What do you do when are you bored? The trigger to relive the boredom was a punctured tyre on my Cannondale CAAD 9 on Monday. My wife and went on a litter pick on our bikes and the CAAD 9 picked up a thorn from a hedgerow where I parked the bike.
The decision was made, to obviously repair the puncture and its tyres. I searched high and low for similar tyres to the original slick Shwalbe tyres, but failed miserably. To be fair the replacement tyres are still Schwalbe but slightly treaded and these should be more robust and thus less susceptible to puncturing (I hope).
Onto the old Raleigh Gemini 18, this is a bike I have had for 38 years. I use to cycle from Newquay to St Mawgan to work on this bike and have utter respect for it. It is a handbuilt bike, with a Reynolds 531 tube frame. Last time out with son riding this bike, this also collected a puncture, so I decided to buy new tyres and tubes. Over time incorrect tyres had been fitted and the original Michelin World Tours where still being manufactured, so these were ordered.
On Monday evening, 4 tyres and inner tubes were ordered, yesterday they arrived and fitted. Thank you Baldwin cycles for excellent service. I also bought a a replacement frame pump for the Gemini. What’s next, well the Gemini has incorrect gear selectors, I may research replacements and of course this bike originally had mudguards and a rear carrier. I must have discarded these years ago, should I try to buy replacements, well I will look? I have uploaded the original specification sheet below the photographs.
Now the decision on what to do with these cycles as I quite fancy an E-bike, so that I can see up with that of my wife’s.
EDIT: Just added new lights, pedals, Brooks saddle and grips as I’ll be keeping at least this bike.
