Nhulunbuy

About to go for a shopping trip.  I carted home about 10kg from a supermarket 2km away.  Beats walking in the heat.

I'm very happy with my new front light, it has a real Heath-Robinson thirld-world look about it.

A 750ml bottle sits neatly in here.  It takes a very substantial bump to dislodge it, needs tying down when empty.  I can also tie two 600ml bottles to the front.

Funny sand on this beach, I couldn't get the bike to go more than 100m or so, usually less, before breaking the crust of the sand and sinking through.

The same island is visible in the photo above.

 This is closer to town, the sign is a few hundre metres from a primary school.

So far in Nhulunbuy I have not seen either a crocodile or another NS22.  However, I did find another Peugeot bike, with all the latest trendy stuff.  The owner seemed unimpressed that my cargo-laden contraption had anything in common with his gleaming machine.

around Darwin

All up I did 26km around Darwin, mostly in early afternoon, Wed and Thurs 19&20 Jan.  After the trip in the plane, the chainguard was making some noises with the chain, 5th gear didn't want to work and shifting back to 1st seemed to almost want to break the shift lever.

At one stop the perspiration running into my eyes stung much more than sea water.  Riding around at a leisurely pace did not seem too hot.

The museum/art gallery had an interesting exhibition:

I have found a certain plastic bottle to be a good fit into the front rack.

In Darwin I happened to meet a Kris Larsen with a self-built recumbent bike, photo below:

He has a website   http://www.monsoondervish.com/

flying to Darwin

I had a feeling this bike was going places:

I removed the seat and pedals, and folded the handlebars down.

Waiting to check-in at Melbourne.

Jetstar (budget division of Qantas) insisted I use a box, it cost $16.50.

The box could have taken two of these bikes.

More photos coming soon.....

stripes, small bike & other stuff

I removed my loose cotter pin, put some oil on it, put it back in, slightly tightened the nut, then gave the other end of it a good hit a few times with a small hammer, then tightened, then whacked, then tightened.  I also found the right one a bit loose, so I gave that a few thumps and tightened it also.  People put up with cotterpins for 80 odd years, so I guess I will stick with them and see how they go.


I see the blue NS22 in Melbourne I mentioned is up to $122 with two days to go.  It has black stripes on the mudguards, I have not seen them before, they surely must help it go faster.  The owner tells me the wheels have 75 stamped on the rims:

I saw this little one somewhere, on a french site, I can't decide what size the wheels are, but they are surely smaller than 20":

Another French bike, the paint is a different colour and the writing and logo is different.

trip to Melbourne

Opposite Flinders Street Station.

Parked alongside public bike-share bikes.  The scheme has not been a huge success, many say due to the compulsory helmet laws in the state of Victoria (and most, if not all, other Australian states).

I imagine the NS-22 is a bit lighter than these tanks.

Federation Square.

 Federation Square.

Federation Square.

Yarra River

Notice the man on the antique bike does not wear a helmet.  It doesn't seem cool.  I had not heard of this magazine until today when I saw these posters.  I know nothing about it.

Shrine of Remembrance, a war memorial, bike to left of stairs.

South Yarra train station.

South Yarra train station.

South Yarra train station.

Picasso-esque sculpture at the little-known cultural oasis of Frankston, one hour by train from Melbourne.

Bag tied on to rack with old tyre tube.

I see the white NS-22 in Adelaide went for $96.  There is a blue one in Melbourne, started at $100 and already has a bid, looks in EC, original tyres probably a bit tired.

I found the brakes OK in the wet today, at least not as useless as I remember another bike I had.

I have done about 50km on this bike since the computer was fitted.  The left cotter pin is a bit loose, I must get on to that.

new handlebars on the bike

While I changed the handlebars I also decided to make the right brake lever operate the front brake, left lever the rear brake, as in usual in Australia.  If I carry something in one hand I prefer to have my right hand on the bike and be able to use the front brake.  The rear brake cable would now look neater if it ran through the hole in the frame on the right of the bike, where the gear lever now goes.  That gear lever certainly is a distance away from the handlebars, that might be my next modification, in which case the rear brake cable and gear cable might swap holes in the frame.

 It feels a lot better to me like this with the new handlebars.  The right grip has not been pushed on far enough, the last cm or so has no bar behind it.  I used the original Peugeot grips, they needed about seven turns of duct tape around the handlebars to increase the diameter, you might notice a slight bulge in the shape of the grips.

 I travelled over a 1.11km (google earth measure) straight flat road, the bike computer said 1.10km, so it is about right.

new handlebars

I found some handlebars on a child's BMX.  They seem sturdy enough.  The BMX stem was marked 22.2mm and is substantially wider than the Peugeot stem, so I have had to stick with the original stem.  On sheldonbrown.com it says french stems are often 22mm and a 22.2 can be sanded back and made to fit easily.  My impression is the NS22 stem might be 20mm.  I have removed the BMX small cross bar, so it can be made to fit in the Peugeot stem.  The bars still seem to have plenty of strength.

These bars do not widen at the part where they are in the stem, so I will need some filler material to fatten them out so the stem can be tightened on them.  It is a tall order for the stem to clamp shut hard enough on these to prevent rotation when the bars are pulled hard or have a lot of weight applied to them, I had noticed this already with the originals.

I think the angle of the handles will be more agreeable for me, the colour does not seem too bad either:

Original chrome bars with grips removed.

This is another bike I own, 1964 Raleigh Boulevard Tourist, I find this comfortable, the handle angles look about the same:

The pump on the frame is an AFA pump, made in France, not original to the bike, I paid 50c for it at a garage sale.  The front light has wobbled down too low.  This is a 3-speed, quite a few kilos lighter than the Peugeot, I replaced the 20 tooth sprocket with a 22, it seems just right now, it even centred the wheel better, making me think this is what it was supposed to have all along.  I think the best time I've had from this on my test rolling hill is 95s, 15 slower than the Peugeot.  I attribute this to the tyres, one I believe to be original, the front one also quite ancient, possibly they are thicker and more puncture resistant, but I think the rolling resistance is greater.

Another day I will discuss the merits of this vs the Peugeot, they are both good in their own ways.

The yellow NS22 I mentioned in Brisbane went for $150.  There is a fair condition white one in Adelaide now, $91, two days to go.

cargo straps, original elastic cords

This one went on Australian ebay a while ago for $122.  I would say it was originally a 5-speed, but is now a single speed, otherwise everything is there.  The rear light being broken seems to be a common feature on these bikes.  See the silver pump.  I'm not sure how useful the elastic cords would really be.  I have heard stories about kids whacking themselves in the face and taking their eyes out with metal hooks on the end of elastic cords, this technology seems to have fallen from favour.

I notice these bikes all seem to have the left hand operating the front brake, the usual setup in countries where people drive on the right side of the road.  In Australia (we drive on the left), the reverse is normal, and is a legal requirement for new bikes offered for sale (though the purchaser may choose to have them reversed).  It appears this was not a requirement 35 years ago, and few people have bothered swapping the cables, myself included.