Category Archives: News

We’ve got the @retrobikehq IG page up and growing fast.
If you remember fondly when bikes were particularly pretty/ lairy/ snapped sometimes….

Please have a gawp/ like/ share/ follow here: http://instagram.com/retrobikehq/

If you like old bikes – you know where to look

We were extremely saddened to learn that forum regular Greenstiles aka Nigel Tillett has passed away following a motorcycle accident on Saturday 19th October

There is a thread setup here in Nigel’s memory, please post your thoughts there.

The funeral is to take place on Friday 8th November, a collection is being made in Nigel’s memory for ASPIE, an Asperger’s charity in Worcester which was a cause close to Nigel. Details on both are contained here.

Our thoughts go out to Nigel’s widow Alison and young son Alexander in this difficult time. Greenstiles, wherever you are mate, RIP.

bikedeals is a new website that has been launched to save cyclists time and money by presenting the best deals currently on the market all in one place.

To celebrate the site’s launch bikedeals are giving away an exposure sirius light! All you have to do to win this fine prize is register on the site (which is easy) and post on the competition thread, full details here.

Bikedeals.cc presents the best deals currently on the market all in one place. The bikedeals community analyse the UK bike retailers (e.g. Wiggle, CRC, Evans Cycles) looking for the biggest and best deals and then share them on bikedeals.cc daily. We use our extensive experience and respond to the market and current trends to present the best deals. We’re unbiased in the deals that we feature and many of the products we present are tried and tested by the bikedeals.cc community.

Bikedeals also collates cycling vouchers and discount codes for money off on all the main biking sites. These vouchers are usually only valid for a few days but are worth keeping an eye on for the keen bargain hunter; examples include 15% off all clothing at Evans Cycles, 15% off everything at ProBikeKit.

While Privateer was in California in April and May, exploring the state that gave us mountain biking and continues to lead the conversation, we spent a day at the NorCal High School MTB race at Boggs Mountain. Who should we find there working as the team wrench for the Drakes Pirates team? None other than Joe Breeze of Breezer Bikes and the MTB Hall of Fame. Here’s his take on why getting kids into mountain biking at a young age is so important.

Joe Breeze:

“I’ve been wrenching for the team since my son was a freshman, five years ago – he’s off to college this year. My wife and I have sponsored the team from the start with Breezer. For four years they were state champions.

“I’m sure some of these kids neglect their bikes because they know I’ll be wrenching at the race at the weekend. For my generation, it was more about us kids doing it; it wasn’t about parental involvement at all. We had to fend for ourselves – if we wanted to fix our bikes, then we had to fix them. (more…)

What started out as one or two of us meeting up with our Dolomites, seems to have sparked enough interest to open the net wider to other Klein owners / riders.

This is the plan:

WHO
Anyone who owns or has access to a Klein

WHAT
A ride of about 10-15 miles taking in Richmond Park, maybe Wimbledon Common and the Thames River path. Will include a few refreshment – NOS Polish stop offs, and a post ride beer or two.

WHY
Excuse to meet up and ride these bikes many are obsessed with. Seems to be plenty of us out there… (more…)

Cycling giants Campagnolo have recently celebrated their 80th anniversary with typical Italian flair and style. As part of the anniversary celebrations Campagnolo have setup the Campagnolo Virtual Museum. The virtual museum is well worth a look with numerous iconic images of riders, components and events from the past 80 years.
One of the most important parts of the virtual museum is the people section, which handily is where we come in. Campagnolo have asked we on retrobike get involved with their 80th Anniversary by sharing our Campagnolo experiences, stories and photos on the site where hopefully it will remain for digital posterity. To get involved go to the Campagnolo Virtual Museum here and start contributing.

What is the most iconic retro mountain bike component of all time? We here at retrobike plan to try and find out or at least gain some sort of consensus from the forum. Simply make your nomination on the iconic retro mtb component thread here and see if the retrobike massive agree with your reasoning.

Will it be the XT thumbshifter? Cooks cranks? Grafton cantis? XT v-brake? 200lx plastic coated cranks?

We’ll leave it with you….

Further to the last post the forum is back up following the software upgrade (as it has been for many many days). Check the upgraded retro bike forum here.

As some may have noticed the forum is down for maintenance, hopefully back up later today, 30th January 2013.

Three monthly retrobike polls are now up

The Bike of The Month (BoTM) poll for November 2012 is now up, click here to get your votes in now!

Road Bike of The Month (rBoTM) poll for October / November 2012 is also now up. Click here to get your votes in now!

Photo of The Month (PoTM) poll for November 2012 is also now up. Click here to get your votes in now!

The Bike of The Month 98+ contest is currently taking nominations for the November / December Winter Special contest.

Right, let’s get something straight from the off. I like cycling, enjoy company and love red wine. Put all three together in Tuscany sounded perfect with nothing that could possibly deflect from sheer, unrelenting enjoyment. No matter what follows, I just want to be clear about that before I get started, that’s all.

L’Eroica (“the heroic one”) is an annual event in Tuscany that celebrates the great, bygone era of cycling before doping, science and sideburns were so prevalent. Based in Gaiole in Chianti, l’Eroica started in 1997 as a way to celebrate cycling history but also to halt the paving over of the strade bianche, the white dirt roads that cross cross the region. 15 years on, l’Eroica is wildly popular with entry list closing almost as fast as it opens – there is even a professional event in the Spring and the Giro has used the strade bianche in recent years too (cue images of ghostly looking riders, covered from head to toe in ‘Tuscan toothpaste’). The concept is simple – ride one of a series of distances, on an old bike, in period clothing, stopping only to snack on cured meats, local cheeses and robust red wines from the region. Bike wise there are really only three rules – downtube shifters, exposed brake cables and pedals with toeclips and straps although many take it further with 1930s (and earlier) bikes and period clothing including Breton style heavy sweaters and goggles. I’d had a go in 2010 on a relatively modern Nuovo Record equipped Raleigh Panasonic and this years running allowed for an extended stay in the region to coincide with my 46th birthday – what was not to like? Staying up until midnight to ensure an entry, I was in. So were James and Melvin. Bring on la belle epoch!

Click here to read the full article.

UK based online retailer Kinetic Rush have dug out their John Tomac Raleigh for display in their Leamington shop, John Atkins Cycles. What this means for us is they’ve done a whole load of great pictures of this iconic machine, enjoy the images This Tomac Raleigh was purchased direct from Raleigh UK by the store owner back in the 90s and is believed to be a Merlin built model.
(more…)

Bigger and better Bespoked Bristol rides back into town!

Bespoked Bristol, The UK Handmade Bicycle Show, returns from March 23rd to 25th 2012. With over 70 leading independent makers from the UK, Italy, France, USA and Germany coming to Brunel’s Old Station to showcase some of the most beautiful and desirable cycles on earth.
Now in its second year, the event provides a platform for the public, industry and press to meet artisan bicycle makers and share ideas.
Organisers Phil and Tessa Taylor are promising a bigger and better show for 2012: exhibitor numbers have doubled since last June’s inaugural event at Paintworks, Bristol, requiring a move to a larger venue. This will allow space for more stands, a dedicated area highlighting the work of up-and-coming frame builders.
Phil said: “This is the place for the public, industry and press to meet independent makers and designers of everything bicycle. We are working hard at putting together the best show we possibly can for Bespoked Bristol 2012. On the strength of last year’s show, we have managed to exceed all our expectations and pull in some of the best builders from the UK, Italy, France, USA and Germany.”
Among the confirmed exhibitors are UK legends Rourke, Roberts, Mercian, Mather, Condor and Argos. New young builders Donhou, Feather, Demon and Ted James. Italian maestros Pegoretti, Cinelli, Zullo (Mosquito) and US innovators Crisp, Independent Fabrication, Moots and Waterford. (more…)

Paul Brodie (of Brodie bicycle fame) is running a frame building course in conjunction with the University of Fraser Valley (UFV) in Abbotsford, BC, Canada. The course is titled “Brodie Frame Building School 101″ and includes a brief MTB history, frame design/geometry, tube selection, full-scale drawing, shop safety, tube-mitreing, jigs and fixtures, welding/brazing, frame alignment, and finish work. Full details of timing and how to sign up on the UFV website > http://www.ufv.ca/bicycleframe.

Retrobike member Milko aka Matt Burton has had several of his illustrations published in the latest issue of Peloton magazine. The illustrations can be seen in issue 9 of Peloton which is out in the UK this week, full details on the Peloton website. Check Matt’s website http://www.milkoillustration.co.uk/ for more examples of his work.