woodbutcher
Veteran
- Location
- S W France
Quite right and l am going to leave them as they are, after all whats 2.5 mm between friends (or legs)
BSA Tour de France
- Thread starter Illaveago
- Start date
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EltonFrog
Legendary Member
EDIT:
Just found this http://www.kurtkaminer.com/TH_raleigh_serials.html if I understood this correctly the bike was made in Worksop in October 1976. The following digits are unit production run.
EltonFrog
Legendary Member
I turned 19 that month/year.Yup..... Made when I was 16 years lol
The TdF was also available in blue (as pictured elsewhere on this thread) and my ToB is metallic green. I did briefly have a blue TdF, shouldn't have sold it, as I have a bit of thing for BSA cycles.
Anyhow, currently have three orange TdFs (one mint, one rough, one incomplete/parts only) plus the ToB. I always wanted an orange TdF, because my brother had one in the seventies and would never let me ride it, until one year when he went to uni he left it unchained and I had the ride of my life on it! The mint one was a fantastic chance find, drove past a second hand shop not far from me and it was outside for sale. Couldn't get back there quick enough to buy it, it's absolutely my dream bike in every respect. Probably a bit sad, should aspire to a carbon Bianchi or something, but these BSAs are my personal holy grail.
EltonFrog
Legendary Member
It’s highly unlikely that it’ll be for sale, I intend to spruce it up and use it, though it might be a bit small for me. I measured it and theoretically it should fit but it felt a bit small on the short ride i had. It may need tweaking.
If I do sell it I’ll let you have first refusal.
I’d be interested to see photos of your bikes, especially the green one.
Are the ToB frames the same as the TdF?
This was the blue one (should have kept it)
bsa tdf 4 by Billy P, on Flickr
My really tidy one...
BSA Tour de France b by Billy P, on Flickr
Not compared the two (Britain and France) would just guess they are different frames. Need to get both out for a ride really, had very pleasant 4 miler on the Britain, not been on it for a long, long time though.
*Edit: the seat on the France is absolutely minging and if it hasn't been replaced yet, it soon will be.
My really tidy one...
Not compared the two (Britain and France) would just guess they are different frames. Need to get both out for a ride really, had very pleasant 4 miler on the Britain, not been on it for a long, long time though.
*Edit: the seat on the France is absolutely minging and if it hasn't been replaced yet, it soon will be.
Last edited:
EltonFrog
Legendary Member
Nice bikes.
SkipdiverJohn
Deplorable Brexiteer
- Location
- London
I'd have probably done the same. Nothing sad at all about liking old steel bikes. You can keep your carbon Bianchis. and carbon anything else, I'll always choose a proper bike rather than a plastic one any day , even a gas pipe 3-speed.
OP
OP
Illaveago
Guru
- Location
- Chippenham,Wiltshire.
Ooops! I had forgotten I had started this post! Sorry! I think my mind has been busy on other things.
So! It was one of those days when you have some spare time left on your hands that I thought that it wouldn't take much to put it back together so that it was rideable. Wrong!
Well a rummage through my spares revealed some of the parts that I required. I had bought a spare set of Weinmann centre pulls so I didn't have to take the original ones off the bike I had fitted them on. Things were going well. I had fitted new bearings in the bottom bracket and fitted the new brakes and the next thing was to borrow some wheels. QR wheels are so handy! In they went. Next thing connect up the cables and fit the brake blocks. This is when I had a problem! The drop was different on the front. Panic! Rummage, rummage. I came up with a solution. I took the handlebars , stem and levers off and swapped them for another set which had Shimano levers and a front brake calliper fitted. The Shimano brake calliper had the right drop for the front but not the rear.
So with a chain fitted it looked like a real bike again.
I was in a rush to get out and test it. I didn't have a lever for the front derailleur so I was just going to use one chain ring. Off I set along a cycle path. It felt really nice . Even the saddle with the chamois leather fitted felt comfortable. Everything was going smoothly until I got to a roundabout. As I moved off round the roundabout I felt a jerk and heard a bang! I continued round the roundabout until it was safe to stop. It felt strange. I looked down. The pedal had come off it's axle. I went and collected the pedal and then thought about what to do. I decided to push on regardless. It did feel really strange with my foot slipping off the axle now and then, but I was enjoying the ride despite this.
I think I did 4 miles on my first ride despite my foot slipping off the pedal. I was having fun.
I have since used the bike a few more times and it has also been used as a testbed for some ally mudguards that I made. I have also made a plastic wing nut to repair the front lever.
So! It was one of those days when you have some spare time left on your hands that I thought that it wouldn't take much to put it back together so that it was rideable. Wrong!
Well a rummage through my spares revealed some of the parts that I required. I had bought a spare set of Weinmann centre pulls so I didn't have to take the original ones off the bike I had fitted them on. Things were going well. I had fitted new bearings in the bottom bracket and fitted the new brakes and the next thing was to borrow some wheels. QR wheels are so handy! In they went. Next thing connect up the cables and fit the brake blocks. This is when I had a problem! The drop was different on the front. Panic! Rummage, rummage. I came up with a solution. I took the handlebars , stem and levers off and swapped them for another set which had Shimano levers and a front brake calliper fitted. The Shimano brake calliper had the right drop for the front but not the rear.
So with a chain fitted it looked like a real bike again.
I was in a rush to get out and test it. I didn't have a lever for the front derailleur so I was just going to use one chain ring. Off I set along a cycle path. It felt really nice . Even the saddle with the chamois leather fitted felt comfortable. Everything was going smoothly until I got to a roundabout. As I moved off round the roundabout I felt a jerk and heard a bang! I continued round the roundabout until it was safe to stop. It felt strange. I looked down. The pedal had come off it's axle. I went and collected the pedal and then thought about what to do. I decided to push on regardless. It did feel really strange with my foot slipping off the axle now and then, but I was enjoying the ride despite this.
I think I did 4 miles on my first ride despite my foot slipping off the pedal. I was having fun.
I have since used the bike a few more times and it has also been used as a testbed for some ally mudguards that I made. I have also made a plastic wing nut to repair the front lever.
Attachments
EltonFrog
Legendary Member
I noticed that on mine the brakes are a different length.
