My granddaughter's bicycle is ready for her 7th birthday in June. It's an early post-war BSA "Parabike" for a girl, except I've modified it with a colour of her choice (it was a rather nice dusty blue colour, but not what the lady wanted) and more importantly I've fitted a Sturmey Archer 4 speed FW gear hub of 1952 vintage. Also I've made a sheepskin saddle cover, as the original saddle underneath (blue) is a bit tatty. As I've recounted previously, I stupidly threw an important part away during the work - the spindle of all things! This had to be re-made to dimensions that took me ages to calculate / guess and draw. It all seems to work, but said granddaughter hasn't road tested it yet. She's an unwitting joint member of the Veteran-Cycle Club (not sure if she's the youngest) and I hope to take her and the bike along to a Parabike meet in Kent on 9th June.
The work has been a a fairly steep learning curve for me, but mainly enjoyable. A silly amount of money has been spent, but I don't care. My granddaughter said that her granddaughter will ride it too one day! She's very good at saying the right thing.
The work has been a a fairly steep learning curve for me, but mainly enjoyable. A silly amount of money has been spent, but I don't care. My granddaughter said that her granddaughter will ride it too one day! She's very good at saying the right thing.
