Show Us Your Bikes

[Chargeride]

Did someone say old school.

 

[PedalUma]

Did someone say old school.

I was attracted to one of my first loves, a French Beauty in 1983. The thing is they are so unstable. I love it, but cannot do it now. Also, the chain stays and dropouts cannot take a powerful mid-drive. I am in a love/can't do dilemma. I will admire their refined shapeliness from afar. When I return to my old-school, it is so small. Point Reyes is where California is crumbling into the sea.

 

[PCeBiker]

Did someone say old school.

I remember those gum walled tires.
All cracked up with the fabric showing through.

The sidewalls always crumbled and fell apart way before the tread wore out.

 

[stompandgo]

Tubulars didn't.

 

[Rickman1]

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Only Mr. @e-levity can beat that

 

[e-levity]

Stefan - the motor on mine must have fallen off

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Stefan - the motor on mine must have fallen off

Is it an Epic, Mr. e-levity? An excellent bike indeed, only I achieved the average speed of 14 km/h on an Epic 8 Expert, which means "the fastest XC bike" would be a waste on me!
(I of course mentioned your "Gravel Queen" Vado SL conversion, and the memorable Death Valley trip of yours!)

P.S. Now I can see it is a Chisel. I don't quite understand the difference between the Chisel and the Epic.

 

[e-levity]

Good eye @Stefan Mikes! I’m also not worthy of the Epic, but I picked up a used 2025 Chisel base model and customized it with spare parts in the garage bin. It’s a fun bike, just a bit heavier than the carbon Epic, and a great training aid - the lack of pedal assist prevents laziness .

 

[Charles Kirkland]

Sealy is a nice little town to ride bikes. One of my favorite diversion is stopping for a drink at a old saloon that my s-daughter runs. A bloody-mary with a shot of chilled absolute on the side alway makes for a nice ride home.

 

[PedalUma]

This bike will go from Seattle to Maine in the Spring of '26. The owner, Patrice, will post daily on FB. It is a handmade lugged triple-butted frame made of Reynolds 631. The motor is 500W nominal with 864 peak. She is 71 and took it to 47 kph and it is a highly stable off-road gravel climber for the Rockies. Check the Shimano center lock 203 front rotor. Those are double green guard Hurricane tires. It has double thick tubes with Muc-Off tube sealant. The goal is to get her across the continent without stopping for a flat or any service. That is other than spraying the chain with water. The chain was boiled in a wax mixture. It is all heavy duty Shimano gravel specific GRX with a MTB gear range yet with road indexing. The spring steel fork absorbs shocks and comfort molly seat stays that never need service. You do not want to be 100 miles from a bike shop and need a new Axis Red battery so that you can shift. It does have a highly polished cable for shifting with gun oil in the premium housing.

 

[PedalUma]

This one went to Long Island, arriving yesterday. It has a 7-sp IGH and extra-long pads.

 

[PedalUma]

This one is local. Yes, it is a girl. You can see the silver motor. I had the handmade in Stafford-upon-Avon frame painted in the owner's birthstone color, Amethyst. It is small and a town bike that can do gravel. The owner went on an extensive test ride on last Thursday. The battery is smaller and lighter but the lightweight opensource fully programable motor has the same pull at 90Nm nominal as the large black Pashley Prospero. She is in her late 70's and has never been able to climb her street's 17% grade hill, until now. The Brooks was treated on the underside with hot lanolin then stomped on to make it compliant. Everything is user programable, because the owner owns the bike, it is their female dog, and not some corporation's to command. Here is how to download the user's manual: https://to7motor.com/product/t154-e-bike-centre-control-panel .

 

[PedalUma]

I am walking the Long Island V7i owner through assembly over the phone.

Edit Update: The bike has three modes: Eco, City, Sport, and he has only ridden it in Eco. And was blown away. Now he will do a run in Sport, level on five at 864W. I set the spin-out cadence at 110. It is geared low on the Nexus rear cog for urban. That can be changed.

 

[PedalUma]

This is an old Surly Straggler that I kept the character patina of but made mechanically dialed. It is a ten-year-old bike that can out do $14,000 bikes. I boiled the derailleur in wax. It lives at Mt. Tam. And it has a DM02 mid-drive. Try Google Lens on this image.

 

[usclassic]

Still a work in progress my Aipas M1,
60t chain ring with alloy crank 175mm, pedals, adjustable stem, rear rack and 60l of pvc saddle bags, bar end mirrors. still to come saddle and front basket.

 

[PedalUma]

This is not criticism of anyone but to me, plus as a cautionary reminder to myself and friends. Stay away from doing mid-drives on bikes with skewers. Powerful motors will displace the rear wheel. There is no way to make it solid enough. A wheel falling out at speed or locking sideways in the stays and brakes is not a good thing. Nuts like this are fine and I will sometimes double stack with a normal 15mm. Through axles are the gold standard. Road bikes used to get flats all the time and did not have high torque, so in 1979 skewers were justifiable as an advantage in a road race. Good modern tires with other modern backup measures (almost) never get flats. Solidity is the key. With a motor a few grams of weight is not a factor.

 

[usclassic]

Still a work in progress my Aipas M1,
60t chain ring with alloy crank 175mm, pedals, adjustable stem, rear rack and 60l of pvc saddle bags, bar end mirrors. still to come saddle and front basket.

View attachment 200087

View attachment 200088

Comfort saddle installed today

I did not like the look of the headlight mounted on front basket plus I like it to move with the front wheel so I modified the bracket and mounted in original position