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Went on a retro rigid bike ride today. Bike is a 1992 Schwinn Paramount 40. Canti brakes, 7 spd, Deore thumbie shifters. Helmet is a 1997 Gary Fisher badged model which took a good hard hit in the last pic as I failed to leap off the end off a skinny properly and instead landed on my right hand, right, knee, and front of helmet HARD. Drop was probably 3-4 feet, but not on this bike.

Last time I rode it on a trail was probably 1997 I would guess.

Can't believe I actually rode this bike for most of college. It is a deathtrap compared to my newer bikes.

Scooby Tuba wrote:Luckily you mostly stand at "work". I imagine you be, uh, "sore" for a couple of days...

used to it. hand has a deep tissue bruise and my knee is scabbed up. sore muscles are the norm.

ps. posting this from my wife's Nintendo Wii using the Wiimote. 2 weeks of leave starting tomorrow to spend crashing into east coast rock gardens!!

1992? Retro?

Sheesh. Young'uns.

My MTB is a Schwinn Homegrown, ca. 1995, when they were made by Yeti. This was the year before the "Factory" model designation, which were made by Control Tech. It's a hard-tail but it has a Rock-Shox fork--one of the better ones at the time.

I don't consider it a retro-ride. I also don't consider it rideable on real single-track, at least not by me. I have jumped a few logs with it, but the only time in my life I ever showed up at work with two black eyes was because of that bike. Never once did I venture onto single-track that I did not come home with some injury or other.

The last time I rode was here in Virginia, on a trail that started down around Lawyers Road and somewhere. It was late January, and 28 degrees. I fell into an ice-crusted creek 10 feet after leaving the pavement, and rode the next ten miles soaked. I gave it up when I could no longer clip in because of the ice forming on my shoes from water leaking out of my waterlogged socks. I think that's when I decided I was too big, too heavy, and too uncoordinated to ride an MTB on anything but Loudoun County dirt roads.

I once attended a REAL retro ride in Dallas, and I showed up with my custom J.W. Moore, ca. July 1, 1977 (the date's right there on the bottom bracket). All Campy Nuovo Record with a bit of first-gen Dura Ace thrown in and a once-upon-a-time-broken-in-by-moi Ideale 2000 saddle. Thumb shifters? I don't think so. Yes, those old downtube shifters worked, and rather elegantly. The sewups were fresh, but they are probably rotten again by now.

I wore my Texas A&M Cycling Team jersey (now it doesn't fit again), Blackbottom wool shorts, Detto Pietro shoes with slot cleats for the cage of the Campy pedals, held in place with Christophe toe clips and the still-wonderful Alfredo Binda straps. But I don't have a helmet to match--we NEVER used helmets beyond leather hairnets in those days.

Now, THAT's a retro ride. Come out some time and I'll show it to you. Just don't ask me to ride it.

Rick "fat and lazy" Denney

Rick Denney wrote:I showed up with my custom J.W. Moore, ca. July 1, 1977

Rick "fat and lazy" Denney

You gotta post up a pic of that contraption.

On the issue of singletrack. There are LOTS of opportunities within 45 minutes drive in all directions to snap a collarbone. Rocks, logs, drops, jumps, downhill runs, TTFs, you name it. This area is great for biking adrenaline junkies.

And if you are still unquenched there is Snowshoe, WV. Drooooool.

WoodSheddin wrote:You gotta post up a pic of that contraption.

Contraption? Old Bill Moore would be mortified.

There was nothing more elegant than Columbus SP tubing silver-soldered into minimalist Prugnat S lugs. And the seat stays that meet on the ears of the seatpost binder. And the Haden crown and Campagnolo dropouts. And the Italian curve on the forks--all the rake in the bottom third. And chrome-plated quick-release skewers.

Ah. Those were the days.

The Merckx MX-Leader may be my favorite bike to ride, but the Moore reflected the American side of the 70's custom-bike art. Instead of Colnago's cloverleaf lug cutouts, or over-the-top Nervex lugs on British bikes like the Bob Taylor, the Americans were smooth and simple. Eisentraut led the way down that path. Mmmmmmm. Tasty.

Rick "who worked a second job in a bike shop for a whole summer to pay for that frame" Denney

Well, it's not a mountain bike, but I still have and occasionally ride the 5-speed Univega bike-with-fenders that I bought in 1984. I had it in the shop a couple years ago for new tires (not worn out but really, really old since they were the *originals*) ... and they were really wowed by it. Too bad I had it geared down somewhere along the line, or it would prolly be worth something. Original saddle, no tears, not beat up, still looks almost new.

MA

WoodSheddin wrote:Helmet is a 1997 Gary Fisher badged model which took a good hard hit in the last pic.

I am an avid bike rider, and have been working in High end Sales for the last 2 years. I just wanted to let you know that Helmet Manufacturers suggest you replace your helmet every 5 years. After 5 years the Styrofoam glue begins to break down and no longer holds the helmet together properly. So a helmet from 1997 was probably assembled in 1996 making your helmet 12 years old. I’m glad that you are OK! But now, that you’ve crashed on a 12 year old helmet, I HIGHLY suggest, for your safety, that you replace it! If you would Like, I can hook you up with one from my shop. Let me know!

Mike

Once your helmet takes a hard hit, anyway, retire it! The force absorption is no longer effective. Take it from someone who probably wouldn't have even survived without a brand-new carbon-fiber full-face.

Mike

And you know what they say... if you've got a $5 head, buy a $5 helmet...

Getzeng50s wrote:

WoodSheddin wrote:Helmet is a 1997 Gary Fisher badged model which took a good hard hit in the last pic.

I am an avid bike rider, and have been working in High end Sales for the last 2 years. I just wanted to let you know that Helmet Manufacturers suggest you replace your helmet every 5 years. After 5 years the Styrofoam glue begins to break down and no longer holds the helmet together properly. So a helmet from 1997 was probably assembled in 1996 making your helmet 12 years old. I’m glad that you are OK! But now, that you’ve crashed on a 12 year old helmet, I HIGHLY suggest, for your safety, that you replace it! If you would Like, I can hook you up with one from my shop. Let me know!Mike

I have always been amazed at how well these modern lightweight bike helmets protect your head. As a former competitive racer I've had my fair share of crashes and credit still being somewhat sane from the helmets. What I wonder is why a better glue can't be used that lasts longer than 5 years. You have planes and cars being bonded together with high tech adhesives and they don't fall apart at 5 years. If they do this to get folks to replace helmets on a regular basis because it is really the Styrofoam that breaks down from age & use then they need to make the outside of the helmet look bad visually after 5 years. I suspect the styrofoam is the real issue as I was told by the Bell Rep we had at a meeting that the UV rays breaks it down rather quickly. I would also think sweat does it no good either.

I've been president of a 500+ member cycling club for several years and do a lot of cycling advocacy and I have to tell you nobody I know is replacing helmets on a 5 year basis if the helmet looks good visually. It's hard to get folks to replace them even if they have crashed if the helmet still looks good. What really amazes me is the number of cyclists (both casual & serious) I see riding with no helmets. My favorites however, are the ones riding with the helmets dangling by the straps on the handlebars.

tofu wrote:What I wonder is why a better glue can't be used that lasts longer than 5 years. You have planes and cars being bonded together with high tech adhesives and they don't fall apart at 5 years. If they do this to get folks to replace helmets on a regular basis because it is really the Styrofoam that breaks down from age & use then they need to make the outside of the helmet look bad visually after 5 years. I suspect the styrofoam is the real issue as I was told by the Bell Rep we had at a meeting that the UV rays breaks it down rather quickly. I would also think sweat does it no good either.

I don't think it's the "glue" at all; in auto racing we had to replace the helmets at regular intervals. As you say, it wasn't the glue (or even the Styrofoam per se), but they could take unintentional knocks, and better designs were constantly being developed. The required build date and design level was always being "upped". My being able to type this at all is a testament to the correctness of the governing body's philosophy.

Getzeng50s wrote:

WoodSheddin wrote:Helmet is a 1997 Gary Fisher badged model which took a good hard hit in the last pic.

I HIGHLY suggest, for your safety, that you replace it! If you would Like, I can hook you up with one from my shop. Let me know!

Mike

I replace my helmets every 2 years. I am also a pack rat. I had that old helmet along with 2 other older helmets lying around and wanted to wear it to the retro ride simply because it was old.