[Closed] Road bike = Racer ?

I wouldn't worry about it grandad.

Eeee, I were right about that saddle, though....

^^^ beat me to it by 2 seconds!

🙂

Racer = Road bike = Raleigh Banana?

Pipe and slippers now required?

you're not old fashioned until you ask what tubing it's made from

Its my son taking said piss in a similar vein to that above.
My first mtb was in Team Raleigh Banana colours, limited edition no less. I'll tell you about the tubing but I might go on a bit.....

I must admit to having deliberately referred to some very expensive time trial and triathlon bikes as 'racers' to their owners. I think they were flattered, so clearly the distinction was lost on them.

That advert took me back...

Did anyone else notice that the kid set off the wrong way down a one way street? Only just picked that up.

As the advert shows there where no cars in northern towns back in them days, not even parked cars.
So cycling the wrong way down a one way road posed no serious risks.

EDIT : Actually the road markings appear to be wrong.

Then :

[img] [/img]

Now :

[img] [/img]

So it's apparently a two way road with give way markings right across it. No idea why.

The top picture is some kind of cycling utopia.

The top picture is some kind of cycling utopia.

Or post apocolyptic, grey dull drery and one bloke in day glow yellow?

Actually although the advert shows a tin bath hanging from an outside wall the street isn't in a northern town.

I can't do the link but if you google Street View of "Dutton Street Maidenstone Hill London, England" you will see that it is in fact in South East London.

God. That advert is depressing. I'd forgotten just how shite things actually once were.

God. That advert is depressing. I'd forgotten just how shite things actually once were.

What, cos we looked stuff up in books?

Or post apocolyptic

In an apocalypse everyone is dead you cant have a survivor.

You lot need to top up on your happy pills.

I rather like the thought of a time when we didn't have to constantly look at phones, had to genuinely research things and take time to learn instead of having everything on tap, and speak to other people a lot more.

Oh, and refer to road bikes as racers! Life sounded so peaceful back then. Road bikes were racers in the late 80s for me.

The child in the advert seems quite lonely and sad. The father is emotionally distant and sleeps in wife-beaters. The wife dutifully plays along with his weirdly British emotionally distant conceit. The neighborhood looks utterly disconsolate. And the most depressing thing of all is that - at the time - this TV vignette of family life would have been considered somehow heart-warming and something to aspire to.

I remember when all TV, adverts, culture - heck even my own father - were a bit like this. And yes, it is depressing to think of.

In an apocalypse everyone is dead you cant have a survivor.

That messes up a huge amount of post-apocalyptic films and novels then..

[i]The Road is a 2009 American post-apocalyptic drama film....[/i]
[i]The Last Man on Earth is an American post-apocalyptic comedy television series...[/i]
[i]Earth Abides is a 1949 post-apocalyptic science fiction novel....[/i]
ad infinitum

NED - You think too hard. Lad put off the scent of a new bike for his birthday, gets shiny bike he coveted rather than a pair of socks, rides bike.

What's not to like!

The child in the advert seems quite lonely and sad. The father is emotionally distant and sleeps in wife-beaters. The wife dutifully plays along with his weirdly British emotionally distant conceit. The neighborhood looks utterly disconsolate. And the most depressing thing of all is that - at the time - this TV vignette of family life would have been considered somehow heart-warming and something to aspire to.

As the advert shows there where no cars in northern towns back in them days

I didn't think they could afford cars up North even now? Next you'll be telling me they have inside Loos and electricity!

Still every day is a school day....

No, you are correct. They are racers.

All this new fangled gravel bike and audax/sportif bike nonsense is for old blokes, who are either too unfit or not flexible enough to ride a proper racer. 🙂

What's your opinion on J. R. Hartley then NED? Bit of a wrong 'un? Is fly fishing a euphemism for cottaging? 😆

Is fly fishing a euphemism for cottaging?

Well, you do need to fish it out of your fly.

bluebird - Member
No, you are correct. They are racers.

All this new fangled gravel bike and audax/sportif bike nonsense is for old blokes, who are either too unfit or not flexible enough to ride a proper racer.

32t cassettes and compact chainrings do back up this notion somewhat. 42/52t FTW. 😆

Wasn't the Hovis advert filmed dahn sahf too?

All drop bar bikes were 'racers' until we knew better?

Selling cheap bikes that mimic proper racing bikes was all the rage back then.
Still is, but the main market was children, rather than IT managers.
🙂

Now got an urge for shorty mudguards and a Raleigh Arena.

42/52t FTW.

52T? That's still compact. Must be a minimum of 53T to count as a 'real' big ring 😀

Road bikes were racers in the late 80s for me.

Same here, I'm in my mid thirties and me and all my mates knew and still refer to them as racers. Some people get a bit funny about their 5 grand carbon road bike being called a racer though 😆

Must be a minimum of 53T to count as a 'real' big ring

Not if you are old enough. 53T+ on a 'racer' is relatively recent in the grand scheme of things. A 10T difference was the max front mechs could handle until the early 90s.

I am old enough, but only got a my first road bike when 53/39 was the standard. I'm only mucking about anyway. It all depends on what you're riding for and where you ride. No point in running 53/39 x 11-23 if you don't race or live in the peaks and only ride once a week with your mates to the coffee shop.

My 5sp Raleigh Winner was a racer
Don't remember what I called the 10sp Peugeot
The 531c 14sp 105 equipped bike I bought in 1989 was a road bike

Road bike's a stupid name though. Actually so is racer.

Hovis ad was Devon/Dorset way wasn't it?

Ah takes me back to riding my Raleigh Pursuit racer in the mid 80s. In fact I still have it, might take it for a spin at the weekend 🙂

Was thinking of doing similar the other day, but bending all the way down to the downtube to change gear is going to be well strange.
Upgrading to STI levers etc. will cost more than I paid for the bike.

Was thinking of doing similar the other day, but bending all the way down to the downtube to change gear is going to be well strange.

It's not too much of a stretch if you can ride on the drops.

A cheap set of bar end shifters would be a decent STI alternative and they'd still look era-correct. No need to swap out your derailleurs etc. either with that setup 😀

OP - did you turn your bars up?
[img] [/img]

Road bike's a stupid name though. Actually so is racer.

"Racer" was pretty accurate though - the bikes were similar in design to those used by people who raced. "Road bike" could cover any bike designed for riding on the road, so is a much less precise description.

Wasn't the Hovis advert filmed dahn sahf too?

Gold Hill, Shaftesbury innit bro

Think my first proper "racer" was 44/52 on a campag 144bcd crank and something like a 13-23 5 speed freewheel from regina. Came in a little tin so it was easy to clean and re-oil.

"Racer" was pretty accurate though - the bikes were similar in design to those used by people who raced. "Road bike" could cover any bike designed for riding on the road, so is a much less precise description.

Back in my youth it was either a general purpose bike with 3-speed, mudguards, and a chainguard (Triumph Palm Beach) or it was a "racer", with drops and derailleurs. Of course racers didn't race but the term "racer" best expressed the features that distinguished them from heavier, more upright bikes.

By about 1990 you couldn't buy a general purpose bike - it was mountain bike or racer, though racers rarely raced and mountain bikes sometimes did. But mountain bikes were meant for off road and bikes with drops were meant for on road. So the distinction was better expressed by the term "road" bike.

So it's all quite logical really.

And we still spell neighbourhood correctly round these parts.

But mountain bikes were meant for off road and bikes with drops were meant for on road. So the distinction was better expressed by the term "road" bike.

Given that the vast majority of mountain bikes never go near a mountain, I think you've undermined your own argument.

Given that the vast majority of mountain bikes never go near a mountain, I think you've undermined your own argument.

Bring back 'ATB'!

convert - Member
Not if you are old enough. 53T+ on a 'racer' is relatively recent in the grand scheme of things. A 10T difference was the max front mechs could handle until the early 90s.

My bike was 52/48 with 13/21 (5 speed block) on the rear. I'm pretty sure that was not unusual at the time (1960s) and it was the bike that did everything, touring, mtbing, commuting.

Bring back 'ATB'!

Ha!

Come to think of it, I've raced my road bike on a mountain, but never raced my mountain bike on a road.

mountain
?ma?nt?n/
noun
noun: mountain; plural noun: mountains

1.
a large natural elevation of the earth's surface rising abruptly from the surrounding level; a large steep hill.

I go up Box Hill, which is a large natural elevation of the earth's surface rising abruptly from the surrounding level, AKA a large steep hill, on my road bike most weeks.

I think I might start referring to my road bike as a mountain bike.

And Box Mountain might be a more appropriate term for that large natural elevation of the earth's surface next to Westhumble Rail Station.