22 April 2011

an Earth Day ride and Eliza

To celebrate Earth Day today, Audrey and I went for a ride around the neighborhood. It was a gorgeous day, sunny with a cool breeze. The snow has mostly melted, and street cleaners have started to remove the winter debris from the roads in our neighborhood.

Audrey dressed in purples to match her bike.

We practiced signalling - Audrey is almost as good as me now - and also spent awhile practicing turns in the parking lot of her elementary school. She's ready to have the training wheels pulled off her bike. Actually, she's ready for a bigger bike. We're going to see if we can get a bit more life out of this one by adjusting seat and handlebar height. Once she's done we might cannibalize this bike to get the little blue Deelite working for when Dom outgrows his Tigger bike.
{Update: Audrey's bike appears not to have adjustable handlebars or seat. Not impressed! So we're going to prioritize getting the Eaton's Glider frame fixed up for her ASAP, and her current bike will become a part donor for Dom's Deelite and Damien's Rapido. Vintage kids' bikes FTW!}

I rode Eliza, the 1978 Raleigh DL-1 Lady's Tourist that used to be Fiona's.
Everything except the skirtguards and basket is original. 
I haven't changed anything on her yet, so the seat is still a bit high for me.

Sturmey-Archer 3-speed hub marked 78 7 AW
The plastic trigger shifter has lost its adhesive label.
I think I'll get it replaced with the chromed SA shifter with a screw-on faceplate that came with Bert.
Front rod brakes.
I didn't remember to look for marks on the Westwood (rod-brake-only) rims.
The tires (or should I say tyres) are labelled Raleigh Roadster,
40-635 (28 x 1 1/2), 50 lbs/in2 - 3.5 ATM
Heron chainwheel, rear rod brake, pedals marked with the Raleigh crest.
Both the headbadge (hidden under the basket) and the decal on the rear mudguard are marked Nottingham.
Notice that the fenders have a rounded profile, instead of the ridged versions on Mary Poppins and Ms Trudy.
The Brooks B66, nicely broken in. I can see how a B66S might be more comfortable for me,
since the nose on the B66 feels a bit long.
Closeup of the OTT Simeli crocheted skirtguards.
Eliza still needs a thorough cleaning and some lemon-and-foil to really make her shine, and I might touch up her paint where it's been dinged - her front forks are especially scratched. At the advice of uber-mechanic Keith, I'll be considering an imported Dutch centre stand (the kind that attaches to the back wheel) to allow me to carry a grocery-loaded rack - this is crucial for me, since I need Eliza to earn her keep as my errand-running bike, and installation of any of the other double kickstands is made impossible by the rod brakes. (It is possible to install the specially-made DL-1 Pletscher prop stand, or to grind down a prop stand and install it with a shorter bolt, but those solutions aren't stable enough if you plan to carry heavy loads.). If I'm not happy with how the brakes feel after new Fibrax rod brake pads have been installed, rebuilding the rear wheel with a 3-speed coaster hub (like Velouria did) will provide secret stopping powers. 
{Update: it seems that Steco make a black-powdercoated rear rack for 28-inch bicycles with an integrated swing kickstand, and this is what comes standard on the Achielle Oma - so now I know what I'm asking the guys at RedBike if they can special-order for me. Or am looking to bring back as a souvenir from Japan.}


As you can see behind me, in installing the (wave-style) bike racks at Audrey's school in a sheltered location they managed to ensure they'll be buried in a snowdrift after the rest of the snow is long gone. Oops.

14 comments:

  1. I love that bike! And Keith is a wonder on Raleighs.

    On my Raleigh I got a Greenfield (made in the US, of all things) kickstand that mounts to the rear triangle. It seems to work for me, but I don't know if it would be stable enough for your needs (or would fit!)

    And that snow better be gone by the time April and I get up there! :-)

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  2. @adventure! - When are you coming?!?

    Mounting to the rear triangle is how the Dutch under-the-wheel stands are mounted when they aren't integrated with the rack... but since Eliza needs a rack anyway... =D

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  3. Deborah--We should be getting to town mid-Julyish. My blorg has all the deets:
    http://urbanadventureleague.blogspot.com/p/cross-continent-bike-tour-2011.html

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  4. Oh, I LOVE your Dl-1! I wish I could get my paws on one (and that my legs were long enough to reach the pedals!) I saw on Fiona's blog the picture of your Dl-1 on a rack on the back of the car with one of those cross bar adaptors. How well did that work out for you? Which brand adaptor is that? I'm trying to find a way to transport my Pashley by car and am not having much luck.

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  5. @adventure! - Cool beans! We'll make sure to plan a group ride for mid-July so you can meet lots of the local riders. =D

    @Amy - The car rack is a Saris Bones, and the bar connector is also made by Saris. It's rock-solid and gets used all the time, for transporting my bikes and friends'. You should be able to find them through an LBS (locally I know that both RedBike and United Cycle carry them - and probably more.). I also have one sold by Canadian Tire, and it feels slightly less solid and has a latch that sticks.

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  6. Ok now I want Eliza back;) lol You look wonderful on her Deborah and I hope you are able to make her completely useful for you:)

    P.S. Dont forget i get 1st dibs if you ever decide to sell her lol

    XX
    Fi

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  7. @Fi - I gave my word. =D Everything depends on me being able to get my hands on that Steco rack with the integrated centre stand! With it, Eliza will be the perfect errand bike; without it, she remains a swoon-worthy tweed-ride bike.

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  8. Deborah--Cool! We'll keep y'all posted on our onward progress.

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  9. Heehee..I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she'll work out that a "special tweed ride" bike has its appeal too

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  10. Thanks for the info on the rack and adapter! I'll keep an eye out and try to find one. It would be great to be able to haul my Pashley around. :)

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  11. i was looking for the same rack by steco and hopefully this link will work...! good luck :-)
    http://www.dutchbikebits.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=110

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  12. Dear Deborah,

    Simeli designed special clips to attach the dressguards to the fender. If you would like these, please contact me: simone@simeli.nl
    You can see the clips on my website.

    Kind regards,

    Simone.
    www.simeli.nl

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  13. Jason - Thank you SO MUCH for the recommendation! If you look at the 2 Aug 2011 post you'll see that I did end up ordering that exact rack and getting my LBS to install it for me. It. is. absolutely. PERFECT.

    Anon/Simone - Thanks for piping up! I've had to uninstall the dressguards from this bike and I'm planning to reinstall them on my blue loop-frame. I'll definitely be in touch for a set of the new clips!

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