Cycling UK Forum

Claireysmurf wrote:Any offers of bike maintenance flunky? All I can offer is cutting wit, long hours and no pay (but the pleasure of a job well done)?

Colin more like an advert for a husband.

Edwards wrote:

Claireysmurf wrote:Any offers of bike maintenance flunky? All I can offer is cutting wit, long hours and no pay (but the pleasure of a job well done)?

Colin more like an advert for a husband.

Oranges are not the only fruit

My everyday bike takes very little maintenance, despite not ticking all of your boxes. I've never recorded the time spent, I'd be surprised if it came to much more than an hour a month, plus an annual service taking an afternoon. That's with around 4,000 miles a year on this bike.
Rohloff hub - just never misses a beat
Rigida Carbide rims - long lasting, clean and the pads for them outlast any other rim pads.
Canti brakes - work well enough, easy to maintain, adjust cable from the levers, change pads about once a year and that's it. (I am considering a disk on the front, though that's due to curiosity as much as anything)
SON dynamo - needed sending away for service after 9 years, should be good for the same again.
Supernova lights - Fit and forget, solid build, secure fitting, economically upgradeable by the manufacturer as the technology gets better, though they became good enough for me years ago.
Marathon Racer tyres - IMO a happy compromise between comfort, speed, puncture resistance and longevity.
Chains - whatever is cheap, sometimes getting the cast off from the better bike. I live in a first floor flat and the bike stays inside. I wipe and oil the chain when it needs it and rarely get oil anywhere I don't want it. If it was a problem, I still think I'd prefer a chaincase to a belt, at least until it had been around a lot longer and it's reputation better established.

I have the T-400 - thick paint, solid frame , no rust even after weeks outside in the pouring rain , but for true maintenance free you need something more like
a rohlhoff hub variant ......this one perhaps ?

http://www.fahrradmanufaktur.de/produkt ... f-14-gang/




food for thought ?

regards

BB

That looks good, do they have a website in English?

Chris cycles (Cambridge) imports these

The best way to see the site in english is to paste the URL into an online translator
(google babelfish if you dont have a preferred one)

beware that the VSF bikes can be "dutch bike" heavy (mine is!!) so if theres
anywhere you need to carry upstairs / lots of steps this may not be steed for you . certainly
not for cyclo cross !!

But *** HELLFIRE! *** they are SOLID !! , and with Schwalbe marathon plus tyres these things go
ANYWHERE !!

Ive encontered many an astonished look as I rattle down fairly tough mountain bike trails on my T-400 de-ore LX
complete with front and rear racks, dynamo hub/lights , rear kickstand, full mudguards and no soggy suspension
but it just gets on with it - the rider will be phazed LONG before the bike fails

the upper end VSF bikes are built for touring around third world countries - literally

[Aside] Apologies to two previous posters that mentioned VSF previously - I didnt read all 5 pages [/aside]

regards

BB

[edit] spec sheet here [/edit]
http://www.fahrradmanufaktur.de/wp-cont ... 4-Gang.pdf

also look at the t-900 trekking (rohloff) and the T-belt from the same maker

bigbloke wrote:I have the T-400 - thick paint, solid frame , no rust even after weeks outside in the pouring rain , but for true maintenance free you need something more like
a rohlhoff hub variant ......this one perhaps ?

VSF.JPG

food for thought ?

regards

BB

That doesn't look that dissimilar to mine.