Your first real / treasured / remembered Bicycle.....

[sevenfourate]

Come on then; crud outside here - so lets all reminisce a little (WITH PICS ! - even if that's of a likeness as mine is.) about our first true-loves.

Circa 1984. I was a mere 12 years old. I had a bike i'd been handed-down by my Cousin. It did everything a bike should - and most certainly gave me the gift of freedom. But the freedom was the excitement - there was no passion over the bike itself. I'd already crazed my parents for a BMX over at least one previous Birthday and Christmas to no avail. Eventually my prolonged tantrums sunk in. And a Kalkoff Spitfire BMX:; fresh out of the front window display of the local LBS (And that i'd drooled over many a trip home from school) arrived Man i loved that thing. And it started a 'BMX lifestyle' for quite a number of years thereafter. Good times....

 

[Arjimlad]

I remember the excitement of a birthday when in the weeks leading up to it my Dad and I went to Halfords and I looked over a Raleigh Bomber and a silver Raleigh Chopper. As I was going to bed that night my Dad asked me if I had a preference and I went for the Chopper. This was probably around 1982. Many great memories riding that bike over to my friends' houses and to school. It was passed on to a friend of the family after I outgrew it, and I don't know where it ended up.

My next bike was bought at a police auction, had Weinmann centre pull brakes, suicide levers and drop bars. My Dad and I spent a good few hours stripping it down and rebuilding it with some sort of hard rubber sleeve instead of grip tape, and the frame (which was chipped & rusty) was attacked with rust-eater then painted by hand with blue hammerite.

 

[Mo1959]

Sadly too long ago for pics but I remember it was a green 3 speed Rudge. Slightly too big for me and dad had to put wooden blocks on the pedals until I grew into it

 

[wheresthetorch]

A Raleigh Equipe, and I now have it again (though not the exact one - bigger size!).

 

[matticus]

I were raaaat aboot that saddle ...

 

[sevenfourate]

A Raleigh Equipe, and I now have it again (though not the exact one - bigger size!).

View attachment 689220

Niiiice - love it !

**I had a Pulsar (Yea-yea....the one with an "Aerodynamic Water-bottle") after my BMX. Would have both been of about the same era i think......

 

[Deleted member 1258]

No pictures, it was too long ago, about 1956 or 1957, single speed with solid tyres, I'd be about 5 or 6

 

[Oldhippy]

A 5 speed Rayleigh racer I believe. They're called road bikes now for some reasons that make sense to marketing people as I've had a number of bikes and they've all been on the road.

 

[SuffolkBlue]

Probably 1978 (I was 13 ish) - I'm fairly sure it was a Dawes Velo Sprint but would have been the Junior Size and even then it was probably too big for me . The image is the best I can find although I do remember it was "flamboyant Red" as per the description.

 

[Spiderweb]

No Pics but I’d love it if someone could find one or knows anything about the brand.
My first drop bar road bike was a Wearwell Martino in lime green, 5 speed Shimano gears and 24” wheels, I was probably around 10 or 11 years old when I had this, I can’t remember if it was a birthday or Christmas present. I loved that bike❤️

 

[DogmaStu]

Not my first bike or even first BMX but this Hutch was my pride and joy for many years as a teenager back in the 1980’s.

 

[Elswick Cotterpin]

Dark blue Elswick Hopper, single speed, with lighter blue mudguards and one of those small, white vinyl type of saddle bags that held a single spanner.

 

[Oldhippy]

Was it the well remembered box spanner?

 

[palinurus]

This rubbish Tensor five speed. I loved it. I thought it was a great bike.

The blue bike in the foreground was my friends. Put a kink in the rim on the way there- hit a big flint, punctured. Hammered the kink out with a rock so it wouldn't rub on the brakes.

Never was much of a Hi-Viz advocate.

Third bike. My first was a rusty single speed with solid ballon tyres, the second was a Raleigh Roller- cantilever frame with front and rear racks. It was whack, I got around though.

 

[All uphill]

My first proper bike was hand painted black and singlespeed (although back then in 1963ish that wasn't a term we used). It had no headbadge.

I was nine and went everywhere on that bike. I picked up surprisingly few scrapes and grazes.

When I got a new Royal Enfield in 1966 with SA3 speed it seemed very slow and heavy in comparison.