My old Kona Dew Drop started to have suspicious frame creaks, so when I saw a super elite bike parked on the sidewalk for sale, I had to take it for a test ride. Seems to be all original except for the rear rim. Bought it for $95, plus $45 for a Brooks B-17. I haven't had a Brooks before, so I'll see what the fuss is about. This is my first vintage bike since I was a kid, and vintage bikes were new bikes.
Raised the stem a cm, super easy with a quill stem. Haven't made any other adjustments. I'll probably put lambda pedals on it, which I find agree with me and my footwear. It's a nice ride, a bit more aggressive posture than my old bike. I'll be using it for a daily 4 mile round trip commute.
A few questions for the community:
Any particular things things I ought check in terms of safety or maintenance?
Is there good way to put a rack on? Would a Carradice saddle bag big enough for a 13 inch laptop be a better option than rack+panniers? Assume I don't want to wear a backpack.
I miss having brake levers on my flats – I added cross levers to my Dew Drop. If I find I don't want to do without, what are the best options for adding levers to the flats?
by ItsFritz