Ten Turing - Tales from the Coalshed: Coming of the Coalshed Racer

[GeePig]

Well, she is back on her wheels, and hiding under the eaves of the brick barn. It is surprisingly light, and was much easier to lift over the step to get out of the coalshed than with my other bikes.

There are still a few areas that need some more work, but when I sat on it there was definite sense of being ready to go. I thought that the handlebars would feel rather high, but that was not the case at all. I might just drop them a little for photographic purposes though.

I am pleased with the fenders, it was a concept that I have had in my mind for the past six months, where they are more about being part of the frame rather than the wheels or as some decorative addition. They do cover the wheels, but no more than the way the wheels fit within the frame generally. In the same vein, the gear cable and wiring are not just clipped to the frame to get them to their destination, but as far as possible reflect the form of the frame.

The lights and the racing plates are different, they are separated from the frame because well-used racing machine has to evolve to remain competitive, which inevitably leads to non-original parts being bolted on.

 

[GeePig]

I like your light bracket setup. Your handlebar is very racy looking. I have owned and operated several Favorite coaster brake hubs made in Czech Republic. They are an ancestor to the Velotsteel and were excellent hubs. I have tried all kinds of tapes and foam insulation tubes for handlebar grips. Still trying to find handlebar grip nirvana.

Thank you! The frame for the lights should have been mounted with stiff springs, but it was surprisingly difficult to find a matched pair, but other than that I wanted them adjustable while riding. And yes, Favourite, I am still looking for an original hub that is not silly money or worn out that I can build into a spare rim so I can just slip it into one of my frames to try out!

 

[GeePig]

So yesterday the weather finally cleared up a bit, enough for me to take the bike out onto the road to ride it for the first time - and wifie came out to record the momentous event

It felt lighter than my Romet Jubilat folders, even though they have 24" instead of these 26" wheels, and was easier to lift over the step to get out of the coalshed because you can lift it by that horizontal section of the upper downtube, right above the chainwheel. It also felt tiny compared to my Kross off-road bike. This is the first Romet Turing I have ever ridden, and I was pleasantly surprised by how secure and nimble it felt.

I could not get anything but top gear because the cable had slipped, but the F+S hub has a lovely slow coasting 'tick' that even wifie noticed and commented on. The front racing plate was off because I am redoing the cardboard stiffener for the mount, as it looked awful, a right bodge.

I just have a suspicion that this could be the driest part of the photo shoot...

 

[Scrap Wolf]

So yesterday the weather finally cleared up a bit, enough for me to take the bike out onto the road to ride it for the first time - and wifie came out to record the momentous event

It felt lighter than my Romet Jubilat folders, even though they have 24" instead of these 26" wheels, and was easier to lift over the step to get out of the coalshed because you can lift it by that horizontal section of the upper downtube, right above the chainwheel. It also felt tiny compared to my Kross off-road bike. This is the first Romet Turing I have ever ridden, and I was pleasantly surprised by how secure and nimble it felt.

I could not get anything but top gear because the cable had slipped, but the F+S hub has a lovely slow coasting 'tick' that even wifie noticed and commented on. The front racing plate was off because I am redoing the cardboard stiffener for the mount, as it looked awful, a right bodge.

I just have a suspicion that this could be the driest part of the photo shoot...

Looks great man! It's all classic speed!

 

[GeePig]

I forgot to mention that we live in a village on a single dead-end road, and the cousin of the people we bought our farm from whose bike this was lives at the deadest end. As a result, this '96 Turing 2 spent many years being ridden up and down this road, often to the local shop in the next village, the fields or to our farm, where it finished its working life in our big barn.

Those tires know this road better than I do.

 

[GeePig]

Finally finished, well other than a few details like a few missing wires, so it is over to the finished builds subforum

 

[kingfish254]

Great to see you on the road with it!!! With the lights and the number, it reminds of a vintage rally car. You've compressed a bunch of coal into a cool diamond.

 

[GeePig]

Great to see you on the road with it!!! With the lights and the number, it reminds of a vintage rally car. You've compressed a bunch of coal into a cool diamond.

Ha ha, very well put

 

[GeePig]

I don't know why but all my IGH axle nuts need to be tightened up gorilla tight. My coaster brakes and derailleurs all seem to need the same torque as the fronts, and just stay there - but for the IGH I have to switch to gorilla mode - or else the hub slips, the chain slackens and you start to lose the gears because the cable is now slack as well.

 

[GeePig]

At this point I find myself wondering what should happen next? Should it finish its racing career hung from a hook in the coalshed, forever short of several vital components that were used in a later machine, or perhaps someone else's racing machine and become modified and crashed to such an extent that it is no longer recognisable as what it once was, or should it perhaps become a road bike, with a change in handlebars and the addition of a basket to become a pleasant and useful work machine?

 

[The Renaissance Man]

I read every entry in your journal and greatly enjoyed following along on the journey. I was a bit disapointed that a good many of the photos did not show, but your narration more than made up for it.
Having unwittingly read your epilogue first, I had a distinctly different vantage point for the unfolding story that I would not have had otherwise. Reading it today from beginning to end made it seem more like reading a novel. Even poetic at times.

Well done sir! Your humble coalshed racer is a winner.

 

[GeePig]

I read every entry in your journal and greatly enjoyed following along on the journey. I was a bit disapointed that a good many of the photos did not show, but your narration more than made up for it.
Having unwittingly read your epilogue first, I had a distinctly different vantage point for the unfolding story that I would not have had otherwise. Reading it today from beginning to end made it seem more like reading a novel. Even poetic at times.

Well done sir! Your humble coalshed racer is a winner.

Thank you for your lovely comments I really need to find a better host for my pictures, something better than Google Photos.

 

[GeePig]

Ah well, the time has come to retire Ten Turing from racing, and install some handlebars that will allow me to cycle to the shop in the next village and back without my back aching afterwards.

 

[GeePig]

Thank you everyone who voted for Ten Turing, and also all those who did not because the choice was too good!

 

[ifitsfreeitsforme]

I think it will still look great as a grocery getter (with baskets).

 

[GeePig]

I think it will still look great as a grocery getter (with baskets).

Indeed, I think so too, and I actually have a pair of baskets ready for the project, and a load of racks to choose from.

My aim, though, is to leave them to another build off, where I can mod them to fit another bike - one is cheap and coming apart while the other has a strange clip on it that I do not know how it works.

Yesterday I flipped the bars and installed a temporary SRAM twist grip, and it was a surprisingly sweet ride for such a low end bike. The bars are quite narrow - perfect for life in the inner city when you have to pass between cars and park it in a hallway, but hardly an issue for a small village at the forest end of a single road...