People are always asking me what bike I ride – as the owner of a bicycle company they expect a spotless head-turning beauty dripping with Nitto and Dura-Ace, but my day to day bike is actually far from this. It’s quite ratty, has a mish-mash of old and new components collected over the years and needs a clean – but it rides like a dream and does exactly what I need it to… and in my eyes nothing looks better than a well used bike.
The frame is one of our 2012 Reynolds 631 track frames – now out of stock with a replacement coming in 2013:
The drive train is made up of some Shimano 600 road cranks (circa 1990) – I love the look of the old 600 components, clean and simple, and these have done me well for almost 3 years of daily riding. A TA Alize chainring and an Izumi Track Chain – both of which stand up well to the rain and grit of London riding.
Restrap pedal straps – they’re the best:
I do think it’s worth spending a bit of money on your wheels, after my Goldtec/Open-Pro wheelset got stolen on Bethnal Green Road (bastards) I invested in a pair of the original Velocity Aeros laced to Gran Compe hubs – nothing crazy but they roll well and look good. You have to have good tyres as well – front is a 23c Continental GP 4000s and the rear is a 28c Panaracer RiBMo PT:
I rode brakeless for 2 years which is why I chose rims with no braking surface however last April I had an operation on my knee and was forced to run a front brake!
I’ve got some second hand Mavic road bars on the front – nice and wide with a shallow drop. A very classic Gran Compe quill stem and Tange headset:
My favourite bit on this bike is my 3 year old Selle Italia Flite saddle – it’s on its last legs, got a feeling this winter will finish it off!
(don’t even know where that seat post came from?!)
Like I said there’s nothing I like more than a well used bike, I love running a component into the ground until it HAS to be replaced so you get the absolute most out of it… I was considering giving my bike a polish before taking these pics but it was all the tell tale signs of a well used bike that I actually found most interesting:
