Just for the curious, here's a pic of a 5 goat bike (with me perched atop of it). Single brake lever that went all the way across the handle bars. Brakes weren't operated by cables but by rods. All fettling was done with a hammer and pair of pliers, but as it was single speed, and metal rods never stretch, the only thing to fettle was the position of the brakes pads as they wore away. Occasionally under heavy braking, one of front brake blocks would move off the the rim, and catch a spoke instead, resulting in fantastic, if totally unexpected stopping power. However it was a very strong bike, you could have someone sit on your luggage rack with no problem at all (it was normal to carry your passenger sitting side saddle on your luggage rack). I think the bike was at least 10 years old by the time it was given to me. I couldn't break it, no matter how much I mistreated it. I wish they still made bikes like that...It would certainly beat the Pashleys hands down for retro biking style.
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Topic: Hello from a newbie