Oh, how things change! The Peugeot Equipe found a great new home, the fella is chuffed with it and it'll be a near daily ride he says.So, this paid and paved way for some other bikes...
1960 (or at least that's what the owner suggested) Raleigh, in a nice shade of Dulux white and possibly the original blue underneath...
unknown Raleigh is unkown by
Cavlover1, on Flickr
Raleigh Phantom.
Got some new tyres (albeit cheap, genuine Raleigh ones) and new tubes to get it rideworthy. I quite like this bike, a bit small for my frame but it's a real charmer I think, some nice 'patina' and a pleasant looking little thing
raleigh phantom by
Cavlover1, on Flickr
Then this came up and I couldn't resist. It's a bl**dy lovely thing, the wheels aren't the best and it wants a bit of a service, but there's a local bike repair man who's really good and does things at a very fair rate. I'm going to give him a spare 27" rear wheel I have and ask him to change the freewheel over, along with a replacement rear derailleur, as I managed to knacker the original up
dawes legend by
Cavlover1, on Flickr
Then a 1960 Sprick (Dutch, I'm told) bike came up that looked a treat on the advert, so a hop across the border into N. Wales after work saw me add this to the collection. It's in really nice order, obviously has been looked after and has solid tyres. Goodbye punctures!
sprick roadster 1960 Dutch solid tyres by
Cavlover1, on Flickr
Another nice bit of kit is this. I've been really lucky recently getting some quite original bikes with nice wear to them, this being a pretty good example and it has a nice big frame, too...
falcon 24 inch racer 10 speed by
Cavlover1, on Flickr
Same seller had this so I bought that too, as you do!
falcon oxford by
Cavlover1, on Flickr
But the
piece de resistance of my recent purchases was this. A Raleigh Richmond with Blackwell bars. I'd ummed and ahhed about getting it and tried a couple of cheeky offers before realising it was just too nice to miss, so I met the agreed price with the seller and collected it last week. It's a lovely bike, personally I find it so easy on the eye I can't stop looking at it!
Raleigh Richmond 5 speed 1 by
Cavlover1, on Flickr
raleigh richmond 3 by
Cavlover1, on Flickr
raleigh richmond 5 speed Blackwell bars by
Cavlover1, on Flickr
raleigh richmond REYNOLDS 531 BUTTED FRAME by
Cavlover1, on Flickr