Reminiscing (You're favourite old bike)

[ramses]

Hi all,

I was just reading through some other topics, and noticed a comment about Raleigh bikes having lost their reputation in recent years.

Got me thinking about my old Raleigh bikes: Grifter, Mustang.

I remember my Grifter fondly, it was a hand-me-down from my brother, and when I first got it, it was to say the least a bit large, but that did not deter me!

I remember bombing down hills! it was hard not to when your bike weighed as much as your dads car!

We'd head for the ramps, where the BMX's were flying in the air, hit the ramp on your Grifter and if you didn't wipe the ramp out, you'd just plump off, back on to the floor, having gained about 2ft of height and flight!

We used to tuck cards into the back spokes so that it sounded like a scrambler, well let's face it, it looked like one too!

Those were the days!!

This was what my Grifter used to look like:

 

[HLaB]

It'd be hard to say what was my favourite Old Bike; it might be the Raleigh Chipper as that was my first bike or it could be the first bike I bought when I got back into cycling a make I'd never heard of an Atalanta Blackdiamond bought in a Dublin bike shop. TBH the Atalanta was a bit of a BSO (cost £180punts) , weighed a ton, grip shifters, etc but it was built well and was fitted with custom alu mudguards and a rack, it was the perfect commuter for me at the time. Despite it weighing a ton it was pretty easy to carry up to my flat also, the frame had no bosses and all cables ran along the top of the top tube making it pretty friendly to pick up.

 

[Randochap]

I guess everyone's favourite bike is the first one that gave them the feeling of excitement and freedom.

In my case it was my Sun--the first bike I raced on (pictured on the front page of VeloWeb) and that I had to leave behind in the UK when we moved to Canada.

Although I have several bikes now, I have a soft spot for my 35 y/o Nishiki Landau, which I take out on a date occasionally.

 

[asterix]

I guess everyone's favourite bike is the first one that gave them the feeling of excitement and freedom.

In my case it was my Sun--the first bike I raced on (pictured on the front page of VeloWeb) and that I had to leave behind in the UK when we moved to Canada.

Although I have several bikes now, I have a soft spot for my 35 y/o Nishiki Landau, which I take out on a date occasionally.

My bike was a Sun! In fact it was my brother's bike but he had no interest in it or cycling even, so I borrowed it rather a lot before buying my own. It had an excellent leather saddle (Wrights?), was blue and very light.

 

[Woz!]

I had a s/h Sun GT10! The pedal fell off unless you rode it in a certain way and it would constantly get nicked on my paper round. The police knew me and would bring it back to the papershop with the seperate pedal! Last time it was stolen it was run over by a lorry

But my favorite old bike would have to be my yellow Raleigh Chopper. An awful, but fun, bike. Riding over dirt jumps on it was deadly.

 

[tyred]

I would say my 1971 Dublin built Raleigh Twenty folding bike. A hand me down from my sister (originally owned by an aunt so actually in the family from new), I went virtually everywhere on that between the ages of about 9 and 15, treated it like a BMX or an MTB at times, and it refused to die. A long time lying rusting in the garage until I refurbished it a few years ago, it probably still covers 200 miles a year, including a 38 mile ride along the North Antrim Causeway coast a few weeks a go.

 

[uphillstruggler]

Hi all,

I was just reading through some other topics, and noticed a comment about Raleigh bikes having lost their reputation in recent years.

Got me thinking about my old Raleigh bikes: Grifter, Mustang.

I remember my Grifter fondly, it was a hand-me-down from my brother, and when I first got it, it was to say the least a bit large, but that did not deter me!

I remember bombing down hills! it was hard not to when your bike weighed as much as your dads car!

We'd head for the ramps, where the BMX's were flying in the air, hit the ramp on your Grifter and if you didn't wipe the ramp out, you'd just plump off, back on to the floor, having gained about 2ft of height and flight!

We used to tuck cards into the back spokes so that it sounded like a scrambler, well let's face it, it looked like one too!

Those were the days!!

This was what my Grifter used to look like:

strange, i had one but i am sure mine looked more like a motor bike when i was 9!


my Grifter had twist grip shifters - 3 speed as i remember and was in the gun metal grey until my crazy sister painted it with white gloss!!

i had a chipper to start with though, i am sure that had solid wheels - blimey, dont think health and safety would allow that sort of thing now.

 

[mickle]

I would say my 1971 Dublin built Raleigh Twenty folding bike. A hand me down from my sister (originally owned by an aunt so actually in the family from new), I went virtually everywhere on that between the ages of about 9 and 15, treated it like a BMX or an MTB at times, and it refused to die. A long time lying rusting in the garage until I refurbished it a few years ago, it probably still covers 200 miles a year, including a 38 mile ride along the North Antrim Causeway coast a few weeks a go.

Very cool. My mum had a Twenty, I took the mudguards off it one summer and used to ride out to country pubs with my mates. On one particularly long hill - tucked down to minimise wind resistance - I was tailed by a guy in a Ford Escort, I was thinking 'why don't you just overtake ffs?'

We got to the bottom and he pulled into the pub car park behind us, wound his window down and shouted: '34 miles an ahour mate!' with a big grin and thumbs up.

 

[gbb]

Bugger, i led a deprived childhood (i said deprived...not depraved). Never had a new bike as a kid. On the plus side, we were stripping bikes and building oddballs at 12 and 13 years old (because we had to) .
Stripping freewheels, hubs, putting short forks on big bikes to make 'choppers' ...we done it all....shame i can't remember what they were

Carlton Continental, 531 framed IIRC was my first memorable bike.

 

[beastie]

Raleigh Scorpio that I 'borrowed' from the old man. Not the fastest but still the most comfortable and best balanced bike I have ever owned. It got run over.

 

[Cubist]

First bike I remember really fondly was a Raleigh Olympus. Mine was a blue one, 'cos the red ones looked naff to me! I expect I was about 11. Five speed, drop bars, totally cool!It had inch and a half tyres and a leather saddle. Cost 50 quid in 1975.

I rode it for years and eventually resprayed it metallic blue, changed the drops for cowhorns and had me a "track bike!" That lasted one summer, then I took it to school, lent it to Colin F*cking Raz and he left it outside without chaining it up. Tosser.

The insurance payout bought me a beautiful black shiny Crown Comet, a hand-built tenspeed tourer which lasted me until I stood up to ride it up to Totley from Woodseats in Sheffield. The rear dropout failed, bent and twisted and I never managed to get the wheel straight in the frame again. Bike was last seen rusting in a shed on Woodseats Road in about 1986

 

[mark barker]

I have fond memories of my Velo Schauff (although mine looked the same as the link, including the cool wheels and hub brakes, I had a single speed version). That thing weighed a ton and always stood out in a crowd!

 

[Beardie]

I remember a red bike owned by my sister which had a rather odd arrangement of cable-operated rod brakes. It also had a built-in rear carrier. I used to sit on this to pedal, which was much more fun than the actual saddle. As I was eight at the time, I didn't understand the references my parents made to 'Easy Rider'. I had my own bike of course, a standard diamond-frame, but hers was much more cool to ride round the garden. It also annoyed my sister, as her legs were too short for her to do this. Her revenge was to be able to climb a rope ladder up the apple tree, which I never managed. Happy days...

 

[Garz]

At the time I disliked it but when my dad bought me a 3-speed sturmey archer geared grandad bike it was actually a beast thinking back. It had shiny full mudguards and a good paint combo which is why my friends named it the 'bentley'.

 

[Smokin Joe]

I've had more bikes than I can remember, but the one that made me happiest was a Woodrup race frame I had specially made circa 1971, Columbus tubing (SLX if I remember correctly) in cherry red with white panels and half chromed forks and stays, Super Champion sprints on Milremo hubs, Barum tubs, Universal chainset and brakes, Simplex Prestige rear mech with some cool bar end shifters (or gear levers as we then called them). An apprentice's wage wouldn't run to Campag back then.

I wish I'd kept it just to hang on the wall.