involves the purchase of a new machine. Many cyclists I see are buying all the latest team kit annually and changing bikes every two years so as not to be seen in old colours. Consumerism and fashion seem to be the main driving forces aided by the popular cycling press.

Much noise is made over the carbon miles involved for the food that we buy. Cycling is promoted as a green activity which it is. However the same popular cycling press that promotes and endorses the culture of consumerism does not address the obvious questions about carbon production and carbon miles involved for the products and culture they promote, nor the environmental effects of the disposal of carbon fibre products. There are environmental benefits for having durable bearings and a reasonable expectation that the bearings you buy are fit for purpose in respect of both load and wear. It is not unreasonable that 3 years heavy usage is an expectation for component life.

In relation to re-using sealed square taper bottom brackets. Some can be opened and the cartridge bearings removed and new ones fitted. I have done this for Suntour bottom brackets and the original bearings were only sealed on one side but the replacements I fitted were sealed on both sides. Others I have cut open to retrieve the axle which can be reused with new bearings and new bearing cups.

Have to agree with consensus about Paselas that they are a good supple tyre. Re the comments about Spa Cycles. They are a very good value bike shop but will no longer stock Paselas as the importer has changed and old importer is running out of 700 x 32s and other sizes. Don't know who the new importer is. But very likely tyres will go up in price if you can find anyone who stocks them.

As a member of the CTC since 1984 I am increasingly concerned about the move of the club to a 'business model' I personally believe that the current problems will continue and increase as the club administration embraces 'business' practice. I think some of the ethos of the founding members of the club has been watered down or lost and this thread is a very sad indictment of this impersonal attitude which I don't believe would have been allowed to continue on such a wide scale for so long in past years.

Just caught this thread. To answer the question, yes,I have to agree with the original poster of this thread as I think they are rubbish. I have heard from friends about the poor serviceability of these bottom brackets. I've serviced bikes which were over 50 yrs old with original axles and cups fitted and the bikes had been well used. It speaks volumes of the quality of the steel originally used and illustrates just how much we have gone backwards 'improving' things. Still ride unfashionable old steel bicycles with freewheel blocks which are fun and comfortable to ride and don't fail after 10000 miles.

Just check out the 11th January 1939 issue of 'Cycling' for the annual mileage charts submitted by readers. How would modern components stand up to this sort of usage? I would also bet that most correspondents were using fixed gear, riding much bigger annual mileages and reliability of components was hardly an issue for them when compared to today.

I assume by 'sealed bearings' you mean cartridge bearings. If bearings are ridden to destruction they will be harder to remove as they will come apart with part left in the hub shell and more complicated to remove. Measure from the end of the axle to the lock nut with a vernier caliper. This is the tolerance you should use when refitting. If you have Mavic hubs you will need the necessary tool to remove the covers. The bearings will come out if you use a soft faced hammer on the axle to remove one side and then repeat for the other. Take note of the bearing number and buy the same type. Bearings can be pressed in using a bench vice using a large socket on each side to press the bearings in. Then refit bearing covers/seals and shouldered washer and lock nut to tolerance that you measured before you started the operation.

If you buy the fork crown reamer tool you can buy it with either 26.4mm reamer for 1" inch steerer tube
or 1 1/8". The cutters can be bought separately. If you are working on older bikes with 1" steerer you will
need the 27mm cutter as well. Useful for cleaning the fork crown after frame has been painted.

Cyclus tools are made in Germany and are good quality and cheaper than Park Tool. I have used
the Cyclus reamer without problem.

The same info applies to the bottom bracket reamer. The threaded taps can be bought separately.
Cyclus even do a Raleigh thread BB tap.

Have to go with JohnW on Campag hubs. I would go small flange as they are less likely to crack. Have recondition several pairs with new bearing cups, cones etc. Don't need an 11, 10 or 9 speed block. They wear too quickly anyway. I started off on fixed so a 6 speed block is ample with a triple.

Maxicar hubs were probably one of the best hubs in the world. French technical trials in the 20s and 30s saw the development of lightweight bikes with good kit.

If you want quality modern cartridge bearing hubs what about the Royce Titans. Not cheap but quality never is. I would buy British and support one of our few manufacturers in preference to US stuff. Royce have also started making 126mm threaded hubs again God Bless them.

Meant to say leave block and rear mech alone. Sorry, over 40 moment.

As a user of older machines it is not necessary to cold set the frame to a wider spacing as this is only one solution. The Suntour Ultra 6 speed freewheel was designed for use with a narrower Sedis chain and was the same width as a standard five speed block. It was only available in close ratio spacings from memory. All my blocks were 13T-18T.

If you want to use larger sprockets you will probably have to change your rear mech. Check the mech and see what the maximum capacity is. If using friction levers with a modern Shimano mech you will find they will require more lever pull as compared to older mechs as the parallelogram springs are not as strong.

The solution I would advise is to leave the mech and rear mach alone and fit a Stronglight Impact or TA Cyclotourist triple chain set (available from Spa Cycles) and get a Shimano Sora triple front mech as this will work with the Stronglight triple. The old Suntour freewheel blocks were quality and virtually bomb proof if looked after. As other correspondents have advised the most common freewheels available are the Shimano ones which are 14T - 24T or 14T - 28T. Unfortunately nobody makes a 16T - 20T anymore.

If going for the cold setting route go for 130mm which will enable the use of modern cassette hubs/STI gears. Depends how much money you want to spend....

Don't know the age of the chainset but I do know the only modern front mech that will work with older chainsets is the Shimano Sora front mech.

Have you tried adjusting the cable tension? Sounds like this could be the cause after 3 months, the cable has probably stretched a bit which will affect the change. If the front mech was working fine before that it seems the likely cause. If the cage was catching from the start you would see the wear beginning on the cage and if wear eliminated the problem the noise would stop.

Don't touch the adjuster screws until you have checked all the other possibilities out. Why not take it to a bike shop and ask? Advice is usually free.

Had the same problem. Mine was in need of a repaint so I got a new top tube fitted with cable guides on top. Back on the road and going fine.