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SkipdiverJohn
Deplorable Brexiteer
- Location
- London
I see the supplying dealer was in your neck of the woods. Didn't know Carterton boasted a bike shop, I always just think of it as somewhere close to the RAF base and that's about it.
SkipdiverJohn
Deplorable Brexiteer
- Location
- London
How about hanging it under some scales once it's complete with a saddle? Would be interesting to see what an extra large sized mid-quality steel frame combined with unicrown forks weighs. I'm guessing somewhere between 27 1/2 and 28 lbs.
AndyRM
XOXO
- Location
- North Shields
That's lovely, I was going to ask about the size because it looks gigantic! And it is!
I don’t really like it, it’s a bit late for me, I prefer the earlier stuff. So it wasn’t a labour of love!
AndyRM
XOXO
- Location
- North Shields
I'm not a fan of the chainset at all, but I do like it otherwise. I've just noticed that the tyres are 'Giant' branded. Nice touch, intentional or not.
Not intentional, just a spare set I had hanging up in the garage.
Peter van den Broek
Regular
Hello, I am pretty sure that this bike is from 1988/89. See below picture. I have the same bike, received it for my 20th birthday in january 1989. I only used it in the early 90's . Since then it hang till two weeks ago in a shed with my parents. For only 90 euros (including material: the schwalbe trainer tube, two innertubes and one shiftercable) my cycle surgeon revamped it for my Tacx trainer. And now I really enjoy cycling my 32 year old bike.
Attachments
Nice work - saw a kid pushing one of these through town earlier as it happens; recognised the questionable decor but couldn't place the model / where I'd recognised it from
I'll stick my oar in at late '80s / early '90s. I have a '91 German catalogue and all the European "cooking" 18-23 road models have Unicrown forks with lugged frames. I also have a '90 lightweight catalogue that shows the cheapest model (Vitesse) with unicrown forks combined with a 531 lugged frame, while the higher-end models still have crowned forks. The '85 road bike catalogue shows crowned forks on even the cheapest models, while my '87 Routier (a cheap model) also has crowned forks. Unfortunately I don't have any catalogues for the '86-89 period.
I'd expect the lower-spec models to have got the unicrown forks first so I'd reckon they came in in probably '89-90. Granted it seems that changes / advances in spec were staggered across the range (obviously with the rot setting in at the bottom and the improvements starting at the top) but by the time the lower-end lightweights were getting unicrown (in '90) I'd expect all of the lower-spec models beneath to already have them.
Looks great. I bought one of these from a local bike shop in Glasgow when I was at Uni in 1988 or 1989. It was on offer, I think it was on sale for about £89 to £99. So I think it was an earlier model than those dates, given it was on offer and I think I had a conversation with bike shop owner about that. Anyway I was happy and used it a lot. I am currently bringing it back to use, I only have the frame (including forks) and crank left. Will replace the bottom bracket with newer Shimano sealed version. Stripping the paint by hand and then will have it repainted and will fit the other parts that I source/buy. Blast from the past and a great wee bike to ride. I have the 21" frame and found it super (hopefully that is not a sunny day memory). I have a couple of 56cm frames now and they are not quite as fitting as the old 21" Raleigh , appreciate precise size and measurements vary
. But there you go.Nice work @Sparkie - I trust we'll get some pictures as you're going / when you're finished...? 
Building on my preivous post about age and fork format, it's interesting to note that @Gunk's example has unicrown forks, while @Peter van der broek's bike has externally lugged forks; suggesting it's an earlier varient and this model was about throughout this transition in design...
Building on my preivous post about age and fork format, it's interesting to note that @Gunk's example has unicrown forks, while @Peter van der broek's bike has externally lugged forks; suggesting it's an earlier varient and this model was about throughout this transition in design...