vintage bikes

[oblongomaculatus]

Hi,

Was dumping the contents of my attic at the local tip last weekend when I came across an old road bike. It seemed to be in OK condition so I paid £15 to take it away. After pumping up the tyres, cleaning and oiling it it turned out to be in perfect working order. It's a Raleigh Scorpio, 12 speed with indexed gears, with gear shift levers on the down tube. It has "made in Nottingham by Raleigh" on the top tube which makes me think it's been around a while. Also the bike shop which sold it originally has its sticker on the frame, with a 4 figure phone number. Some time since UK numbers weren't 6 or 7 figures...

A few google searches have revealed that Raleigh made the Scorpio from the early 70's to maybe as recently as 1993, but I'm not sure about that. I haven't been able to find any details of this particular bike, and have emailed Raleigh with no response (so far). It's in a rather startling colour combination - white, day-glo yellow and purple. I can't remember how to get a picture on CC, or I'd put one on now. I will when I find out...

Anyway, any ideas how old my new bike is?

 

[mike-L]

That sounds like the newer version, late '80s to early nineties.
I got the original for my 14th birthday (1980), a recently second hand Scorpio. These were made from the mid seventies and were a lovely burnt orange colour - one day I'll spray one up like that.
It carried me YHAing in my teens and through Uni, and was finally stolen from outside St Georges Hosptital Medical School in 1991. Heavy old thing but very much loved and missed. Here's a piccy of one recently found mint in northern Ireland:

 

[oblongomaculatus]

Thanks for the reply, which I've only just read. That was more or less the conclusion I'd come to, late 80's ish. Burnt orange, that sounds a better colour than mine! Still a good ride though, a bit harsh over bumps compared to my much newer Specialized road bike. Not that heavy really, for steel, 11.8 KG. I keep it in Cambridge, which is the bike theft capital of the UK, so I'm hoping it doesn't vanish like yours did...

That sounds like the newer version, late '80s to early nineties.
I got the original for my 14th birthday (1980), a recently second hand Scorpio. These were made from the mid seventies and were a lovely burnt orange colour - one day I'll spray one up like that.
It carried me YHAing in my teens and through Uni, and was finally stolen from outside St Georges Hosptital Medical School in 1991. Heavy old thing but very much loved and missed. Here's a piccy of one recently found mint in northern Ireland:

 

[oldmanoftheeast]

That sounds like the newer version, late '80s to early nineties.
I got the original for my 14th birthday (1980), a recently second hand Scorpio. These were made from the mid seventies and were a lovely burnt orange colour - one day I'll spray one up like that.
It carried me YHAing in my teens and through Uni, and was finally stolen from outside St Georges Hosptital Medical School in 1991. Heavy old thing but very much loved and missed. Here's a piccy of one recently found mint in northern Ireland:

I still have a 10 speed bought in 1976, second hand, 1972 vintage, which is used occasionally. I am soon to retire and will probably be going back to using it more frequently. I have a problem. It still has the original leather seat, which is hard and painful. Any suggestions for a replacement seat to give comfort to an old man? I have included a jpeg of the bike. Sorry about the tape but that was put on in the 80s because my hands were freezing to the bare metal.

 

[tyred]

[attachment=3897:my bike 021.JPG]

I still have a 10 speed bought in 1976, second hand, 1972 vintage, which is used occasionally. I am soon to retire and will probably be going back to using it more frequently. I have a problem. It still has the original leather seat, which is hard and painful. Any suggestions for a replacement seat to give comfort to an old man? I have included a jpeg of the bike. Sorry about the tape but that was put on in the 80s because my hands were freezing to the bare metal.

Leather saddles can get hard with age if not cared for. Try treating it with some sort of hide food like Brooks Proofhide to soften it up a bit. Vaseline would also work, as would saddle soap, or even a traditional tallow based shaving soap like Palmolive. These are fine saddles imo, they just need a little TLC. If you really do want to change it, pop it on Ebay and you will be surprised at what it could end up selling for.