Gary P
Über Member
- Location
- Sunny Sussex by the Sea
I recently advertised in my local Friday Ad free ads for a traditional man's tourer in a 22" (in old money) frame. The owner was 5ft 7" tall and it had always been slightly too big for him. Lovely man and a real character.
I was rewarded with a lovely 531st (frame and fork) British Eagle Touristique of a vintage that I reckon is late 1980s, possibly early 90s. Cost? £60. I'm dating it in this era as it has a triple Biopace chainring set that is Shimano Exage 500 (remember them?).
However, this hasn't bothered me at all, despite having down tube shifters and a 7 speed rear set of cogs it's perfectly adequate for my daily commute and the odd leisure ride. It's been 20 years since I've ridden Biopace and despite their oval-ness they seem perfectly ok to me. I can't really tell the difference. Anyone else still ride them?
I've changed the tyres, tubes and rim tape as the old ones had rotted away, re-taped the bars with cloth bar tape that has grab-on foam underneath and changed the seat and pedals to some Lyotard touring and a Specialized racing saddle. I've also found a set of Altura panniers for £30 from the Friday Ad too. They work really well, are barely used and I've zip tied them to the pannier frame to stop them being nicked.
I've also had a member of the local CTC offer me a used but decent Brooks to go onto it so the Specialized will be replaced this week. The Brooks looks the part and is comfy too, plus he doesn't want any money for it.
I'm now trying to decide whether or not to have the frame sandblasted and sprayed as I've got a local bloke who will blast a frame for £15. It's currently scruffy but I can park it anywhere and no-one nicks it, which is a real bonus. Therefore, this may be a pointless exercise.
I feel really good about reinstating this lovely old machine to the roads as it had been unridden since the mid 1990s. It's cheap, comfy, ecologically sound transport. I'm also looking at buying a 2000 Dawes Horizon which is too small for me but is cheap and worth stripping for spares. If so, I'll offer the frame/fork on the classifieds section.
Anyone else resurrected a decent bike from the dead?
I was rewarded with a lovely 531st (frame and fork) British Eagle Touristique of a vintage that I reckon is late 1980s, possibly early 90s. Cost? £60. I'm dating it in this era as it has a triple Biopace chainring set that is Shimano Exage 500 (remember them?).
However, this hasn't bothered me at all, despite having down tube shifters and a 7 speed rear set of cogs it's perfectly adequate for my daily commute and the odd leisure ride. It's been 20 years since I've ridden Biopace and despite their oval-ness they seem perfectly ok to me. I can't really tell the difference. Anyone else still ride them?
I've changed the tyres, tubes and rim tape as the old ones had rotted away, re-taped the bars with cloth bar tape that has grab-on foam underneath and changed the seat and pedals to some Lyotard touring and a Specialized racing saddle. I've also found a set of Altura panniers for £30 from the Friday Ad too. They work really well, are barely used and I've zip tied them to the pannier frame to stop them being nicked.
I've also had a member of the local CTC offer me a used but decent Brooks to go onto it so the Specialized will be replaced this week. The Brooks looks the part and is comfy too, plus he doesn't want any money for it.
I'm now trying to decide whether or not to have the frame sandblasted and sprayed as I've got a local bloke who will blast a frame for £15. It's currently scruffy but I can park it anywhere and no-one nicks it, which is a real bonus. Therefore, this may be a pointless exercise.
I feel really good about reinstating this lovely old machine to the roads as it had been unridden since the mid 1990s. It's cheap, comfy, ecologically sound transport. I'm also looking at buying a 2000 Dawes Horizon which is too small for me but is cheap and worth stripping for spares. If so, I'll offer the frame/fork on the classifieds section.
Anyone else resurrected a decent bike from the dead?