Відео

I think they finished the bike off, plus always nice to have in the rain!!

With the flat bars or with the drop conversion, it’s very comfortable for the most part. It’s the aluminium fork that causes the most discomfort to be honest - which is why I’ve added a redshift stem

Thanks very much - still can’t believe I got it for so little!

The CTC (Cyclists Touring Club) was pretty popular way back I believe. As someone who used to deal and restore vintage bikes, that sticker was usually a warning that the bike would be worn out and hiding lots of bodges and repairs 🤣🤣

@@Downhillsmoothtarmac I'll bear that in mind if I ever open my own shop 😅 ! Just thought it was bizarre to see a touring sticker on a bike not made for touring, is all. Maybe the old owner had one lying around and simply wanted to show off CTC membership...

You’re right it’s an odd choice but the previous owner had done some odd stuff to it! Including a triple chainset, extra bottle bosses and bullhorn bars!

Hey thanks man, Yep it was £25, I even offered to pay the chap more, but he honoured the price - really decent bloke selling loads of bikes basically

@@Downhillsmoothtarmac Wow, fair play to the lad - what goes around comes around as they say so hope he gets his good stuff soon 👍

Thanks very much dude! Appreciated - I like a Halo H Block too, very slick

Great for winter riding

It was Rich 🤣 it’s all better now - can’t believe I missed that while filming mate 🤣

@Downhillsmoothtarmac nice one Keep up the great work 💪

Thanks Rich, hope you’re all well down in Brizzle mate 👍

@@Downhillsmoothtarmac all good Geoffrey apart from biblical rain today ☔!

Good stuff mate - same up here, pouring down!

I’m guessing you mean the caged bearing rather than the top race, but yep well spotted! I’ll be honest, when you’re talking to camera and filming it’s so easily done - hope you still enjoyed the video! 😁

I always enjoy them. keep up the great work 😊

Thanks so much, really appreciate it 👍🙂

Oh yeah, that’s the off road way in 86 mate 🤣🤣🤣

Oh yeah!!! That’s the off road way in 86 mate

😁 it’s not a standard tool, it’s some four pin Suntour type thing - only seen one on one other bike in my time…

@@Downhillsmoothtarmacfair enuf, thanks for replying

No worries, thanks for watching 👍👍

550mm?! Super narrow dude with proper retro MTB vibes! - I went for 780mm on that build, might have to try it 😎😎😎

@ its amazing, trust me, it’ll be a thing in a few years.

@thedownunderverse I’m pretty sure @keepsmilingadventures is running super narrow bars already on his gravel bike…

@@Downhillsmoothtarmac thats the thing, I’m not sure why 55cm is considered to be narrow for a graveller. It’s about 15cm wider than the typical drop bars, and 15cm shorter than typical XC bars. It’s the logical crossover length, and having the brakes always accessible makes sense on loose surfaces. Not to mention MTB group-sets are way cheaper and easier to work on than road stuff… it’ll catch on eventually.

It does make sense, and certainly is better for cost too with flat bar kit being so much cheaper - guess I’m just going to have to try it 👍👍

Thanks Dave, can’t wait to get out and get it muddy!

Thanks man, I’m so happy with how it’s turned out! I’d love an ultrasonic cleaner when costs allow, I used to use one belonging to a friend of mine a while back - very handy

I’ll have a good look around - will get some eventually 🤞

Black ice is a tough one, save for possibly studded tyres, there isn’t too much that can guarantee you safe travels, but knobblies and lower pressure will help. I’ve had a couple of good tumbles of black ice - it’s the worst!

@@Downhillsmoothtarmac Thanks, even if I got studs it probably still isn't safe on the roads anyway due to the cars sliding haha! In Finland at the minute and it's very interesting seeing the conditions people still commute in! Even here, studs aren't universal. By knobblies, you mean like the traditional mtb tyres they come with, like schwalbe nobby nic or something?

Hey thanks so much mate! I can’t wait to get it out in the mud!

Thanks JC 🤣 making the most of my ratchet spanner’s before I loose them in the mess!!

Cheers man, just replied to you on Insta!

Thanks for watching! Sounds like a great build you’ve got there, love the idea of the home made leather tape and your other adaptions to make it work for your needs. That’s my favourite part of bike mechanic work, adapting and making things work well together!

Thanks so much - glad you enjoyed it! 👍👍

They were alloy originally, then I replaced with a custom hand built set with new old stock alloy rims

@Downhillsmoothtarmac thanks for your Answer. I have recently purchased a Peugeot bike, unfortunately it's a carbolite frame so nothing exotic, but still has steel rimmed wheels, not the best in the wet

Nothing wrong with a bit of carbolite at all - I’ve had loads of them - even made a video of turning one into a gravel bike on here. An alloy upgrade and fresh pads will knock a ton of weight off the bike, won’t cost much and the bike will stop really well! Winner! 👍👍

@@Downhillsmoothtarmac cool will look into that. Yeah definitely an easy win for weight.

Yeah much better in my opinion, picks up and handles more stably I think

Thanks for the feedback, I’ve changed a lot of things since this video, glad you still enjoyed it though!

I’m really pleased with mine, will be riding it throughout the winter!

Cheers Pete - how’s the CDA riding?..

@ I picked up a Croix de fer 20 lovely really impressed with it.. hopefully the weather starts to dry up a bit and I can get out on it a bit more.. well remembered dude.. Pete 🚴🏻🚴🏻👍😊

I'm intrigued by the 2" tyres too, might give them ago you know

@@cultracingcycles no worries mate! Thanks for facilitating 😁

@@cultracingcycles I’m really impressed with the grip on offer!

We were all thinking we should have come home with you 😁😁

He’s got a group on Facebook called Gravelton - be good to have more folks along!

Thanks very much 👍 If you have a look on Amazon, you’ll find them easily.

Thanks, it’s such a fun bike!

It’s a true cycling classic!

Thanks man, really pleased with it

Luckily the frame is aluminium so rust isn’t an issue, it will require regular polishing to keep the finish good though. I’ve done bare steel before and a good coat of lacquer keeps it pretty good for a fair while

​@@Downhillsmoothtarmac I recently went bare steel with my Roberts racing bike after a frame repair. After much research I went for a coat of melted beeswax to 'stop' rust as both wet lacquer and powdercoat clearcoat allow moisture to pass through. It's messy, but seems to be doing the job very well. Apparently, it has been used for many many years by engineers to stop the tools rusting. Great video BTW! 👍

Thanks so much - I’m really pleased with how it turned out!

Thanks man, I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed the bike!

Hey thanks so much!!!

They’re a good looking bike - well worth keeping on display!

Yeah the fork blades are carbon, with an alloy crown and dropouts

Man that’s cool! Just shows how far ahead they were back then!!!

There certainly is! The bike has been upgraded a fair bit, will be coming in the next couple of weeks!

Also, just in case you missed the initial build…. Building and riding a Flat Bar Gravel Bike - how does it compare to drop handlebars? ua-cam.com/video/8EEBWIb-pcU/v-deo.html

Yeah, we were gutted, so ran the distance locally on the Saturday - hopefully try again next year

This is a point many people seem to make, in my personal opinion the difference is negligible, and I certainly haven’t noticed any detrimental effects on the bikes that I have converted. In fact I feel the handling improves thanks to the small increase in diameter.

Hi, if you give me a follow on Strava you should be able to see most of our routes - I’ll have to plot a few on Garmin at some point too! If you’re local to us, don’t forget it’s the Gravelton Ride this Saturday from Hicks lodge!!

connect.garmin.com/modern/course/308931188 This is the route for the Gravelton on Saturday if you’re interested….

​@@DownhillsmoothtarmacThanks.. l've followed you on Strava. I like your Gravelton route too! Can't confirm for Saturday but will look to future rides.. thanks again.

​@@Downhillsmoothtarmac33miles.. where's the cafe stop or do you wait to get back to Hicks Lodge?

No problem at all - if you’re on Facebook check out Gravelton, the guy who organises it puts a few routes on

Thanks man, I’m going to be doing some bike check type videos at some point I think….

I’ll let you off JC 😁

Hey Pete, I’d go for the 2x Claris and upgrade, especially if you’re doing mixed terrain, but im sure the 1x is good too

@ thanks dude I went for the CDF 20 in the end 👍🚴🏻😃 Pete

@n22pdf nice one! Let me know what you think!!!

Hi Pete, I’m not sure if you can get the Acor ones anymore, but if you search Amazon for Juin Tech, you should find some good ones 👍👍

Whichever you go for, you’ll love the bike, great handling and very sure footed too 👍👍