What transforming changes have you made to your bike

For discussions about bikes and equipment.
Dingdong
Posts: 966
Joined: 22 Apr 2022, 4:59pm

Re: What transforming changes have you made to your bike

Post by Dingdong »

Weinmann brakes were absolutely rubbish. I had some sort of quick release version, was it the 605? I think I'd be about 16 at the time and I managed to pick up a pair of Campagnolo Gran Sports at a bike jumble for ten quid.

What a difference! The chromed springs on the Campagnolo brakes were night and day compared to the mild steel, galvanized rubbish on the Weinmann. It's hard to believe people made such crap, and were able to sell it! I had a few tumbles relying on the Weinmanns, I wonder how many other people suffered at the hands of their near completely ineffective stopping power?

Nowadays I've got 4 bikes on the road, two with Dura Ace calipers, and two with hydraulic disc brakes. Which are of course a game changer in terms of effective, progressive braking, but not THAT much better than the Dura Ace, which speaks volumes for how far caliper braking has come. It's the little things that have made the most difference to my cycling, like clip in pedals, and being able to stop a bicycle safely without damage to yourself or others!
peetee
Posts: 4292
Joined: 4 May 2010, 10:20pm
Location: Upon a lumpy, scarred granite massif.

Re: What transforming changes have you made to your bike

Post by peetee »

Dingdong wrote: 4 Oct 2022, 6:06am Weinmann brakes were absolutely rubbish. I had some sort of quick release version, was it the 605? I think I'd be about 16 at the time and I managed to pick up a pair of Campagnolo Gran Sports at a bike jumble for ten quid.
Completely agree. That was the route I took in the early days too. It certainly was a formative time for me. One of the things that became obvious was my need for some sort of connection with the things I was using - for them just to work wasn’t enough. They had to feed something back to me. With the Weinmanns, because of the total absence of feedback they provided, I might as well have been the stoker on a tandem with my partner pulling the brakes.
This need made me very fussy about my bike set-up and the care I took to keep them running ‘just so’. It’s also pretty indispensable when working as a mechanic too if you don’t want to spend all day using guesswork to find a problem!
The older I get the more I’m inclined to act my shoe size, not my age.
GideonReade
Posts: 410
Joined: 4 Jul 2010, 10:46pm

Re: What transforming changes have you made to your bike

Post by GideonReade »

Yes, the ability to play with modern stems is transformative, isn't it?

I was searching, unsuccessfully for a 1" quill fitting open face stem (or a selection of), which would achieve much the same, but most of those made over the years seem to be quite flawed, from what I read. And/or fugly, so an adapter and ugly modern stem would be no worse and much easier.
Dingdong
Posts: 966
Joined: 22 Apr 2022, 4:59pm

Re: What transforming changes have you made to your bike

Post by Dingdong »

Rechargeable Led lights are excellent. I probably ride 30hrs max per year with lighting, which is about one charge for my LEDs. On that ratio, they should last me 100 years+ :x
De Sisti
Posts: 1507
Joined: 17 Jun 2007, 6:03pm

Re: What transforming changes have you made to your bike

Post by De Sisti »

Purchased three of these saddles for my bikes. Hopefully no more "undercarriage" problems.
Image
jimlews
Posts: 1476
Joined: 11 Jun 2015, 8:36pm
Location: Not the end of the world.

Re: What transforming changes have you made to your bike

Post by jimlews »

Dingdong wrote: 4 Oct 2022, 6:06am Weinmann brakes were absolutely rubbish. I had some sort of quick release version, was it the 605? I think I'd be about 16 at the time and I managed to pick up a pair of Campagnolo Gran Sports at a bike jumble for ten quid.

What a difference! The chromed springs on the Campagnolo brakes were night and day compared to the mild steel, galvanized rubbish on the Weinmann. It's hard to believe people made such crap, and were able to sell it! I had a few tumbles relying on the Weinmanns, I wonder how many other people suffered at the hands of their near completely ineffective stopping power?

Nowadays I've got 4 bikes on the road, two with Dura Ace callipers, and two with hydraulic disc brakes. Which are of course a game changer in terms of effective, progressive braking, but not THAT much better than the Dura Ace, which speaks volumes for how far calliper braking has come. It's the little things that have made the most difference to my cycling, like clip in pedals, and being able to stop a bicycle safely without damage to yourself or others!
"Weinmann brakes were absolute rubbish."

Well, I have to beg to differ.
I am currently using Weinman centre-pull callipers and they are absolutely fine. Actually, they're very good, especially with Cool-Stop pads.
I also like the Weinman brake levers. They have a nice comfortable shape that is convenient to use both on the hoods and on the drops.
(That cannot be said of many 'modern' levers). Also, they have the best QR system of ANY lever and they also work great with side-pulls
and cantilevers.
Dingdong
Posts: 966
Joined: 22 Apr 2022, 4:59pm

Re: What transforming changes have you made to your bike

Post by Dingdong »

jimlews wrote: 6 Oct 2022, 2:50pm
Dingdong wrote: 4 Oct 2022, 6:06am Weinmann brakes were absolutely rubbish. I had some sort of quick release version, was it the 605? I think I'd be about 16 at the time and I managed to pick up a pair of Campagnolo Gran Sports at a bike jumble for ten quid.

What a difference! The chromed springs on the Campagnolo brakes were night and day compared to the mild steel, galvanized rubbish on the Weinmann. It's hard to believe people made such crap, and were able to sell it! I had a few tumbles relying on the Weinmanns, I wonder how many other people suffered at the hands of their near completely ineffective stopping power?

Nowadays I've got 4 bikes on the road, two with Dura Ace callipers, and two with hydraulic disc brakes. Which are of course a game changer in terms of effective, progressive braking, but not THAT much better than the Dura Ace, which speaks volumes for how far calliper braking has come. It's the little things that have made the most difference to my cycling, like clip in pedals, and being able to stop a bicycle safely without damage to yourself or others!
"Weinmann brakes were absolute rubbish."

Well, I have to beg to differ.
I am currently using Weinman centre-pull callipers and they are absolutely fine. Actually, they're very good, especially with Cool-Stop pads.
I also like the Weinman brake levers. They have a nice comfortable shape that is convenient to use both on the hoods and on the drops.
(That cannot be said of many 'modern' levers). Also, they have the best QR system of ANY lever and they also work great with side-pulls
and cantilevers.
I think you are living in 1975... When Shimano first produced their side pull brakes in the late 1980s, it was clear just how ludicrously bad Weinmann and Dia Compe brakes were. They were, and still are, possibly the most dangerous set up ever made. Their 'Dual control' levers made me laugh. The drop lever worked on occasion, but the top bar lever was next to useless, absolutely sponge like. How people didn't die in accidents was probably because there was no recording of cause back in the day

Weinmann brakes: terrifying :lol:
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freiston
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Joined: 6 Oct 2013, 10:20am
Location: Coventry

Re: What transforming changes have you made to your bike

Post by freiston »

At around the timeline being talked of, I would have thought the biggest determining factor in how good or bad brakes were was not the manufacturer or the lever but the rim material. In 1975, most people were on chromed steel rims, in the late 80s, most people were on alloy rims. The biggest advance in rim braking was alloy rims (and an appropriate brake block). In rim caliper brakes, the next biggest advance was dual pivot.
Disclaimer: Treat what I say with caution and if possible, wait for someone with more knowledge and experience to contribute. ;)
jimlews
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Joined: 11 Jun 2015, 8:36pm
Location: Not the end of the world.

Re: What transforming changes have you made to your bike

Post by jimlews »

Dingdong wrote: 6 Oct 2022, 3:02pm
jimlews wrote: 6 Oct 2022, 2:50pm
Dingdong wrote: 4 Oct 2022, 6:06am Weinmann brakes were absolutely rubbish. I had some sort of quick release version, was it the 605? I think I'd be about 16 at the time and I managed to pick up a pair of Campagnolo Gran Sports at a bike jumble for ten quid.

I think you are living in 1975... When Shimano first produced their side pull brakes in the late 1980s, it was clear just how ludicrously bad Weinmann and Dia Compe brakes were. They were, and still are, possibly the most dangerous set up ever made. Their 'Dual control' levers made me laugh. The drop lever worked on occasion, but the top bar lever was next to useless, absolutely sponge like. How people didn't die in accidents was probably because there was no recording of cause back in the day

Weinmann brakes: terrifying :lol:
Actually, I'm living in 2022.
If I am still using 1970's-1980's gear it is because it works and works well in 2022.

FYI. Dia Compe and Shimano were copies of Weinman. Or, at least, used the same geometry. The improvement was in the brake block material.
Gran Sport were "better" because the pivot to brake block dimension was shorter (short drop) and again, the brake block material was better than the red blocks fitted to Weinman BITD. They were/are good on a close clearance machine, but not suitable for a tourer.
For that reason, I've liberated the levers from my GS set for use with Campag cantilevers - they work better with cantis than with the callipers that they were designed for.

Much the same applies with Shimano cantilevers; I'm happily using Weinman QR levers with Shimano cantilevers- I never feel that the
braking is deficient.

Dual pivot callipers? I suggest you read Brucey's analysis of their 'charms'.
Jamesh
Posts: 2963
Joined: 2 Jan 2017, 5:56pm

Re: What transforming changes have you made to your bike

Post by Jamesh »

R550 / rs10 wheels
Much better wheels than 32h training wheels of old.

Apart from accidents they have been rock solid!
cycle tramp
Posts: 3532
Joined: 5 Aug 2009, 7:22pm

Re: What transforming changes have you made to your bike

Post by cycle tramp »

De Sisti wrote: 6 Oct 2022, 1:49pm Purchased three of these saddles for my bikes. Hopefully no more "undercarriage" problems.
Image
Thanks for posting. I'd be interested to hear you thoughts about the saddle after you've had used it.
Motorhead: god was never on your sidehttps://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&client=m ... +your+side
drossall
Posts: 6115
Joined: 5 Jan 2007, 10:01pm
Location: North Hertfordshire

Re: What transforming changes have you made to your bike

Post by drossall »

Dingdong wrote: 6 Oct 2022, 3:02pmTheir 'Dual control' levers made me laugh. The drop lever worked on occasion, but the top bar lever was next to useless, absolutely sponge like. How people didn't die in accidents was probably because there was no recording of cause back in the day
I'm not sure it's fair to conflate "safety levers" with the callipers. I'm sure I heard that safety levers were invented for cruising down the more gentle continental mountain passes without having to stay on the drops (although of course club riders would have braked over the tops). But they got marketed as "safety levers", which they were anything but.

Weinmann callipers were OK as long as safety levers weren't fitted. But not as good as dual pivots, of course.
Carlton green
Posts: 3645
Joined: 22 Jun 2019, 12:27pm

Re: What transforming changes have you made to your bike

Post by Carlton green »

It would be good if people didn’t argue.

One of my bikes has cantilever brakes, another has Weinmann centre pulls and another Weinmann side pulls with ‘safety’ levers. They all work but in my experience the first in that list works rather well, the second quite well and the third now adequately; adequately enough with with alloy rims, particularly good blocks and high quality cables and outers. I don’t need perfection or the best but I do need at least adequate. I’d say that the side pulls are now better than borderline adequate but I brake early, don’t ride fast and don’t expect to stop fast - rider plus his dog are a sizeable weight and it’s not flat where I live.

What suits one person might not suit another, but gently sharing experiences is good.

One experience that isn’t quite a transformation but has worked well for me is fitting a hub gear. There are pro’s and con’s but I’ve very much enjoyed having a bike who’s rear wheel can be taken over rough ground without the fear of needing to true it later.

As the OP I’d like to again thank everyone who has contributed to my thread.
Don’t fret, it’s OK to: ride a simple old bike; ride slowly, walk, rest and admire the view; ride off-road; ride in your raincoat; ride by yourself; ride in the dark; and ride one hundred yards or one hundred miles. Your bike and your choices to suit you.
Ross K
Posts: 77
Joined: 25 Oct 2013, 8:14pm

Re: What transforming changes have you made to your bike

Post by Ross K »

I'll take that question as referring to "bikes", currently somewhere in the region of eight in number!

Standardising the saddle across every one of them. It took me several years to find the one that suited my behind but when I did it was a great moment and I gradually set about replacing every saddle with the same model.

Putting a bit more effort into getting the main geometry more or less the same across bikes (except the TT bike) has been a positive change too, at least in terms of the relationship of the three contact points, Bars/Saddle/Pedals, including crank length.

Apart from that, tyres tyres tyres. I never skimp on tyres and would rather suffer the occasional flat on supple, low-rolling-resistance, lightweight tyres than go flat-free on heavy hosepipes.

EDIT: and handbuilt wheels. Along with tyres, a fine way to transform a bike.
drossall
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Joined: 5 Jan 2007, 10:01pm
Location: North Hertfordshire

Re: What transforming changes have you made to your bike

Post by drossall »

Of course a respray can be transforming. Makes it like a new bike. Has done for several of mine, anyway.

And, to support that, there were the apocryphal stories, back in the days when pros rode steel frames. Wise old heads would speak about how a (steel) frame, used hard for a season, would get "tired" and not be as responsive as it had been when new, without ever quite explaining the mechanics of that. So tales were told of pro teams who took away last year's bikes and duly issued shining new ones, to the enthusiastic approval of their riders. Who failed entirely to realise that these were last year's frames, back from a visit to the spray shop to get this year's colours.

Works for me, and I know it's the same frame.
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