AS a young whippersnapper, I missed this momentous event and had to wait for the passing of the late and great Fred Dibnah to share in such a mutual outpouring of public grief
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!
Significant difference in frame strength: gents vs ladies?
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Posted 14 years ago #
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I don't remember Fred saying anything about bikes and that's a bit odd, you would think their Victorian/Edwardian technology would be right up his street.
Mrs Queen wouldn't let him wear his cap when he went to her house but he did get to park a steam engine in Horse Guards.
I particularly liked his approach to visual aids. One time I remember him holding a popup book towards the camera to demonstrate something.
Posted 14 years ago # -
I don't remember Fred saying anything about bikes
He never got round to inventing a 10 ton, steam-powered, iron-framed bike...
Posted 14 years ago # -
Sean, have you taken the plunge yet?
I find this thread interesting as I've been pondering a dutch bike, and likewise ain't too fussed about a crossbar.
My Wife has a Pashley btw and thinks its the bee's knee's.
Posted 14 years ago # -
gosh. this thread should be entered in our 'deviation from theme' competition.
On ladies bikes/european style bikes - on perusing the bike chain's website I saw they have two nice ladies urban bikes, which claim to be light, but good looking.
On kid's bikes, what's the smallest size bike that has gears? my 3 year old has been doing 1-2 mile rides, and is desperate to ride to nursery (about 4miles). the problem is the uphills....(and the downhills, actually, on Hawes Brae down into South Queensferry, she ploughed into a (well=padded) lady getting out of a car....need to do some work on the handbrakes....
Posted 14 years ago # -
Mrs Greenroofer has recently procured a Dutch-bike-alike from Giant, their Expression N7 W. The frame is made of tubes the size of sewer pipes, so it must get some rigidity from that. It's a slightly girly colour, but it's not pink.
It's got roller brakes and a Nexus hub and isn't ludicrously heavy. It's definitely suitable for pootling about on, and seems OK to ride up Edinburgh hills. She's happy with it, anyway. I've tried it, but the saddle's too low and the handlebars too high for me to say anything intelligent about what it would be like to ride if it was the right size for me.
Posted 14 years ago # -
gosh. this thread should be entered in our 'deviation from theme' competition.
And some. I've just watched the Slade clip & Dave Hills hair cut. Way off the original post but enjoyable nonetheless lol
Posted 14 years ago # -
Hey ian,
I have bought the Pashley Princess (it was a tough decision - I like them both, but in the end, the convenience of the looped-frame won). I've been riding it to work and back (between Gilmerton and Roslin) which includes various inclines. For most uphill stretches, second gear is enough, although there is a hill in Roslin for which I'm very thankful for the first gear!
When I got it, the gears weren't properly adjusted and I had to take it back. It still isn't quite right, but it's easy enough to adjust myself. Also, I'm not sure, but I think I recall that the Roadster had a much more comfortable saddle. You could try both at the Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op, if you request to try them.
All-in-all, I love it :) Remember to get a decent lock, though. Kryptonite or Onguard are supposed to be good. It's not smart to "save" £30-40 on a lock and let the bike get stolen. I've got a Kryptonite fahgedaboutit, which may be a bit over the top and weighs about 5kg, but if it ensures that the bike remains forever mine, it's worth it, IMO :) They also do lighter styles in the same category.
Posted 14 years ago # -
sounds v. nice.
what i don't get are the bikes styled to look kind of like the pashleys etc, but with no skirt protector. i suppose this doesn't affect you (unless you're an alter ego of maninaskirt), but just makes me wonder who designs/tests them.
saw a nice green vaguely dutch-style bike parked in george square today, tried to remember the brand so I could look it up, but have forgotten it.
Posted 14 years ago # -
SRD - they are cheap chinese copies and available for very few pounds. Would a pashley get stolen? True it doesn't have anti-theft drop handlebars but it is not exactly a mountain bike and therefore sellable out the back of The Gunner in Muirhouse (a pub with no windows). Or on gumtree. Might get taken without the owner's consent then dumped?
Posted 14 years ago # -
well, the two ladies urban bikes that bikechain is selling look nice and comfy. I suppose by some standards they are cheap, but not _that_ cheap.
The 3speed has a decent chain guard, the 7 speed is pretty minimalist but neither has anything to keep skirts out of spokes/brakes, which I always find more of a problem than chain.
Posted 14 years ago # -
the 7 speed is pretty minimalist
Is it a Dawes Duchess? My daughter rates it and she had gone off cycling. Has chaingaurd, metal mudguards, kickstand and basket with strut supports. Basic 7 speed derailleur but good enough to get up most hills.
...and Tektro V-brakes
Posted 14 years ago # -
Hi Sean,
Wendy had the same problem with the gears after about 60 miles or so. I readjusted the cable a couple of times & fingers crossed it seems okay.
Hers is the Brittania which for some daft reason comes without the frame lock. We got a Trelock framelock from Decathlon - the same type that comes on the Batavus Old Dutch - and a cable that plugs into it to loop around whatever she locks it to.
The two diamond frame Pashleys come with longer saddles - when testing the bigger wheeled Roadster I couldn't get on with the oversprung saddle fitted to it one bit.
I've just sold a roadbike & fancy a dutch-style bike, but maybe a 28" wheeled type with a bigger frame being 5'10". Wend has the smallest frame size & I dwarf it.
Posted 14 years ago # -
Is it a Dawes Duchess?
Nope. Electra Townie. very nice looking and looks comfy too, would definitely give it a test ride, but the lack of chain guard most off-putting. the 3 speed is 'Electra Amsterdam'.
Posted 14 years ago # -
@SRD, that image suggests one is available for it - perhaps they've just built it up without one in the shop or it can be ordered with one?
Posted 14 years ago # -
Sorry. Should've been more specific. it has what I would call a 'minimal' chainguard, which is not as 'full' a one as the 'amsterdam', much less the pashley-style with thing that protects skirts from catching in rear brakes - usually the cause of rips in my skirts!
those with more expertise can confirm, but I guess the 'full' sort of guard only comes on non-derailleur type chains? and i guess one can always add a skirt protector.
Posted 14 years ago # -
gotcha. I get the impression from their website that the marketing department had people riding boardwalks in swimwear in mind.
When I went to pick up my singlespeed bike they had fitted a guard to it like that. I nearly died. I had to tell the man in EBC to take it off or the bike wasn't leaving the shop. There's a time and a place for chain guards - on a track bike-styled frame isn't one of them!
Posted 14 years ago # -
I don't wear skirts all the time, but don't like the idea of a bike that limits my wardrobe!
More annoyingly, not having bike rack, basket, chainguard etc, suggests that the bike is just about 'style' not practicality, which is typical of so much marketing....
Obviously, they can all be added. it just raises question of who they are selling to.
Posted 14 years ago # -
More annoyingly, not having bike rack, basket, chainguard etc, suggests that the bike is just about 'style' not practicality, which is typical of so much marketing....
Obviously, they can all be added. it just raises question of who they are selling to.
When testing a Pashley Roadster at EBC, mentioning the bike to work scheme, the salesbod suggested it wasn't the most practical bike for riding to work on. Y'know the Roadster - the one with the full guards, rack, all weather drivetrain & dynamo lights ;>D
Posted 14 years ago # -
salesbod suggested it wasn't the most practical bike for riding to work on
take it he made that comment before he found out where you worked, how far you want to go, from where, how many hills there are, what you want to wear when cycling? It could be the most practical bike in the world for one person and the least practical for the next.
Silly salesbod.
Anyway, 50% of the time, bike to work = BSO to sit in the shed 364 days a year and 50% of the time bike to work = most road bang that can be got for one's buck
Posted 14 years ago # -
Silly salesbod.
Yep just a tad.
Anyway Sean - I've gone & joined the club sort of, and purchased a 2nd hand Gazelle dutch bike...with a low crossbar...yes okay a ladies frame lol
Chuffed to mintballs with it too.
Crossbars? Pah! So last season ;>D
Posted 14 years ago #
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