Mainly pre-1987 bikes & components
Is there a more pleasant way to spend an afternoon than breaking out the old imperial spanners to fettle a lovely British bicycle into shape? Well one that springs to mine is to kick up the stand, select first gear and tootle off for an extended test ride in the glorious Manchester sunshine afterwards… What […]
1967 Elswick Hopper Safeway Read More »
As it sat idly in my workshop awaiting its turn over the last couple of weeks, Brian’s bike has attracted enthusiastic comments from nearly all my customers. So, now I’ve done my bit, I thought I’d post a few photos of the Merlin out on a test ride. Aside from some new 27″ rubber and
1977 Raleigh Merlin Read More »
Adventure road bikes with wider tyres and 1x drivetrains are all the rage nowadays – indeed another of this week’s jobs involves a Pinnacle Arkrose – so to find similar features on this 36-year-old British beauty (albeit minus mighty brakes) is rather pleasing. Tom brought the bike over in pretty good shape last week. With
Joan’s nice mid-’80s British 10 speed was supplied by its owner with a simple brief – and suitably modest budget – to get it working well enough to comfortably finish this year’s Eroica Britannia (with her partner on his Carlton) and, if there’s any time left, try to make it pretty. The latter isn’t hard
1984 Raleigh Wisp Mixte Read More »
Kate’s lovely and largely original 1976 Holdsworth Equipe on test after a few hours of TLC. The Equipe was Holdsworth’s entry level road bike and was something of a rarity for the legendary British marque, given that it features a non Reynolds tubed lugged steel frame and Campagnolo’s rather primitive Valentino derailleurs – the front
1976 Holdsworth Equipe Read More »
Presenting the 1985 Record 3-speed Roadster. No, I’d never heard of Record either. Anyway, Simon found this on Gumtree for a nice price and one hour in the workshop later it’s working perfectly. Happy days…
1985 Record 3-speed Roadster Read More »
Presenting a vintage British ladies town bike custom/restoration project I’ve been working on for a while. Suitable for taller female riders (5’6″ and above) due to its larger frame size, this 1989 Raleigh Prima has had a very comprehensive cosmetic & technical makeover and is fitted with several new/modern components – to improve performance without
SOLD: Custom Raleigh Prima Read More »
Andrew’s Peugeot out on test after its coversion from single to 14 speed. I hit my budget to the pound on this job, and I really enjoyed working on the bike and chatting to the customer! See part one Frame: 1980s Peugeot Ventoux (Reynolds 501) Fork: unknown chromed steel Headset: unknown Stem: 3ttt Status Handlebar: Middlemores
Peugeot Ventoux conversion – Part 2 – 14 gears Read More »
Andrew’s 1980s Peugeot Ventoux singlespeed as delivered to my workshop, my role being to add 13 more gears on a strict budget. And convince the owner to let me sort the rear brake and fit proper levers on the drops ;) Little, if anything, remains of the original – even the forks have been swapped
Peugeot Ventoux conversion – Part 1 Read More »
I’ve almost finished an enjoyable stripdown & rebuild of Neal’s almost all original Grand Prix – Carlton’s entry level 10 speed in 1980 – on a relatively modest budget. The handsome old chap’s come up looking good with a lot of TLC and minimal new parts, well worth saving!
1980 Carlton Grand Prix Read More »
