An old git on a bike

The Channel to Med adventure

I'm not quite sure how this is going to work! I'm not that used to doing this sort of thing on a mobile phone, so I'll see how frustrated I get. Anyhow, here is the start, 

The bike

A 531 framed bike that was rescued on its way to the scrap heap. As a Covid project I stripped it down, resprayed it a brilliant pink and cleaned, regreased and reassembled. Unfortunately the spray paint did little to keep the rust at bay, so I had the frame sand blasted and powder coated in post box red after two years use. 

I rode this bike for several thousand miles with a 52:42 front chainring and 14:28 rear block.

While this gear set up is fine for the hills of Northamptonshire, they would not help much on longer and steeper climbs.

I joined the Olde Victoria Cycling club in 2023 and soon heard of Bob Mitchell, a cycle mechanic par excellence. Some in depth chats followed. Bob the wielded his magic spanners and transformed the bike into one that should be able to cope with more mountainous terrain.

This now has a 50:34 front chainring and a 34:12 rear.