Padraig
Active Member
- Location
- St. Helens, Merseyside
OK, here's the problem. In the house, we have four bikes. The best one, arguably, is my Bob Jackson. Built in 1971, 531 DB, fully-sloping fork crowns, etc. Classic BJ, I suppose. Also a 1976 Dawes Galaxy, which I've had in bits for more years than I care to remember. I do odd jobs on it from time to time. I intend to build it up as a vintage road bike rather than a tourer, given its fairly relaxed geometry, and I now have nearly all the parts to do that. The most recent one was a hanger for the front centre-pull brake, which was handmade for me by a gentleman in Virginia, where I once held an academic post. Just one final part to source. The original steel seat post is a bit rusty and pitted, and I want to replace it with an alloy one. Problem is, I don't know the correct size. The old post is a bit out of round, and my local bike shop were unwilling to commit themselves as to what size it is. My own vernier gauge isn't sufficiently accurate. The frame is plain-gauge 531, and I'd be deeply in the debt of anyone who could tell me what size seat post that calls for. I know 531 DB always takes a 27.2 mm post, but is there a definitive size for plain-gauge? I've heard various sizes suggested, but no two people agree.
Anyway, back to the quandary. The other two bikes are mountain bikes. One is a quite old Raleigh Blue Ridge (Virginia again), with a step-through frame. I got this for Herself, but she can't get it to steer in a straight line. Something to do with the steering geometry, maybe. Also a Townsend Harlequin with a step-through frame, which we bought from Argos when we lived in Wales. This isn't a high-quality bike, but it's probably better than a lot of cheap bikes available now. At least it was built in England, and I've replaced all the bearings with better ones than it came with. I've spent many happy hours riding this, when Herself failed to take to it, and I don't believe I could ever part with it. If we return to Wales, mountain bikes will be more useful than road bikes, and so I suppose we should keep those - the Blue Ridge for me, and the Harlequin for Herself. The Dawes has been an ongoing project for so long that I feel obliged to see it through to completion.
So the primary candidate for selling seems to be the Bob Jackson. Also, it's the only one of the four which is potentially worth very much. However, if I part with it, I doubt that I'd ever feel inclined to spend enough money to replace it with anything remotely comparable. The reason, incidentally, that I need to sell one bike is that we usually hire a large van to move ourselves, and the cost of hire of a 7.5 tonne van is such that I want to do the move in one trip. Four bikes simply take up too much room in a van. Also, the proceeds of selling the BJ would defray the cost of the move to a large extent. I'm interested in anyone else's opinions on this.
Anyway, back to the quandary. The other two bikes are mountain bikes. One is a quite old Raleigh Blue Ridge (Virginia again), with a step-through frame. I got this for Herself, but she can't get it to steer in a straight line. Something to do with the steering geometry, maybe. Also a Townsend Harlequin with a step-through frame, which we bought from Argos when we lived in Wales. This isn't a high-quality bike, but it's probably better than a lot of cheap bikes available now. At least it was built in England, and I've replaced all the bearings with better ones than it came with. I've spent many happy hours riding this, when Herself failed to take to it, and I don't believe I could ever part with it. If we return to Wales, mountain bikes will be more useful than road bikes, and so I suppose we should keep those - the Blue Ridge for me, and the Harlequin for Herself. The Dawes has been an ongoing project for so long that I feel obliged to see it through to completion.
So the primary candidate for selling seems to be the Bob Jackson. Also, it's the only one of the four which is potentially worth very much. However, if I part with it, I doubt that I'd ever feel inclined to spend enough money to replace it with anything remotely comparable. The reason, incidentally, that I need to sell one bike is that we usually hire a large van to move ourselves, and the cost of hire of a 7.5 tonne van is such that I want to do the move in one trip. Four bikes simply take up too much room in a van. Also, the proceeds of selling the BJ would defray the cost of the move to a large extent. I'm interested in anyone else's opinions on this.
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