I love cycling!

[Tenacious Sloth]

Welcome. Is that Ridgeback really 20+ years old? It looks immaculate!

It certainly is, mine is the same model and bar a few scrapes/scratches my one has virtually no rust either. They must have treated the frames somehow or the paint is exceptionally good at resisting corrosion.
It could be the steel though, Tange CrMo tubing, heck of a good bike.

To be honest, it was so long ago now that I'm struggling to remember exactly when I bought it. It must have been at least mid 90s though. I remember writing off the bike it replaced. I was stationed at RAF Coltishall in Norfolk at the time and had a huge Hare run out in front of me as I was going downhill at about 30mph while commuting home. Ouch! It makes me cringe just thinking about it.

The bike is in great nick, probably because, like Simon Richardson of GCN, I prefer to keep my bikes like my women, well-maintained and clean. It's been a terrific bike, just feels very heavy after riding the Merida. It's now relegated to be the 'Pub and Shop' bike.

Graham