Your oldest audax bikes

[chilipapa]

Humour me, anyone ride audax on old bikes and if so what and how old.
I for some reason become emotionaly attached to my bikes and I have a 58 Lenton I think should be put to work - well I will have when I get some new wheels.
I just thought it would spice up short events, but I'm simple like that.
Got any pics to look at when I get back home

[AndyH]

Have a look at this

Tasty Cheddar Audax 2nd October 2010

Mr Buck spices up long events  

[border-rider]

I've done a few 200s & 300s  on my (now another forummer's) 1952 curly Hetchins, including the Elenith.  I did the Mille Cymru on a c1983 Harry Hall.

[chilipapa]

Blimey. I could understand using that to escape from the germans, but not for pleasure.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Did a couple of 200s and PBP in 2003 on a 1965 Duomatic Moulton and did a fixed SR on it in 2006. Rode a fair chunk of my 2009 brevets on an early '80s Fuji touring bike, downtube shifters, exposed brake cables, halfstep + granny gearing and all.

[Chris S]

I can't compete with the others, but this year I will mostly be riding a reconditioned 1985 Dawes Scorpio.

Yeah, I know - barely out of warranty...

[Simonb]

Once spring has sprung, I ride all mine on a 1990 Eddy Merckx Corsa Extra.



'tis bloody lovely.

[The Borg]

25 year old-ish Raleigh Classic touring bike.  Still with orginal handlebars,stem, brakes, levers, gear shifter, brooks saddle, rack. seat pin.  Now upgraded from the original 15 speed to 27 speed.  Still my Audax weapon of choice on the those miserable winter days but replaced by my 10 year old new fangled Al framed bike when the sun comes out 

[vorsprung]

I'd rather like a 1918-1939 racing bike
Between the wars the tours went on shit roads, they must have had big tyres- and the few photos I've found seem to confirm this. 

[Greenbank]

Oldest has been an early 90's Colnago Master on the Golden Tints 200 a few years back:-

[roddalitz]

... I have a 58 Lenton ...

My 1959 Lenton Sports unfortunately died in 1964 when I piled it into the back of a parked car, doing £10 worth of damage. I remember it well, and the hassle of acquiring it, and especially the four-speed rear block, and the two speed chainwheel with lever changer down the seat tube. And of course the two aluminium bottles mounted on the bars ...

[chilipapa]

Ah mine might be going to pastures new very soon.
Still my 'proper' audax bike is all new kit hung on a 93/94 MBK steel frame.

[jogler]

a 1986 Longstaff built by TheManHimself

[salar55]

Done a few audaxs up to a 400 on a 1963 flying scot i picked up for £60 in the  late eighties. A bit on the heavy side  but i liked it. Must try it again sometime.

[Ian H]

My 60s Holdsworth (now with 80s Dave Marsh forks) is a good fixed machine. It got me round the 99 PBP and still gets used more often than the other bikes.

[Alouicious]

I'd rather like a 1918-1939 racing bike
Between the wars the tours went on shit roads, they must have had big tyres- and the few photos I've found seem to confirm this.  

How much would you give for a 1937 Claude Butler Tour D'Angleterre 531 three speed Simplex with the chain tensioner below the bottom bracket?

Unfortunately, the wooden lookylikey sprint rims* got damaged while the bike was under a pile of old car parts in my Uncles workshop. They are now a vintage pair of Milremo.

As ridden by members of the Royal Air Force cycling team.

After some research years ago, the original price of the bike was £18. I'm hoping to make at least 10000% on it, if I ever come to sell it.

[brownster]

Well I am pretty much in love with my old Claude Butler 1980's 10 speed racer. It has a leather 'Wrights' saddle and it is so comfortable, if it had arms it would be in the living room!
My modern 27spd BH racer is going for sale this year as it's just too uncomfortable on long rides, and now I'm pimping up this old girl 
Was out on it on Wednesday enjoying a beautiful day when 'ping' the down tube shifter exploded into pieces. I had to grin as I was only reading a post the other day about how there's less to go wrong with such a simple set up. Luckily I was carrying zip ties and managed to fix it up to get me home 
That aside I see myself riding the old girl for a long time - would like to get some strong wheels though as these ones are just cheapies.

Wayne.

[jogler]

There's many a good tune played on an old fiddle

[GraemeMcC]

There's many a good tune played on an old fiddle

Aah, but you have to be careful where and when you play...

I rode my ever-so-comfy (and ever-so-sturdy) 1975 Falcon Route (2 race-level models up from the famous Black Diamond tourer) on the Camb"rain" 600 in 2009. Alas, it poured for 30 out of 36 hours, and the Flying Falcon became the Flailing Falcon after its bottom bracket threads succumbed to excess corrosion, and couldn't clasp onto a bb cartridge.
(I found this snag out 250k into the Borderline 600, somewhere near Otterburn. Overcame the drifting chainset problem by packing out the gap between left crank and bb set with a plastic wrapper from a flapjack, plus a few zip-ties. This "fix" got the event done, then had to be repeated when my attempt to Araldite the bb in place failed, 50km into the Humber 400.)

Since a new LEL/PBP machine was supposed to be in the off-ing (another story of problematic "enigmatic" frame suppliers - for a different thread) I took the decision to "retire" the Falcon - the first bike I'd bought, new, when I was 13 yrs old. It was merely 531 Plain Gauge and, in touring mode, had a shimmy to die for (or die on!)

I'll clean the frame up and mount it on the dining room wall, perhaps...
Can't throw it away though - that frame got me up Mont Ventoux and completed La Marmotte as well as 2 x SR series, a LE-JOG and a Camino de Santiago de Compostella.

So, it is sadly missed. Great machine for cruising long distances and dealing with AAAs.

[mikedrums]

Blimey. I could understand using that to escape from the germans, but not for pleasure.

LOL pretty, and much sought after frame tho

[Littlesox]

Oldest has been an early 90's Colnago Master on the Golden Tints 200 a few years back:-

Mmmmm....tis a thing of beauty

[LittleWheelsandBig]

A 1954 Claud Butler New All Rounder, black with gold pin lining. Half-step gearing with the front mech changing with a lever on the seat tube. The 48/22 bottom gear wasn't really doing it for me on the white roads. It needed plenty of walking during L'Eroica once the uphills steepened too much past 10%. The reverse action Cyclo rear mech caught me out a few times (push lever forward for low gear).

[Socks]

I've done a few audaxes on 1960's Moulton F-frame bikes, although they have been modernised with newer components and alloy rims so that I can stop when it's wet. 

I did a sportive from Penrith earlier this year, on a Moulton Mk3 updated with a six speed freewheel and a 62 tooth chainwheel.  90% of the other participants seemed to be on newish racing type bikes, they were a bit puzzled by what looked like a folding bike with 16" wheels.

If I've done the link correctly there's a picture here: www.flickr.com/photos/velocio/3870842815

[Doo]

I thought my 2009 Focus Cayo was old ....

[SJR]

I only started audax this year but during 2012 I'd been slowing reconstructing a Claud Butler Majestic that I bought new in 1981, my first 'bought with my own money' bike.  It seemed only fitting, once he'd been Mercian sprayed and fully kitted out with retro 80s parts, inc 27 inch wheels and downtube shifters, to let him get back to what he's best at.  Long, lazy miles.  We did an SR together between March and June.  We're doing another one next year and plan to travel to Granada too.