New bike…..well sort of ?
4May 18, 2009 by welshcyclist
Well I tried to fix the photo adjusting problem on this blog, but using ‘system restore’, which I thought would solve it, hasn’t worked. So I’m going to have to press on and put up with it, hopefully only for a while, jnr where are you when I need you?
The two pictures above are of my old Raleigh Venture Pioneer GT 27-speed, a touring bike, which I had for free, about 2/3 years ago, and I never rode, except for a few attempts, but was never happy on it. It’s the best quality bike I have, according to the sales catalogues, cost about £700, but I just couldn’t get on with the gears at all, and didn’t like the drop handlebars.
To cut a long story short, I took it to Halfords a couple of months ago, and had a chat with Russell etc., and asked them to put on straight handlebars, and rapid fire shifters, and hey presto, you can see the results above. I’m alot happier riding the bike, and progressing with the gears, sadly I’m still much more content on my “hack”, or commuting bike, as I call it, because it’s like a second skin to me now. But eventually, I’m hoping to make some long trips on the Pioneer, if I can get used to all those pesky gears.
Also one of the difficulties I’ve found with the Pioneer, and it could be psychological, is the narrowness of the tyres compared with the Subway 1. The more I ride the more I’ll get confidence, I hope, but I’m serious about using it.
What do you think?
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I think I’m in shock….two posts in two days!!! The Raleigh looks like it could be a really fine ride if you can get used to it.
Looks good. You’ll find that your 27 gears are really only about 14 different ones – and you’ll soon, I think, get used to the jigsaw that’s changing gear on a 9 cog triple; it’s not as tricky as it seems initially. If I can do it (and I can), then anyone can!
It's purty 😉 I have a 27-spd. You'll probably find you have a few favorite gears that you use all the time, others not at all. I almost never used the smallest cog, the really low gears (granny gears), but I have on long hill climbs.
That Raleigh looks like the perfect commuter to me. Probably a bit faster than your other one too.Its been a while since I stopped by your blog and I'm really enjoying the photographs. Keep it up.