Members' bikes

[LEE]

The story of my British Eagle Touristique (BET) rennovation (for Fab Foodie, started on another thread and linked to this)

Bought, Harry Hall cycles in 1986 (by me) £285.

Used as a commuter, short runs, a few 50 mile charity rides and, eventualy, in 2002 on a LEJoG trip.

LEJoG got me interested in Long Distance and, after a few social rides I decided that it was worn out and invested in a Thorn Raven Tour in 2006.

The BET was hung up for 2 years and never ridden.

The Thorn got me around several Audax rides including my Super Randonneur last year but I started hankering for something a bit more sprightly.  After looking long and hard at the Thorn Audax and their MK3 I figured that I may have the perfect bike hanging up in the garage.

I stripped the bike, put the bits in a bucket of white spirit and sent the frame to Mercian Cycles with a design suggestion I did on Photoshop (and was vetted by members of the forum, ACF forum possibly).  The scheme was influenced by Richard Wareham's bike I saw on a few Audaxes.

Mercian fitted new braze-ons for cantis (that would fit 700c wheels), did the respray, lug-lined it (beautifully), new 531 transfers, lettering and stencilling plus a new headset.

When it came back after a few weeks I took the mechs out of the white spirit and rebuilt it.

I can't be happier with the re-spray, it's nicer than I imagined and much redder than any photo can recreate I think.

It's quicker than the Raven and quite lively.  It's not going to win any TTs but I think it should get me another Super Randonneur this year and I hope to use it on PBP.

Here it is in 2002 LEJoG guise.  Loch Lomond (I mistakenly thought that, because I was now in Scotland, I must be nearly there)


Here is is just before I stripped it and sent it to Mercian.  I think it looked tired after 22 years.


Here's my Photoshop design for the respray


Here's what I sent them (wheels removed)


Here's what they sent back


And here's the finished article (it now has black bar tape as per original design)


I had them immortalise it's 1986 birthday



I'm not even going to discuss what it cost me to rennovate but it wasn't so different to the original cost of the bike (I took a lot of Mercian options and £20 here, £15 there soon adds up to a lot).  It certainly didn't cost me as much as an equivalent new bike and part of the pleasure is keeping my old bike going and using it for it's intended purpose, covering lots of miles in comfort and at a decent speed.

Probably more info than Fab Foodie wanted but he has one hanging in his shed and I think the BET frameset has a reputation good enough to warrant keeping them going.

All good things come to an end I suppose.  I just wish it had done this before I spent all that money on it.

Lunchtime, this afternoon, paid a visit to local Tip. (I needed to make some room in Garage for new arrival)

So long.



I guess this concludes the British Eagle chapter.  I'm off to Condor tomorrow, to collect my new Fratello.

The Ribble build, using the old components from the BE, is a real success.  I'm really pleased with it.

[Blah]

That is such a sad sight. RIP.

[Salvatore]

Very sad. RIP LEE's bike.

My old Holdsworth Mistral (1981 - 1989)* only lasted 8 years, but for that time it was my commuter, weekend bike, tourer in the Western Highlands, Germany and all over Ireland, and I rode my first 400s and 600 on it. It met a similar fate to LEE's when I moved house in 1994, but I couldn't bear to see it go completely, so I saved a bit for posterity. I've still got it.



* I know it was 1981 because I built the bike up on the Sunday afternoon of the Edgbaston test (Australia 121 all out, I. T. Botham 5 for 11), and I know it met its demise in 1989 because when I found the terminal crack in the frame I had to press a different less suitable bike into service for my first crack at the  Chepstow-Anglesey-Chepstow (as the BCM was known) and then the LEL.

[MSeries]

And who built frames for Graham Weigh in the mid 90s? Terry Dolan, apparently!

I bought my Dolan from GrahamWeighCycles despite it saying Ribblecycles on the chainstay. Way back when, when bikes were steel, Ribble used to sell Graham Weigh branded bikes.

But anyway, just rode my new bike into the city, down hill and up, it's fine.

[gene hunt]

And who built frames for Graham Weigh in the mid 90s? Terry Dolan, apparently!

I bought my Dolan from GrahamWeighCycles despite it saying Ribblecycles on the chainstay. Way back when, when bikes were steel, Ribble used to sell Graham Weigh branded bikes.

But anyway, just rode my new bike into the city, down hill and up, it's fine.

Mine was also from GrahamWeighCycles (ebay), I have heard that Terry Dolan has fallen out with Ribble cycles hence why the lastest batch has Terry Dolan stickers on the chainstay over the top of the Ribble ones.

[Pip]

I'm trying to visualise that lower pedal at its lowest point. Is there much clearance between pedal and road?

I'm not sure I'd like to take a corner at speed if it's fixed gear 

speed? who said anything about speed? 

[rogerzilla]

At least with a carbon bike you can go for a (smoky, polluting) Viking funeral 

[LEE]

No more bikes now.

I've got what I want and what I need.

Single-Speed / Fixed Orbit
Long-distance camping/ load-hauler - Thorn Raven Rohloff
Folder - Dahon 7 speed hub-gear
Utility bike - Converted Saracen MTB
MTB - GT
Winter "Trainer" (fast Audax bike) - Ribble

and now, my Audax bike



Condor Fratello.
Shimano 105 Black spec.
Mavic Aksium wheelset

That's it.

Done

[ed_o_brain]

That's quite a number of bikes.
Excluding tandems and quad cycles, that's two more then me!

[DrMekon]

it's appeared on the thread before, but not in my garden..


thanks for letting me buy it, Blah!!  

I was riding along and caught myself gawping at a Moulton, then suddenly it struck me - "hey that's Mike's Moulton", with you attached, obviously. Thanks for the go on it. As I said, what a lovely ride. The suspension felt brilliant, and it seemed to fly along.

[GruB]

No more bikes now.

I've got what I want and what I need.

Single-Speed / Fixed Orbit
Long-distance camping/ load-hauler - Thorn Raven Rohloff
Folder - Dahon 7 speed hub-gear
Utility bike - Converted Saracen MTB
MTB - GT
Winter "Trainer" (fast Audax bike) - Ribble

and now, my Audax bike



Condor Fratello.
Shimano 105 Black spec.
Mavic Aksium wheelset

That's it.

Done

That looks good Lee.  Is that the only pic you have?

[Andrew Br]

Done

That looks good Lee.  Is that the only pic you have?
[/quote]

LOL but, pot, kettle ? 

[LEE]

No more bikes now.

I've got what I want and what I need.

Single-Speed / Fixed Orbit
Long-distance camping/ load-hauler - Thorn Raven Rohloff
Folder - Dahon 7 speed hub-gear
Utility bike - Converted Saracen MTB
MTB - GT
Winter "Trainer" (fast Audax bike) - Ribble

and now, my Audax bike



Condor Fratello.
Shimano 105 Black spec.
Mavic Aksium wheelset

That's it.

Done

That looks good Lee.  Is that the only pic you have?

Grub, you know the answer to that.

 

[MSeries]

So what do they ride like?

It rides very well. Did about 65 miles today in near perfect condition. Doesn't feel like a cheap bike. perhaps it was the condition or my long rest (I would have thought I'd lost some fitness) but it was easier to pedal than it's predecessor, felt like a smaller gear though it isn't.  I'm well pleased with it.

[ed_o_brain]

So what do they ride like?

It rides very well. Did about 65 miles today in near perfect condition. Doesn't feel like a cheap bike. perhaps it was the condition or my long rest (I would have thought I'd lost some fitness) but it was easier to pedal than it's predecessor, felt like a smaller gear though it isn't.  I'm well pleased with it.

How much does it weigh?


I'm wondering about this as a possible cyclescheme bike.. if I can get one from somewhere on the cyclescheme.

[GruB]

Done

That looks good Lee.  Is that the only pic you have?

LOL but, pot, kettle ? 


[/quote]

I have been rumbled 

[dasmoth]

The new tourer (thanks Mike!) soaking up some October sunshine:

It will probably acquire some front luggage-carrying capacity at some point, but maybe not 'til next spring now.

[MSeries]

What's going on with that rack. It's top heavy surely ?

[Really Ancien]

The rear disc caliper mount probably prevents it being mounted lower, looks like a bit of a bodge.

Damon.

[dasmoth]

What's going on with that rack. It's top heavy surely ?

It was the one I had!  And the braze-ons are a little higher up the seat stays than on some other frames.  Perhaps it's riding slightly high, but it's not a problem to ride, and it's attached securely.  Photographing it with the rack-pack but no panniers probably exaggerates things a bit.

[MSeries]

I see the eyelets higher up and perhaps they are to clear the disc mounts. If it was mine, I'd see about a custom/shorter rack before I used it with loaded panniers or something heavy on top (I wouldn't use panniers and anything heavy on top).

[GruB]

Lovely pic too 

[Charlotte]

I har' mainly been a-fettlin' this weekend.  Having been on commuting duties for some considerable time, Rosie (Julian's Thorn Brevet) was in dire need of a complete strip-down, service and rebuild.  She's had new front and rear mechs, inner/outer cables, bar tape and chain, as well as the clean of her life:



Whilst I was down at the SEEKRIT BUNKER, I also spent a little time finishing off her Dolan fixie, Ollie.  He's now sporting some carbon forks and a new back wheel (On-One hub on a Chrina rim).  At the moment, he's running a borrowed front wheel until I can build up a suitable one to match the rear.  But very pimpy, nonetheless:

[MSeries]

So what do they ride like?

It rides very well. Did about 65 miles today in near perfect condition. Doesn't feel like a cheap bike. perhaps it was the condition or my long rest (I would have thought I'd lost some fitness) but it was easier to pedal than it's predecessor, felt like a smaller gear though it isn't.  I'm well pleased with it.

How much does it weigh?


I'm wondering about this as a possible cyclescheme bike.. if I can get one from somewhere on the cyclescheme.

Don't know how much it weighs, sorry. I'm not a weight weenie

[gene hunt]

So what do they ride like?

It rides very well. Did about 65 miles today in near perfect condition. Doesn't feel like a cheap bike. perhaps it was the condition or my long rest (I would have thought I'd lost some fitness) but it was easier to pedal than it's predecessor, felt like a smaller gear though it isn't.  I'm well pleased with it.

How much does it weigh?


I'm wondering about this as a possible cyclescheme bike.. if I can get one from somewhere on the cyclescheme.

Mine is around 21lbs with mudguards and pedals.