I have never had any luck with Raleighs. My first was a Raleigh Chopper Mk1 back in the 70's. It was rubbish but I rode to Tamworth and Halesowen from Sheldon on it, later while at secondary school I heard about others who had bought their bikes at component level, the concept was lost on me. I knew I wanted bigger gears but was told they weren't available and that I should learn to pedal faster - another reference to real cycling. My next bike was 26" wheel racer bought from my brother's girlfriend (she was tall) it wasn't very good but when eventually I moved my daily commute from 8 miles there and back to 12 and 14 miles and then graduated to riding to Birmingham to visit family (45 miles each way) I knew I wanted something better. At this point I had picked up various bits of cycling information from work, I was surrounded by hard cyclists (Peter Coulson among them) and the values seeped in as well. I bought a second hand Dawes Galaxy from a workmate and put some miles on it, enough to know this was streets ahead of anything I had come across before. It was too big for me but after considering having a frame built, I found that a new Dawes Galaxy with a triple front chainring and caliper brakes would fit the bill; >22 years later I still have it and tour on it. However Oakley Cycles of Northampton tried to push a Raleigh Royal or something similar on me, but I wanted the Dawes. I too was made in Birmingham. That was 1988. And so it remained until I started to fancy a change and looked at other bicycles, what I ended up with was random and governed by circumstances rather than intention. I bought a £10 bike from the local tip badged as a Raleigh Scirocco, turned it into a fixed gear in 2004 it was a harsh ride and heavy, the frame alone weighed 6 pounds. I bought another Raleigh, a hybrid, another £10 but with a 531 sticker. When I got it home and stripped it, it must have been sitting in a river - the internals of the frame were the rustiest I have ever seen. Most of the frame was returned to the tip but the forks were surprisingly good; 531! I used them on the fixed gear and it made a vast improvement. I bought another Raleigh, 531 again, this time for £5 it had beed driven over or crashed. The forks were chromed and rusty, after blasting and powder coating they ended up on the Archie Wilkinson. The crankset was sold on ebay for £2.50 and the tubes are on my shelf for the day I get the oxygen bottle filled and can start brazing them into something unusual. The next Raleigh was a mountain bike, 531 frame tubes and probably plain gauge, £10 from the tip; the stays and forks were only cromoly but it was a nice bike and used regularly until some twat opened his door without looking. I went up in the air and landed on my right elbow. It hurt for 18 months, the damage done to my trapped hand and other bruises on my leg and hip went away much more quickly. However when the bike hit the road it landed on the rear left hand cantilever and broke the braze joint from the pivot to the bracket, I hadn't noticed and only claimed for bent bars. I advise everyone go with the ambulance chasers, dealing with that insurance company was a most unpleasant experience and in particular one obnoxious, aggressive person. I wish I could remember his name, I could lambast him from the safety of my keyboard but blogs weren't invented then; "Was the jacket new? We don't replace worn jackets". Also report the accident to the police, you have been injured and there is a requirement under UK law to do so. In this case after initially admitting liability to me, he changed his story to his insurance company. The police involvement persuaded him to change it back. That broken cantilever pivot and the dings where his door edge hit the bike frame meant I only got £10 for it on ebay, I still have the wheels, they went in the rusty bike and are now intended for the John Fern. Raleigh trouble doesn't end there, if you refer to the A S Gillot entry, that was a sheep in wolf's clothing, another 6 pound (heavy) frame, and a lot of money wasted. One Raleigh wasn't trouble; I bought a Raleigh Zenith, a ladies' framed bicycle with 27" wheels and very low mileage - again for £10 down the tip. It was a 501 frame and in contrast to a different situation, I had no qualms about gutting it. The wheels went into the R. E. W. Reynolds and were a perfect fit. I have yet to reuse the chainset but most of the other bits will go onto the Clubman - but before I get to that let me tell you about the Raleigh Record Ace. I spotted this on ebay, it was my size 21", with a £120 starting bid or buy it now for £150. No choice really, why save £30 and lose it - so I bought it. The seller said he had had lots of calls querying the frame number or this finicky detail or that finicky detail you know what people are like. There were no stickers and that's what threw them. Were they blind? It jumped out at you! I bought it and was delighted. At last a deal! I rode it round the block, but wanted to change some bits that didn't suit me, the stem, saddle and gearing. Here's the dilemma, it was a low mileage, immaculate (some surface rust under the paint - I notice a lot of 80's bikes have this rust problem, even my Dawes Galaxy and that Zenith I mentioned earlier) - but more importantly 100% original! I was torn, what was I supposed to do? I chose to sell it on ebay and let someone else benefit rather than muck it around. How stupid am I? Where did I get this philosophy? Years of looking at restored bicycles while others are changing theirs willy-nilly and stripping them for parts. I could have made money selling it for parts, or if I had kept it and made the changes I wanted I would have a lovely bike now which suits me. This will not happen again. Another Raleigh I bought was a very old one, it was striking when I saw it and bought it even though I could see problems. I had it blasted and powder coated in matt black, rode it round for about a year and sold it due to the harsh ride. It had borrowed wheels from a donor bike in Birmingham, (which is still hanging there), a Wrights saddle I paid £4 for at the tip, and some leather-faced brake blocks recovered from the Shayler, I think (they are the only way to stop a bike with steel rims). It went on ebay collection only for £40; the powder coating cost £25. I'm glad to be rid of it. The Raleigh Clubman frame and forks came off ebay for around £65 and had been restored although not professionally, the transfers are nice, it's from around 1959 but (there is always a but with Raleighs) the rear mudguard mounting brackets are broken both sides. I will do it up as a fixed gear, but I am pretty sure I will sell the Clubman. (Sold it 2015 for £85 having rebuilt a pair of wheels, bought new tyres, restored original pedals and cranks and other sundries), Finally and I hope I have learned my lesson, though I doubt it, I bought another Record Ace, this time with no emotional baggage or anything else, a frame and forks only for £29 plus postage. The forks weren't 531 and the frame when I examined it had been in a front end smash, hence the non-matching forks. And it was too big for me. I sold it for £19 but kept some bits, I can reuse the leather Brooks handlebar tape and maybe the front derailleur. I just remembered have bought and sold two Raleigh Stowaways on ebay, I didn't lose on either, in fact I made money on the second. I was inspired by the Sheldon Brown article on them and wanted to do something similar, but didn't; they gave a harsh ride and I didn't want to waste time and still be left with a harsh ride. (I remember advertising the first one and an objectionable ebayer with a number of 0 (that's zero, he only registered to raise objections and has not bought or sold anything), called bromptonbicycle messaged me and threatened to have my listing removed because of keyword spamming. I had used those two words in the ad saying if you can't afford one of those consider this it's really cheap. Since it was not in the title it's not spamming but I was not going to argue I just wanted to sell this folding bicycle. However it did create a bad taste in my mouth and soured my opinion of Brompton enough for me to avoid their products entirely; I suspect that whoever gave him that task has also done their company's image no good at all with others).
So in conclusion, I really should avoid Raleighs (and Bromptons) completely in future. See here.
Thursday, 5 July 2012
Monday, 7 November 2011
John Fern 653
I bought this on eBay, I think I got it for a good price (£65) it was one of those listings that I came across by accident and it seemed to have been overlooked by others judging by the low page views. I bought it first on the basis of the photo and then looked for more information. I found this on cyclechat from Feb 2010 in response to an enquiry:
"Sadly no, John took is own life three or four years ago and the shop has gone. I have a couple of his bikes in my collection. John ran his shop alone so I'm not aware of anyone you could contact. Both my bikes are 70's custom builds for people in the local area who have passed them on to on to me for my Leicestershire built bikes collection. Both are 531 Reynolds frames and forks. However, I'm not sure how much frame building John did, they could have been made locally by Barry Bond who retired from the cycling business years ago but I still see occasionally. An elderly chap we know just called in for a cup of tea and I found out the following. John didn't make any frames but bought most of his from Melor Clarke - a long since gone cycle wholesaler in Leicester. They had all their frames made by various factories in Birmingham. My two bikes, being one off specials, had hand made frames by Barry Bond."
It is partly chromed, which I don't like (a hydrogen embrittlement risk I read) and there is some rust on both frame and forks since chrome plating is porous. I have also found as the result of using electrolysis to remove rust from old steel items that you must not use this method to remove chrome plating as it produces hexavalent chrome in the electrolyte. To remove the chrome plating use sulphuric acid, or hydrochloric acid.
The frame and forks are a close fit for 700C (obviously being a competition bike but looking at my pile of bits I find that the MTB wheels from my rusty bike (now down the tip) will fit nicely, coupled with some BMX brakes and I have an alternative hybrid!*
I have discovered that a wire wheel on a 1200W angle grinder removes paint, rust and leaves behind frame tubes. I have finished the front forks with Smoothrite. More later 31/11/2012
uploaded a photo or two 15/07/2012 See here.
30/06/2016 *Fear not, I have abandoned the 26" MTB wheels idea for this bike, I tried them out on the Orbit which I finished first and didn't like them. They are now on an unbranded Reynolds 525 frame and forks, the Orbit will have 700C and so will this John Fern, I have decided to brush paint the frame black and then flat it with Scotchbrite, I got the idea from Build or Bust. I hope more progress n 2016.
30/12/2016 Domestic tasks distracted me this year, I started but didn't finish. Watch out for progress in 2017!
25/09/2017 Things are not looking good for free time. I will update in 2018.
"Sadly no, John took is own life three or four years ago and the shop has gone. I have a couple of his bikes in my collection. John ran his shop alone so I'm not aware of anyone you could contact. Both my bikes are 70's custom builds for people in the local area who have passed them on to on to me for my Leicestershire built bikes collection. Both are 531 Reynolds frames and forks. However, I'm not sure how much frame building John did, they could have been made locally by Barry Bond who retired from the cycling business years ago but I still see occasionally. An elderly chap we know just called in for a cup of tea and I found out the following. John didn't make any frames but bought most of his from Melor Clarke - a long since gone cycle wholesaler in Leicester. They had all their frames made by various factories in Birmingham. My two bikes, being one off specials, had hand made frames by Barry Bond."
It is partly chromed, which I don't like (a hydrogen embrittlement risk I read) and there is some rust on both frame and forks since chrome plating is porous. I have also found as the result of using electrolysis to remove rust from old steel items that you must not use this method to remove chrome plating as it produces hexavalent chrome in the electrolyte. To remove the chrome plating use sulphuric acid, or hydrochloric acid.
The frame and forks are a close fit for 700C (obviously being a competition bike but looking at my pile of bits I find that the MTB wheels from my rusty bike (now down the tip) will fit nicely, coupled with some BMX brakes and I have an alternative hybrid!*
I have discovered that a wire wheel on a 1200W angle grinder removes paint, rust and leaves behind frame tubes. I have finished the front forks with Smoothrite. More later 31/11/2012
uploaded a photo or two 15/07/2012 See here.
30/06/2016 *Fear not, I have abandoned the 26" MTB wheels idea for this bike, I tried them out on the Orbit which I finished first and didn't like them. They are now on an unbranded Reynolds 525 frame and forks, the Orbit will have 700C and so will this John Fern, I have decided to brush paint the frame black and then flat it with Scotchbrite, I got the idea from Build or Bust. I hope more progress n 2016.
30/12/2016 Domestic tasks distracted me this year, I started but didn't finish. Watch out for progress in 2017!
25/09/2017 Things are not looking good for free time. I will update in 2018.
22/11/2020 Things still not looking good for free time, bringing new bikes in and jumping the queue. I still have hopes.
Tuesday, 19 July 2011
Sunday, 24 April 2011
A S GILLOTT (scrapped)
or not.. I bought the frame and forks on ebay and discovered why there were only two bids. I couldn't get the frame numbers to match the numbering system online. The lugs were not at all fancy, it weighed in at six pounds, had machine-formed ends internal to the tubes, and old Raleigh bottom bracket and steering head threads at 26 TPI. I couldn't even put it on the road, (I had a matching Raleigh frame which lacks bottom bracket bearings). To make it worse the rear chainstay dropout had somehow been spread and the stamping (no cast lugs here) had broken and been repaired at an earlier time. The purchase price and postage costs were wasted as the frame and forks are now down the tip. I will try and sell the head badge on ebay.
"The cracks started to show when some less than deserving frames came in for part-exchange and Harry saw them re-appear from the enamellers with Gillott badges and transfers on them." http://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/gillott5.html I found the A S Gillot name on the frame under a coat of paint and until I read the above, this was the one bit I couldn't explain.
I have learned a lesson and from now on will thin out the pile of stuff I have collected over the years. The most frustrating thing about all of this is that I was seduced by a name. It had a high starting price which suggested some intrinsic value. The description was all about the memories of the bike which he said was a present. However it was neither an A S Gillot nor was it a lightweight. Worse things have happened but I am still annoyed with myself for falling for this.
I found some photos which I have posted in the Trouble With Raleighs album in Flickr. By the way, the headbadge sold for £24 plus postage. There is something wrong with the world, my problem was caused by Gillot's standards dropping and me ending up with a rebadged raleigh. Others remove headbadges to collect which end up for sale on eBay. People buy headbadges on eBay to restore their Gillot which had its headbadge removed. So yes, I am part of the problem, perhaps I should have destroyed it like so much ivory but I didn't. https://www.flickr.com/photos/61001946@N06/sets/72157632649770490/ Sorry.
"The cracks started to show when some less than deserving frames came in for part-exchange and Harry saw them re-appear from the enamellers with Gillott badges and transfers on them." http://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/gillott5.html I found the A S Gillot name on the frame under a coat of paint and until I read the above, this was the one bit I couldn't explain.
I have learned a lesson and from now on will thin out the pile of stuff I have collected over the years. The most frustrating thing about all of this is that I was seduced by a name. It had a high starting price which suggested some intrinsic value. The description was all about the memories of the bike which he said was a present. However it was neither an A S Gillot nor was it a lightweight. Worse things have happened but I am still annoyed with myself for falling for this.
I found some photos which I have posted in the Trouble With Raleighs album in Flickr. By the way, the headbadge sold for £24 plus postage. There is something wrong with the world, my problem was caused by Gillot's standards dropping and me ending up with a rebadged raleigh. Others remove headbadges to collect which end up for sale on eBay. People buy headbadges on eBay to restore their Gillot which had its headbadge removed. So yes, I am part of the problem, perhaps I should have destroyed it like so much ivory but I didn't. https://www.flickr.com/photos/61001946@N06/sets/72157632649770490/ Sorry.
Saturday, 22 January 2011
R. E. W. REYNOLDS (scrapped)
This bike ended up being ridden the most last year (2010). I bought it as a frame and forks only from ebay for a small sum, local pickup in Northampton (yes, we have one in the UK too). Unusually, I didn't immediately rip it to bits, have it blasted and build it into a new one.
more later 22/01/2011
this photograph is the state of it after riding through the winter.
07/11/2011 Doesn't time fly, I've had a really busy year and not done much cycling. I stripped the REW part way and made it serviceable, replacing the front derailleur which failed to fit the R T Shayler, rubbing back the induced rust to bare metal and touching up with Smoothrite, fitting some bottle cages, a saddlebag, a new seatpost (it's 26.4 diameter) and cleaning off the crud. It looks functional now and is ready for my massive daily commute of 4 x 0.9 miles (I come home for lunch). I have to say that it is not 531, because of the seat tube diameter (and it being hand built there is probably some chrome and molybdenum in the steel). As a kid, a guy at work went to see Mr Reynolds and was measured up for a bike there. I read an article in the A5 Rangers' newsletter about a tandem modification using Mr Reynolds' old brazing jig, also the life president of the A5 Rangers and his wife have REW Reynolds touring bicycles - which is where I first heard of him and why I bought the frame and forks on eBay for the princely sum of £5. I am a big fan of 531 which this is not and the forks give quite a harsh ride but it protects a nicer bike from the winter crud. I have a set of forks which would fit, they would improve the ride but then the conflicts of originality vs function act on my guilt. We will see. Some photos here.
That said the lugs are fairly decorative and I have had worse, heavier, harsher bikes in the past so I know when not to complain too much. Interestingly I am getting quite a few hits on this site with people searching for info on REW Reynolds.
I will add more in future, perhaps adding what history I can find.
Latest news, since buying my latest Marin Muirwoods I have no need for this bike. I also bought a Richmond frame and forks from ebay with exactly the same geometry and am currently transferring components from the REW to the Richmond. Considering the poor ride quality (harsh), the weight (frame 5lbs or 2265g forks 828g these are really the problem) and the lack of space (I'm a cycleholic) it has to go. In my defence there are quite a few REWs out there and the ones that survive are the good ones and if you don't want to hate me, think of me as a wolf and this frame and forks as a weak caribou. Perhaps it's high caribou steel? Anyway taking it to bits to recover components for the Richmond, I found stones in the bottom bracket compartment (the bb itself was protected by a plastic sleeve but the stones came from my young son dropping them in through the seat tube; he can be seen in one of the photos).
FYI the number on both frame and forks is 1791.
Friday, 20 August 2010
RUSTY BIKE (scrapped)
I saw a Build or Bust episode where Joe Magliato finished his frame with rust. He used a welding torch to heat the frame and then wiped it with something, I suspect it was hydrogen peroxide.
(the site no longer exists)
I had no available torch or peroxide but I had read this article I had a spare MTB frame, forks, stem and a pair of unchromed north road bars all blasted (by Bournes Powder Coaters in Birmingham)
Now I needed it to rust and further searching on the net turned up that the trick was to wipe the surface with warm salty water, this done the finish was perfect.
However I should have washed it with distilled water (rainwater would have done) but didn't. The frame began to revert from the dark protective magnetite to fluffy soft red rust, haematite.
By this time I had finished and was riding it. I remembered something else I read and used aluminium foil with the mordant solution to scrub the frame tubes and then wash off the residue with rainwater. That seems to have done the trick, it has lasted weeks and I now have to apply similar treatment to other parts of the frame when time allows.
Decomber 25th 2010 since that time the frame rust has developed in an interesting way. Red rust colonized the frame but then over time flaked off like a scab to reveal the proper finish I sought underneath. A further complication is that where I spaced the front derailleur with 1 mm thick lead, I created an electrochemical cell which has caused the seat tube (only) to continue to corrode in a spectacular fashion. I intend to change the spacer for a plastic one when time permits. I will also paste additional photos.
Other inspiration came my Dad's steel shovel which formed a firm oxide surface even though it's been outside in my garden for over 20 years, chains on kids' swings in playgrounds which never seemed to go red rusty. But for intentional rust, "rust is not a crime" Mike Burroughs' rusty BMW here really was the tipping point.
Which leads me to a man with a similar name, Mike Burrows, his book Bicycle Design, describes using shorter cranks - down to 120 mm - so I've been using 150 mm steel cranks (taken from a neighbours kid's bike - after he chucked it) and I can confirm they are good fun, although your knees notice the difference.
And I just came across a whole house based on rusty steel (28/05/2011)
I had some favourable comments about the bike, which is interesting as my other bikes are better (more expensive) and conventionally prettier (painted or chromed).
I've created a Flickr page for this and other bikes
The experiment is ended, I dismantled the bike and took it to the tip for recycling. I felt slightly guilty as it was a working bike which rode well and had I the inclination I could have removed the rust, used some of that new-fangled paint and made it good. Sadly I am aware of my mortality and I have a huge number of unfinished tasks, I don't want this so I will have to repress the guilt and move on. Maybe I should rewrite this post in the style of a scientific experiment from school, equipment, method, results, conclusions (another task - see!) but not tonight. More later 07/11/2011
I can say in conclusion that although it was possible to get quite a nice patina, it was difficult to maintain it in a British environment. I can also say that the things that I found most frustrating were the way rust would eat away wherever water was trapped and that parts would weld together. I didn't like the way it spread, rusty water would drip and colonize areas that wouldn't rust on a normal bicycle. Sacrificial corrosion of plated items occurred which meant those parts had to be scrapped when the bicycle was dismantled. Some people reading this may think of COR-TEN steel which doesn't behave like this but it does, if you read the design guides water traps should be designed out and dissimilar metals should be avoided.
Keeping the finish is like balancing a pencil, it's possible but it takes a lot of effort; and I have other things to do. The wheels will be used for another project, they came off a Raleigh MTB.
Although the bike has met its maker a long time ago evidenced here, http://www.flickr.com/photos/61001946@N06/7573669300/in/photostream you can go up a level and look at the collection rust in the landscape.
In 2013 the topic still interests me and I came across this article today http://phys.org/news/2013-01-scientists-iron-eating-bacteria-electrons.html the bacteria only respond to electrons of the same frequency, others aren't so tasty perhaps.
It never stops, The first recorded use of rust as a color name in English was in 1692. A search on that lead me to http://www.beautytrainingstudio.co.uk/History-Of-Nails.html it was Cleopatra's favourite colour apparently. 05/10/2013
I sent an email to myself back in July 2012, I have just rediscovered it. The word is pyrophoric (fire-carrier) and here is the link http://survivaltopics.com/flint-and-steel-what-causes-the-sparks/ it turns out that there is a layer of rust slowing down oxidation but the temperature of the sparks is a factor of the surface area to volume ratio. 01/01/2014.
Since those heady days, I discovered electrolysis to remove rust from iron and steel and have used it extensively restoring lathes and tools. This album contains some interesting photos. I have noticed that as the steel starts to rust again after treatment it often forms the right type; magnetite. 25/09/2017
Just updated the entry due to broken links. 2021 May 4th. Bill Gates' divorce is the news of the day but there is an awful train crash in Mexico due to a bridge failure and India is suffering greatly due to COVID.
Saturday, 8 August 2009
R. T. SHAYLER (sold)
I picked up my R. T. Shayler for the princely sum of £10 at the local tip. The frame was chromed but rusty, the fancy lugs, wraparound seat stays and the cast dropouts caught my eye. I also spotted the wrong diameter seatpost and some shims bodged to make up the difference. It had cottered Milremo cranks, steel rims (700c), flattish bars and was pretty much the worse for wear.
I gutted the bike and kept only the frame and forks, both were stamped with matching numbers 621. There was swarf in the bottom bracket, I'm guessing from when a seat post was machined out - but I don't know. The 21" bare frame weighed about 4lbs 8oz and had seams so I guess it's 501 and some of that weight is the plating. The seat post diameter is 27mm.
The seat post bodge had caused damage to the top of the seat tube. I machined a 27 mm diameter slug of steel about 8" long with tapers at each end and tapped it into the tube. To move it back up, I drilled a 10mm hole in the bottom bracket and used a long drift. I also used the steel for support as I attempted to tap the tube circular again. If you hadn't read this and didn't look too hard you wouldn't notice it on the seat tube. But you have now and I can see it. Functionally there is no problem.
The wheels are the originals from my Dawes Galaxy, which were still fine. The rear dropout width on the Shayler was 123mm whilst the Galaxy rear was originally 126 so I machined some aluminium spacers and did some redishing which solved the problem. Hunting through my box of screw-on freewheels, I found a five-speed block. The largest sprocket was standard but because I like a very low bottom gear, I disassembled the 5-speed block and a 7-speed block and replaced the largest sprocket on the 5-speed with a 34-tooth sprocket from the 7-speed. Because the 7-speed was hyper glide, there were slight differences in the splines which I removed with a disc cutter.
I gutted the bike and kept only the frame and forks, both were stamped with matching numbers 621. There was swarf in the bottom bracket, I'm guessing from when a seat post was machined out - but I don't know. The 21" bare frame weighed about 4lbs 8oz and had seams so I guess it's 501 and some of that weight is the plating. The seat post diameter is 27mm.
The seat post bodge had caused damage to the top of the seat tube. I machined a 27 mm diameter slug of steel about 8" long with tapers at each end and tapped it into the tube. To move it back up, I drilled a 10mm hole in the bottom bracket and used a long drift. I also used the steel for support as I attempted to tap the tube circular again. If you hadn't read this and didn't look too hard you wouldn't notice it on the seat tube. But you have now and I can see it. Functionally there is no problem.
The wheels are the originals from my Dawes Galaxy, which were still fine. The rear dropout width on the Shayler was 123mm whilst the Galaxy rear was originally 126 so I machined some aluminium spacers and did some redishing which solved the problem. Hunting through my box of screw-on freewheels, I found a five-speed block. The largest sprocket was standard but because I like a very low bottom gear, I disassembled the 5-speed block and a 7-speed block and replaced the largest sprocket on the 5-speed with a 34-tooth sprocket from the 7-speed. Because the 7-speed was hyper glide, there were slight differences in the splines which I removed with a disc cutter.
I cleaned the frame of oil and grease and thoroughly masked it, screwing in sacrificial bottom bracket cups (with a machined internal spacer), sacrificial head set, stem sleeve and nut and 5mm screws in appropriate places (but they are 2BA! I now know), and then took it to Birmingham and had it blasted and powder coated in satin black.
Putting it on the road, the wheels were done already. One complication was that the bike was built as a five-speed, with a braze-on on the right of the downtube for the rear derailleur.
Initially I had a home-made suicide shifter for the 50/34 double you can see in the first photograph, I had to reach down and operate the shifter by hand. Since then I have changed the front chainring twice, first with a triple and lately (17/07/10) with a 42/28 Stronglight Impact double. It's whatever I have in the garage at the time. To make shifting slightly safer I now use a spoke to pull and push directly onto the derailleur. There is no return spring and its position is maintained by friction (from the cable tie). It is kept in place with a guide I made from various bits.
Who is R. T. Shayler? I had never heard of him but some searching turned up this link:
This is the only reference to bicycles produced by him that I can find. There is a Dick Shayler Trophy given by the Leamington C & A C.
The bike was given to a good friend Jason as a present in April 2011.
Its state at the time is shown in photo below. 32 mm tyres - there is loads of room for them with mudguard clearance and still there is no need for forming (indenting) the tubes to clear either the tyres or the chainset. Why can't you get frames like this today? Talking of chainsets there is a Stronglight 80 BCD double 48 / 32 with another version of a suicide shifter using a steel rod and some aerolastic. It works a treat! Also fitted a very light rack off a Bob Jackson tandem I owned briefly, and a plastic bottle cage.
(Carl Scheele discovered oxygen and I noted that his name has the same pronunciation. Perhaps the name Shayler has Swedish roots? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Wilhelm_Scheele)
05/07/14 Another RTS came up on ebay last week. It fetched a reasonable sum with a lot of interest which suggests some afficionados are out there.
17/09/17 Jason tired of the bike and asked did I want it back. Yes I did! It had had good use and showed some scars from this. I gutted it and started again, eventually I did it as a fixed gear using some components from the Archie Wilkinson which I retired in 2016. I have used it since, putting a few miles on the clock and it is a lovely ride, that Archie W frame was out of true and the tracking was off. Photos are in the updated album, one of the improvements I like is the bottle carriers, adapted with a sleeve to fit the stem instead of a seatpost. With winter approaching I will fit mudguards and lights. More later..
BTW since I first wrote this entry, I created a Flickr presence, the part that relates to this bicycle is here.
Update 2020 - I got it back from Jason, he had had some bother. I rebuilt it as fixed gear using the bits from the Archie Wilkinson. Rode it for a while, it's a nice ride but I sold this on ebay in 2019 for around £30. The buyer took the frame back to the chrome, changed it a bit and by accident I came across it and found he too sold it on ebay.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)