One of my brothers, who lives in Teesside, did his first Audax (Shyumu's 50k) with me in September. He did it on what I charitably call a farm-gate. I think he is hooked, because he asked me to recommend a bike that would be lighter and faster. He has no real experience of bikes other than commuting on the gate which is a "ride to work scheme" bike. He was thinking about a Carrera that Halfords had on offer but I asked him to wait until I'd had a word with Torslanda of this parish. Here is the result:-
It's freshly powder-coated Raleigh 531 frame, with a mixture of new and used components. It's getting a new seat-post, a new headset lock-nut and I expect bro. to change the pedals once he's got used to the bike (he's only ever ridden pedals with no clips or cleats).
I think Torslanda has wrought a minor miracle here and brought the whole thing in at substantially under £300. It really flies and I can't wait to get it up to Teesside.
I'm not in the least surprised that Torslanda's been able to get through his first year of running his shop in a lousy economic climate. He's very good! If you live in the Manchesterford area, or anywhere really, and you want something that does the job, is well set-up but doesn't have to have come from a showroom, give him a try!
Peter
