2014 Bobbin Scout retro, no, modern, no, retro! No, Modern!!

Here it is in the flesh. Its been a long time since I bought a brand new bicycle, 2006 I think and that was a disappointment whereas first ride has left a smile on my face.

Ok so its a cheapie. Sunrace and Tektros' finest equipment but it seems to work well. Twangy frame with no sloppyness sometimes found on low end stuff and a quick sprint went well enough.

I have no plans to change anything beyond maybe the steel chainrings at some point - I've already added 'bling' with the gold chainring bolts..

£374.99 (after 25% off at Wiggle) of Taiwans finest, even the freebie Wiggle bike tool was rather nice (but the Haribo sours were, erm, sour...)

That is so cool it's not true.

Its definitely true.

Heres my argument for buying 'new' when old was not as practical.



And heres a minter up on ebay: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Raleigh-Recor ... 2516.l5255

I loved this bike when I had one but it had its limitations. Brakes, shifting and tyres. To have changed all the above to suit a summers riding, I would have spent a lot of money - new wheels, better braking and associated ephemera for better shifting etc would have cost around £200+

Wheels - £80 to £100

Shifting - at least £50 to £70 even using second hand parts. Cassette, chain, band on shifters or barcons and cable guides let alone mechs.

Brakes - Those Weinmann were terrible! Nutted dual pivots, say around £30 then all the cables and so on.

So, lovely as it was, I replaced my Raleigh Road Ace with a new bicycle directly influenced by the Ace but not a hint of carbon or a black/red/white paint scheme

Difficult isn't it?

Currently having a think about the raleigh Lloyd. Do I really strip the schils which is relatively modern and works for the occasional ride, just to achieve little gain?

Tough call. But then again, do we do this building thing for performance or pleasure?

Those fork blades and stays look like they came straight out the Reynolds factory. I like this bike a lot.

Loving that Bobbin. Would be very interested to hear feedback after a seasons riding.

Total bargain!

That's a smart looking bike, even the saddle looks decent.

The 2015 version has a lugged frame, cantilever brakes and Shimano Claris bits. The jury (me) is still out on the Microshift...

It's also had a significant price hike.
You got a stonking deal on yours.