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Illaveago
Guru
- Location
- Chippenham,Wiltshire.
I concentrate on old steel bikes as they are usually cheaper and most of the components are interchangeable.
Is There a Cycle Collectors Anonymous?
- Thread starter Illaveago
- Start date
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classic33
Leg End Member
Found one, but they require you to give your collection away as part of the help they'll provide.I'm just wondering if I may be in need of counselling or if it is normal to collect more than N+15 road bikes?
Obviously it wouldn't be totally anonymous as some of you know me !
It's not just the lovely shiny paint, ally and chrome bits that get me wanting to buy more bikes, but I can sometimes feel sorry for a neglected bike and think how it could look all done up and running again .
I thought I had recovered, but I was tempted by a sad looking frame on a well known auction site and lost out in a bidding war and it has set me off again .
I'm not looking for sympathy, just another bike to do up !
OP
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Illaveago
Guru
- Location
- Chippenham,Wiltshire.
Each of my bikes has a story. Here are a few.
My Holdsworth Record was the first bike I bought for myself when I was an apprentice in a garage in the 70's. I was looking for a Carlton Kermesse at the time and eventually ended up in Fred Barker Cycles in Bristol. When I saw it in it's silver and blue colour scheme all thoughts of the Carlton disappeared.
It has been a bit neglected over the years, I was young at the time . I'm repairing it's saddle at the moment .
I eventually bought a later version of the Carlton Kermesse via Bigsy! It was a long drive and day out going to collect it. My wife came with me as it was a long journey and we stopped off at Bletchley Park to break up the trip . We hadn't been there before and it was one of those places we wanted to visit .
My Carlton Competition was the first Carlton that I bought . I had ridden my brother's Carlton Catalina when I was at school and really liked it. The Competition came as a frame cranks and stem and so I needed other bits to complete it which led me to buy a BSA Tour de France as a donor .
I rescued my friend's 1966 BSA Sportsman from being thrown out . I can remember him saying that he had crashed into the back of a car and bent the frame when we were at school . His brother had been riding it for years and hadn't noticed it . He had decided that it needed too many bits to fix it . I took it on as a challenge to try to restore it back to how it used to be . Straightening the frame posed a bit of a challenge, but most of the kink came out by using a 4 ton hydraulic ram . In trying to restore it back to it's original condition I bought some candy apple green paint . Candy paints have always fascinated me and the frame gave me an opportunity to try some out . It is the depth and lustre of the paint which has me mesmerized.
I must say that it is a lot easier to buy a bike than sell one .
My Holdsworth Record was the first bike I bought for myself when I was an apprentice in a garage in the 70's. I was looking for a Carlton Kermesse at the time and eventually ended up in Fred Barker Cycles in Bristol. When I saw it in it's silver and blue colour scheme all thoughts of the Carlton disappeared.
It has been a bit neglected over the years, I was young at the time . I'm repairing it's saddle at the moment .
I eventually bought a later version of the Carlton Kermesse via Bigsy! It was a long drive and day out going to collect it. My wife came with me as it was a long journey and we stopped off at Bletchley Park to break up the trip . We hadn't been there before and it was one of those places we wanted to visit .
My Carlton Competition was the first Carlton that I bought . I had ridden my brother's Carlton Catalina when I was at school and really liked it. The Competition came as a frame cranks and stem and so I needed other bits to complete it which led me to buy a BSA Tour de France as a donor .
I rescued my friend's 1966 BSA Sportsman from being thrown out . I can remember him saying that he had crashed into the back of a car and bent the frame when we were at school . His brother had been riding it for years and hadn't noticed it . He had decided that it needed too many bits to fix it . I took it on as a challenge to try to restore it back to how it used to be . Straightening the frame posed a bit of a challenge, but most of the kink came out by using a 4 ton hydraulic ram . In trying to restore it back to it's original condition I bought some candy apple green paint . Candy paints have always fascinated me and the frame gave me an opportunity to try some out . It is the depth and lustre of the paint which has me mesmerized.
I must say that it is a lot easier to buy a bike than sell one .
I feel a bit of an amateur. I only have 7 bikes. Each has it's own particular use ranging from a 1975 Dawes Galaxy which I had since 1976, a later Galaxy from 1997, through to a Brompton via an Audax bike, racing bike, a vintage Falcon I bought last year culminating in my retirement present to myself of a Condor Classico with all the Campagnolo trimmings.
I have had to curb the urge to buy another vintage bike, although I do have room for one more in the shed
I have had to curb the urge to buy another vintage bike, although I do have room for one more in the shed
Reynard
Guru
- Location
- Cambridgeshire, UK
My five have all got a story too...
My early 60s Hercules (a junior mini roadster complete with rod brakes) was a post-jumble sale skip find when I was 12. It fit me, looked kind of cool in an odd and rather tatty way and so I rode it for a couple of years until I grew out of it. (There was also a similar-sized trike in the skip, but dad made me choose as we couldn't get both in the car...)
Next is a mid-80s Emmelle MTB that was the first bike bought for me by the parentals from a shop rather than acquired as a freebie / hand-me-down, albeit it was secondhand. I rode it loads through my late teens and well into my twenties, even though it was slightly too big. When I learnt to drive, that was, other than the odd ride, the end of my cycling days until four years ago.
The Hercules and the Emmelle were the only two survivors of the "Great Bike Cull" of 2008, when I shifted about a dozen bikes from the garage to the local tip / recycling place. A few of them I regret moving on, including a lovely lugged steel single speed that I rode many a mile on, but I really needed the space at the time. (Dad was a bike hoarder despite the fact I'd only ever seen him ride a bike once!)
The Wiggins Rouen road bike is still, to date, the only bike I've ever bought new. Seeing that on display in the Halfords at Tottenham Hale (I went in for cable ties!) is what brought me back to cycling. Still have the bike and still love it to bits. And it always turns heads wherever I go with it.
The Wiggins Chartres, I bought off a fellow CC member. As much as I love the Rouen, the Chartres has become my go-to bike for most things, whether it's a nice bimble, a utility ride, commuting or cycling awaydays. It's just a lovely and well-thought out bike.
Lastly is the 1998-vintage Raleigh Max MTB that I picked up for £25 at the local tip as a replacement for the Emmelle. It's been stripped and refurbished and hauled into the 21st century, with new wheels, new drivetrain, commuter tyres and trigger shifters. I've quite literally just finished the build this afternoon! This will be my winter bike, as to quote another CC member who rode out this way earlier in the summer, "the roads out your way are biblically bad!" Well, they're even worse now that all the local farmers are lifting their potato crop...
My early 60s Hercules (a junior mini roadster complete with rod brakes) was a post-jumble sale skip find when I was 12. It fit me, looked kind of cool in an odd and rather tatty way and so I rode it for a couple of years until I grew out of it. (There was also a similar-sized trike in the skip, but dad made me choose as we couldn't get both in the car...)
Next is a mid-80s Emmelle MTB that was the first bike bought for me by the parentals from a shop rather than acquired as a freebie / hand-me-down, albeit it was secondhand. I rode it loads through my late teens and well into my twenties, even though it was slightly too big. When I learnt to drive, that was, other than the odd ride, the end of my cycling days until four years ago.
The Hercules and the Emmelle were the only two survivors of the "Great Bike Cull" of 2008, when I shifted about a dozen bikes from the garage to the local tip / recycling place. A few of them I regret moving on, including a lovely lugged steel single speed that I rode many a mile on, but I really needed the space at the time. (Dad was a bike hoarder despite the fact I'd only ever seen him ride a bike once!)
The Wiggins Rouen road bike is still, to date, the only bike I've ever bought new. Seeing that on display in the Halfords at Tottenham Hale (I went in for cable ties!) is what brought me back to cycling. Still have the bike and still love it to bits. And it always turns heads wherever I go with it.
The Wiggins Chartres, I bought off a fellow CC member. As much as I love the Rouen, the Chartres has become my go-to bike for most things, whether it's a nice bimble, a utility ride, commuting or cycling awaydays. It's just a lovely and well-thought out bike.
Lastly is the 1998-vintage Raleigh Max MTB that I picked up for £25 at the local tip as a replacement for the Emmelle. It's been stripped and refurbished and hauled into the 21st century, with new wheels, new drivetrain, commuter tyres and trigger shifters. I've quite literally just finished the build this afternoon! This will be my winter bike, as to quote another CC member who rode out this way earlier in the summer, "the roads out your way are biblically bad!" Well, they're even worse now that all the local farmers are lifting their potato crop...
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My current collection of “keepers”
2007 S Works Epic 26er, now worth a fraction of what it was new, super exotic components, carbon frame, still very fast and brilliant to ride, when it’s not broken!
2012 Raleigh Ti rep, I know it’s not the real thing, but this is all I dreamed about when I was 15 and with it’s hand built wheels and modern Campagnolo groupset, a treat to own and ride. I ride it as much as possible.
1962 Claud Butler Super Coureur, I restored this and spent hours over lock down getting it to this standard. It looks fantastic in its original colour scheme and with its simple Campagnolo 5 speed gears it’s perfect for nipping in and out of town. A lovely bike and very few left in this condition.
My 1995 Mk 2 Brompton, again fully rebuilt and updated, not used much recently but I’ll never sell it. Too much fun and a nice thing to own.
1970’s Elvish childs racing bike, bought in France for €10 and lightly recommissioned, hangs on the wall in the garage.
2007 S Works Epic 26er, now worth a fraction of what it was new, super exotic components, carbon frame, still very fast and brilliant to ride, when it’s not broken!
2012 Raleigh Ti rep, I know it’s not the real thing, but this is all I dreamed about when I was 15 and with it’s hand built wheels and modern Campagnolo groupset, a treat to own and ride. I ride it as much as possible.
1962 Claud Butler Super Coureur, I restored this and spent hours over lock down getting it to this standard. It looks fantastic in its original colour scheme and with its simple Campagnolo 5 speed gears it’s perfect for nipping in and out of town. A lovely bike and very few left in this condition.
My 1995 Mk 2 Brompton, again fully rebuilt and updated, not used much recently but I’ll never sell it. Too much fun and a nice thing to own.
1970’s Elvish childs racing bike, bought in France for €10 and lightly recommissioned, hangs on the wall in the garage.
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OP
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Illaveago
Guru
- Location
- Chippenham,Wiltshire.
I've fallen off the wagon !
I've gone and bought another frame !
I've gone and bought another frame !
bikingdad90
Guru
The Wiggins Rouen road bike is still, to date, the only bike I've ever bought new. Seeing that on display in the Halfords at Tottenham Hale (I went in for cable ties!) is what brought me back to cycling. Still have the bike and still love it to bits. And it always turns heads wherever I go with it.
@Reynard i would totally agree about the Wiggins been a fellow owner with a 48cm frame, fits me nicely as at 5ft 7. (Did have to concede and fit a longer seatpost and wider bars to get a comfortable fit as it is for slender teenagers!
@Reynard i would totally agree about the Wiggins been a fellow owner with a 48cm frame, fits me nicely as at 5ft 7. (Did have to concede and fit a longer seatpost and wider bars to get a comfortable fit as it is for slender teenagers!
biggs682
Touch it up and ride it
- Location
- Northamptonshire
I have the hotline number for help when I need it , strange enough as the voice at the other end normally tells me to just go and buy it and stop messing about
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OP
Illaveago
Guru
- Location
- Chippenham,Wiltshire.
I didn't know Samaritans sold bikes ?I have the hotline number for help when I need it , strange enough as the voice at the other end normally tells me to just go and buy it and stop messing about
Reynard
Guru
- Location
- Cambridgeshire, UK
The only thing I had to change was the saddle, as my bottom very definitely did NOT like the OEM one.
byegad
Legendary Member
- Location
- NE England
Nobody seems to have given the CCA contact details. I was told never to divulge it on pain of pain and death.
So it's CCA PO box........
Argh........ Thud,,,,,,,,gasp!
So it's CCA PO box........
Argh........ Thud,,,,,,,,gasp!
