Another new bike/advice thread....

Bicyclegadabout

Hi,

OK, so, I’m loath to start another one of these threads, but I need the advice.
I cycle around on a Claude Butler Virago. “It’s a very old bike” according to every bike shop employee I’ve ever met.
But my experience tells me that it’s a very good bike. Either that or I’m Lance Armstrong and I don’t know it. I like this cycling lark, I’d like to do more of it.
So I need to know:
1. How good is this bike really? Is it actually obsolete given whatever technological advances there’s been in the last 10-15 years. Was it ever particularly good in the first place? Would I derive great benefits from something with the latest materials/design etc etc. Will I never get the sort of speeds I’m capable of if I stay with this bike?
2. The only real problem with it now is chain ring wear. Is it possible to replace the chain ring set I have with the same kind? It’s an 18sp Shimano Altus thing. The big ring has 39 teeth, which seems odd. The guy in the shop said they don’t make these sets anymore and the best he could do was to replace them with just one ring on the front.
I’ve tried looking for replacements but I couldn’t find anything, but then, I’m no expert.
3. Would I be better off splashing out on a nice new bike rather than spending a load or time and money on various components for this bike, if in fact, my current bike isn’t as good as I think it is?
4. As a commuter/leisure cyclist, should I really be bothered about this stuff?

Yours in hope, ignorance and confusion,
Bicyclegadabout.

blorg

Post pics.

Any bike is only as good as the rider, but you will also only notice the difference once you get a better bike. Every bike I've ever had has been perfectly good until I got a better one!

39 teeth big ring is indeed odd. You certainly won't get max speeds with it.

Shimano Altus is relatively low-end but Shimano's low end stuff generally works very well. 18 speed suggests a bit of age.

rp

Bicyclegadabout wrote: »

The only real problem with it now is chain ring wear. Is it possible to replace the chain ring set I have with the same kind? It’s an 18sp Shimano Altus thing. The big ring has 39 teeth, which seems odd. The guy in the shop said they don’t make these sets anymore and the best he could do was to replace them with just one ring on the front.
I’ve tried looking for replacements but I couldn’t find anything, but then, I’m no expert.

If it's Altus, it can't be that old, and it should be easy enough to source new bits for it (or look in my shed...),
the bottom bracket is going to be a square taper, so a new/s.h. crankset will go on to it, or worse case, a new b.b.

Bicyclegadabout

blorg wrote: »

Post pics.

Any bike is only as good as the rider, but you will also only notice the difference once you get a better bike. Every bike I've ever had has been perfectly good until I got a better one!

39 teeth big ring is indeed odd. You certainly won't get max speeds with it.

Shimano Altus is relatively low-end but Shimano's low end stuff generally works very well. 18 speed suggests a bit of age.

OK, here's some pics. They're not great but neither was the camera. Let me know if there's some other parts you wanna take a look at.


I think I'd be able to replace it myself with a bigger set of rings, but it seems like a big job.

If it's Altus, it can't be that old, and it should be easy enough to source new bits for it (or look in my shed...),
the bottom bracket is going to be a square taper, so a new/s.h. crankset will go on to it, or worse case, a new b.b.

Can you look in your shed for me???
Any tips on where to look?

ba

you havent mentioned what kind of riding you'll be doing?? training, group riding/commuting/leisure.

has to be the ugliest bike i've seen.
i'm not sure who will convince you to keep it, some cheapo probably. buy a nice new bike.

shapez

Needs a good clean and polish for starters.

Bicyclegadabout

ba wrote: »

you havent mentioned what kind of riding you'll be doing?? training, group riding/commuting/leisure.

has to be the ugliest bike i've seen.
i'm not sure who will convince you to keep it, some cheapo probably. buy a nice new bike.

Actually it’s the most beautiful bike in the whole wide world.
The worry is that I splash out on a new one and then find I prefer the old one y’know?
But it’s a value question: which offers the better cost benefit to an impoverished young man: replacement of the chain rings et al (if that is at all possible), or replacement of the bike altogether.


Commuting/leisure, I did mention that. Not so much into training with regard to triathlons, loading myself with weights or whatever (as yet).
That’s one definite “yes” for the new bike idea anyway, cheers.

Bicyclegadabout

shapez wrote: »

Needs a good clean and polish for starters.

anti theft device

niceonetom

ba wrote: »

has to be the ugliest bike i've seen.

ugly = unlikely to get robbed, so there are upsides here.

hard to tell from the pics but it looks to be a lugged steel frame (which is a good thing in my book. Are there any stickers saying what tubing it is? reynolds (he said doubtfully)? if there are then it's a pretty good frame covered in sh1tty components. whether you want to upgrade the groupset is up to you but it might be worth it if the frame is a really good fit.

does it have horizontal drop-outs? looks like it in the pics. if it does i'd give it a new life as a single-speed or fixie; would be a cheap enough conversion. but that's what i'd do to almost any bike :rolleyes:.

blorg

Looks like it could be Reynolds steel from the yellow/green label on the downtube. Definately steel anyway. Hard to tell if it's lugged or not from the photos. It's a mountain bike which explains the small large chainring. With what looks like a newer Bontrager (road?) saddle.

You would increase speeds by getting thinner, slick tyres (which you may well need in any case.) If shifting works well no particular reason to change it, unless you want higher gears (I would imagine you do max out on those gears as it is.) V-brakes may improve your braking performance. Your saddle/handlebar position looks quite fast as it is.

Do you have any skipping issues in particular gears? Do you find yourself maxing out (e.g. pedalling as fast an RPM as you can, but with energy to go faster?)

Bicyclegadabout

niceonetom wrote: »

ugly = unlikely to get robbed, so there are upsides here.

hard to tell from the pics but it looks to be a lugged steel frame (which is a good thing in my book. Are there any stickers saying what tubing it is? reynolds (he said doubtfully)? if there are then it's a pretty good frame covered in sh1tty components. whether you want to upgrade the groupset is up to you but it might be worth it if the frame is a really good fit.

does it have horizontal drop-outs? looks like it in the pics. if it does i'd give it a new life as a single-speed or fixie; would be a cheap enough conversion. but that's what i'd do to almost any bike :rolleyes:.

It's NOT ugly!!
Reynolds steel lugged.
The dropouts look most like this:


Which would be a horizontal dropout (short).
I would change it to a fixie if I got a new bike, see what all the fuss is about.

blorg wrote: »

Looks like it could be Reynolds steel from the yellow/green label on the downtube. Definately steel anyway. Hard to tell if it's lugged or not from the photos. It's a mountain bike which explains the small large chainring. With what looks like a newer Bontrager (road?) saddle.

Well observed.

blorg wrote: »

You would increase speeds by getting thinner, slick tyres (which you may well need in any case.)

How thin can I go?

blorg wrote: »

Do you have any skipping issues in particular gears?

Nope, just on the big ring, which I would be using with the 5th and 6th gears. I do need to tweak the alignment of it all though.

blorg wrote: »

Do you find yourself maxing out (e.g. pedalling as fast an RPM as you can, but with energy to go faster?)

It slips when I put any significant amount of force on the big ring, which limits me from maxing out. I do max out on occasion though yes.

blorg wrote: »

Looks like it could be Reynolds steel from the yellow/green label on the downtube. Definately steel anyway. Hard to tell if it's lugged or not from the photos. It's a mountain bike which explains the small large chainring. With what looks like a newer Bontrager (road?) saddle.

Well observed.

blorg wrote: »

You would increase speeds by getting thinner, slick tyres (which you may well need in any case.)

How thin can I go?

blorg wrote: »

If shifting works well no particular reason to change it, unless you want higher gears (I would imagine you do max out on those gears as it is.)

blorg wrote: »

Do you have any skipping issues in particular gears?

Nope, just on the big ring, which I would be using with the smallest and 2nd smallest gears. I do need to tweak the alignment of it all though.

blorg wrote: »

Do you find yourself maxing out (e.g. pedalling as fast an RPM as you can, but with energy to go faster?)

It slips when I put any significant amount of force on the big ring, which limits me from maxing out. I do max out on occasion though yes.

niceonetom

Bicyclegadabout wrote: »

It's NOT ugly!!
Reynolds steel lugged.
The dropouts look most like this:


Which would be a horizontal dropout (short).
I would change it to a fixie if I got a new bike, see what all the fuss is about.

it's ugly dude. admit it. admit you love your ugly, fugly, wugly(?), bet-down, wrecked, minging, rotten, mouldy, bulldog-chewing-a-wasp, melted-welly bike. 's ok. we all have our own aesthetic.

what i'd do: get a cheap second hand hybrid and fixify the old beast. you can never have too many bikes.

Bicyclegadabout

niceonetom wrote: »

what i'd do: get a cheap second hand hybrid and fixify the old beast. you can never have too many bikes.

That seems to be the way to go (sorry wallet). I'm hardly gonna sell this one based the reaction it's got, even though it's great

Morgan

It's not that bad - reminds me of this:


You'll need to replace the whole crankset - the rings on that model aren't individually replacable (they're riveted together). You should be able to pick up something cheap enough. You should get a new cassette and chain while you're at it (current chain looks manky).

Bicyclegadabout

Morgan wrote: »

It's not that bad - reminds me of this:


You'll need to replace the whole crankset - the rings on that model aren't individually replacable (they're riveted together). You should be able to pick up something cheap enough. You should get a new cassette and chain while you're at it (current chain looks manky).

I’m gonna be singing Purple Rain to myself every time I get on the bike from now on, cheers.
In fairness, in 1995 or whatever year my older bro bought it, purple was all the rage, probably. Suppose I should count myself lucky that they didn’t have tie-dye coloured bikes in the shop that day.

But yeah, I know bout the crankset. Looks like that bike is going fixed, and I’m going to read through all those “what new bike” threads.

blorg

Bicyclegadabout wrote: »

How thin can I go?

Not an expert on MTB slicks but you would probably be looking at 26 x 1.25 or 26 x 1.5 slick tyres.

Bicyclegadabout wrote: »

Nope, just on the big ring, which I would be using with the 5th and 6th gears. I do need to tweak the alignment of it all though.

It slips when I put any significant amount of force on the big ring, which limits me from maxing out. I do max out on occasion though yes.

I asked this as I thought that ring looked a bit worn in the photo- this skipping under force is generally an indication of such wear and fixing it needs replacement. Unfortunately if you need an entire crankset these tend to be quite expensive. A bike shop would be able to diagnose and indicate whether it's the cassette at the back or the chainring at the front that is responsible (if you only use the front with 5th and 6th it could equally be the cassette at the back.) Cassettes are a lot cheaper than cranksets.

Raam

Give us your budget and we'll pick a bike for you!

I'm on a self imposed "bike stuff shopping ban", so I need an outlet...and fast

Bicyclegadabout

blorg wrote: »

Not an expert on MTB slicks but you would probably be looking at 26 x 1.25 or 26 x 1.5 slick tyres.

I asked this as I thought that ring looked a bit worn in the photo- this skipping under force is generally an indication of such wear and fixing it needs replacement. Unfortunately if you need an entire crankset these tend to be quite expensive. A bike shop would be able to diagnose and indicate whether it's the cassette at the back or the chainring at the front that is responsible (if you only use the front with 5th and 6th it could equally be the cassette at the back.) Cassettes are a lot cheaper than cranksets.

Y’see, this is where it get’s confusing, entire cranksets are indeed expensive, expensive enough to make me wonder whats the point of replacement.......and the fact that I'll have to replace with something completely different.
I’m pretty certain it’s the big ring I got problems with, the cassette looks fine to me.

King Raam wrote: »

Give us your budget and we'll pick a bike for you!

I'm on a self imposed "bike stuff shopping ban", so I need an outlet...and fast

Realistically: €24.53

But let’s say €700 max, there seemed to be some decent looking bikes in that other thread for less than 700.

billyk

replace them all at the same time or you'll have serious slipping problems any time you put pressure on as they all bed in together
new chain about 20 euro
new block about 30
new altus chainset about 40

Raam

I guess for the 700 mark, the obvious choices are...
Specialized Allez (cycleways)
Giant SCR 3 (cyclesuperstore)
Lappiere S-Tech 200 (cyclesuperstore)
Trek 1.2 (cycleogical)
Cannondale CAAD5 (cycleways)

Then the less obvious ones are any of the Italian makes, which I'll probably go for if I ever get the cash.

I have a more advanced version of the Spesh Allez and I love it.
http://www.evanscycles.com is a good spot for browsing what is available in your price range.

Go to all the shops and test ride each one, take your time making a choice.
I just listed the shops that I normally go to. There are plenty of others around if you don't want to go to any of those.