SEVEN DAY CYCLIST
CYCLING, BUT NOT USUALLY RACING

The bicycle had been built and then dismantled for packing. The front wheel and mudguard were held in a slim box alongside the boxed frame, the whole within another box. The frame was well wrapped with padding and was complete with rear wheel, mudguard and carrier, with the padded saddle and bar secured to the top tube, very firmly. It probably took me about an hour to carefully undo all this careful packaging.

 

Once rebuilt at home a test showed that all worked well. The bicycle had been properly set up before being dismantled for packing, so no need for any further resetting of gears, brakes, etc.

 

Being a smaller frame that my previous bikes have been, it normally has 165mm cranks rather than the 170mm I have been used to on other bikes. Although I could have changed these, I decided to keep the smaller size as this would give better ground clearance. I was amazed at the difference that 1cm less in diameter made, and it took about 30 miles before it felt more natural!

 

I had specified a 500 mm bar width, which left my hands somewhat cramped between the levers and the bar ends. This was corrected with replacement bar grips, sent to me by John, so I could remove the bar ends, solving the difficulty. Subsequent riding was more comfortable with better control.