I went for a leaf blower ...

[Tail End Charlie]

I went to a local auction today hopefully to pick up some garden machinery. However I missed out on a couple of things and there was a sorry looking Dawes Kingpin there. I hadn't really looked at it and the auctioneer drop the starting bid to £2 and looked straight at me (he doesn't know me from Adam), so I thought it'd be rude not to so I was in. Someone else upped the bid but I ended up with the below for the princely sum of £5 (+ VAT). It came with two front wheels (one of which is the original) and a rear, which are all different sizes but the Sturmey may come in useful I suppose.
I really don't need another project but I quite chuffed really. I've been hankering after a Raleigh Twenty for a while and these are pretty much the same.

 

[alicat]

Those auctioneers are smart: they have a great instinct for the best buyers.

Hope the bike gives you oodles of pleasure.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

No expense spared then

 

[mjr]

But did you get a leaf blower? And if so, will you attach it to the bike?

 

[Tail End Charlie]

No expense spared then

Yeah, last of the big spenders me.

@mjr no, I didn't, there was one I was interested in, but I ummed and ahhed for too long. Still there's always next month, but I really mustn't come back with another bike.
Come to think of it, leaf blowers claim to blow at 165 mph, so if I strap one to my bike Newton's second law says I'll do the same speed or so my 40 year old physics A level tells me.

 

[marshmella]

But did you get a leaf blower? And if so, will you attach it to the bike?

Thats a great idea for the upcoming Autumnal rides

 

[Drago]

Nice work! Is it a Twenty clone, or Dawes' own design?

 

[midlife]

Dawes take on the Raleigh Stowaway, better made but the hinge on the Raleigh was beefier and "closed" when you sat on it.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

I ended up with the below for the princely sum of £5 (+ VAT). It came with two front wheels (one of which is the original) and a rear

That's my sort of bargain purchase! The difficulty afterwards is managing to sort it out without multiplying the price several times over. I've just ordered another simple Cateye computer for a bike that cost me less than £20, thus increasing the total cost by 60%. My justification being the Cateye was on special offer, £12 reduced from £13, but it's starting to get extravagant....

 

[Fab Foodie]

Wow! That's a bargain.... they go for silly money these days in shops.

 

[roadrash]

fantastic, obviously the front wheel that's one at the moment isn't the right size, is the spare correct, the kingpin is better made than the twenty I think, it is certainly lighter, that should be good for many years with a little fettling, the chrome looks good from the photos, autosol is your friend for the shiny bits

 

[Tail End Charlie]

fantastic, obviously the front wheel that's one at the moment isn't the right size, is the spare correct, the kingpin is better made than the twenty I think, it is certainly lighter, that should be good for many years with a little fettling, the chrome looks good from the photos, autosol is your friend for the shiny bits

Yes the front spare is correct, it's a 440. The spare wheels are a combination of 400, 406 and 440. As I said I hadn't looked at the bike before bidding (didn't see that the front wheel was wrong, nor the lack of brake blocks) and had presumed they'd all be the same size, but I'm not complaining.

 

[Tail End Charlie]

That's my sort of bargain purchase! The difficulty afterwards is managing to sort it out without multiplying the price several times over. I've just ordered another simple Cateye computer for a bike that cost me less than £20, thus increasing the total cost by 60%. My justification being the Cateye was on special offer, £12 reduced from £13, but it's starting to get extravagant....

I know it can get silly once you start replacing tubes and tyres etc. That said, I'd generally replace tyres and tubes for peace of mind (unless they're clearly new obs).

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

, the kingpin is better made than the twenty I think, it is certainly lighter, that should be good for many years with a little fettling

Dawes (well real Birmingham-made ones) = Quality bikes, maybe a little better than a similar Raleigh, but no doubt also a bit more costly being small-volume.

I know it can get silly once you start replacing tubes and tyres etc. That said, I'd generally replace tyres and tubes for peace of mind (unless they're clearly new obs).

My strategy is fit new Schwalbe tyres to anything I regard as a "good" bike. Then I keep my ratty old tyre stock for my hack bikes that only get ridden locally at low speed. I've tried to standardize (almost) on 700c Road and 26" MTB, so that tyres can be interchanged between bikes to get all the useful life out of them.