"Finding" Extra Rides in Humid, Damp Conditions

 Awhile back, I wrote about "found" rides - that is, bike rides you were unexpectedly able to take. These rides might result from a little extra free time, better-than-expected weather, or a little more daylight in the evening. 

 

This evening was one such ride. We've had a period of humid, rainy weather for about a week. Monday and Tuesday evenings were too rainy, or thunderstorms were close by. This evening was supposed to be more of the same, but we fortunately had about 3 hours of humid - but dry - weather. That was enough time to take about an hour or so to ride after work on my 1953 Raleigh Lenton. Any time you have a "found" ride, all the better for a pleasant surprise.

Raleigh Model 35 Sports - Evening Ride

 We're well into summer, so it's always a good evening when you have the right weather and the free time  to ride. Recent ride on my 1940 Raleigh Model 35 Sports, a simple and fun bike.

Vintage Miller Kickstands: An Example of Why Not All Vintage Parts are Good Parts

Too often the vintage bike community assumes a certain orthodoxy that the highly-desirable, vintage parts made in the US, Britain, or France are necessarily "good" parts. 

To be sure, this conventional wisdom is true in many cases. Old Sturmey Archer hubs tend to be well-made. Schwinn and Raleigh frames tend to be durable. Brooks saddles tend to be classic and comfortable. 

But then there are times where the conventional wisdom misses something. A good example of this is the "classic" Miller brand kickstands. These kickstands are heavy-duty steel with decent plating. They were made mainly between the 1930s and 1950s. They were one of the most common bottom bracket kickstands used on American bicycles during the "golden age" of balloon tire bikes between the 1930s and 1950s. 

 

 

So why am I knocking this stand? It damages your frame beyond what most kickstands do. Taking a look at the jaws, it has sharp edges. This helps secure the stand in place, but it does so by making gashes in your chain stays. Many of us are familiar with the nasty flat spots kickstands can leave on chain stays, but these gashes are something worse because they run across the frame tube. 

In worst case scenarios, these stands act like pipe cutters on the tubes, working deeper and deeper into the metal. If the stand is merely over-tightened once, usually you'll get gashes as are seen in the frame above. But in worst case scenarios, the stand is repeatedly tightened and loosened over time, allow it to cut deeper and deeper with each time it is loosened and tightened.

The ironic thing is that these kickstands tend to fetch a premium for people involved in vintage bicycles, particularly balloon tire bikes from the 1930s and 40s. These are high cachet, "good" vintage parts. But I say let others keep these stands... I don't want one of these on any of my bikes. I've had to do extensive cosmetic repairs on several frames where these Miller stands dug in. 

In the case of the frame above, it is fixable. In fact, I've fixed worse gashes from one of these stands in the past. But it's more work and it's an example of a time when a vintage, highly desirable part is not necessarily a good part. Don't be afraid to exercise your own judgment on what kinds of parts work best on your vintage bike.