Bikes you should have kept?

Rumble":37qffqbj said:
Aye, might well be there on Sunday. I've seen the pictures and do fancy checking the place out - I'll not be riding retro though :oops:

Welcome buddy ;) , dont worry about bringing a modern, i'll be bringing my modern Klunker/Bomber/Deathtrap, should still be a riot :)
 
My Grifter of course :cool:

And my early '80s Peugeot road bike from college, bought 2nd hand off a guy in my class for 30 quid (still haven't paid him). My dad used it for a wee while, then it languished in his garage - he finally chucked it a few years ago during a big clear out. Just an average bike, but I'm annoyed that I never took it back and put it back on the road.

Welcome rumble.
 
clockworkgazz":15eer06z said:
Ok but what were they big man?

auld ones :LOL: :LOL:

i had a mint silverfox that had 2 top tubes side by side that curved from the steerer tube past the seatpost and to the dropouts in a half circle . it was black and orange and has a set of orange z1's . loved that bike... :(

also miss the first big dh bike i had , a 1999 saracen havoc in yellow . 6 inch travel shockworks dh1's upfront :D

i could just keep going :D :D :D :D :D
 
I haven't sold a bike yet, so the answer is- all the ones I grew out of as a kid!

My Raleigh Esquire which I got in 1978 for my birthday, was the best birthday present ever, beyond my wildest expectations- a brand new bike!

Such things were uncommon in Orkney at the time, and me and my pals all went around on tenth-hand bikes, most of which had the lever actuated solid link gear contraptions. I can easily recall the brands, for as kids we loved the badges, and hey we only got BBC1 and Grampian in B&W, we needed colour in our lives- BSA, Sunbeam, Phillips, Hercules and Triumph, and some Raleighs.

The bike I had at the time was 24" wheeled Hercules Jeep, one gear, but modern in that the handlebars did not wrap around, and it had cable operated calipers brakes. Small frame, so quite sporty in appearance compared with the oversize wartime bikes, white mudguards, and a matt black frame finish, with worn gold decals. In fact I think I miss this bike almost more than my Esquire!

The Esquire was a status symbol, and we would pimp our rides with mudflaps, and extra lines on the mudguards made using white or yellow insulating tape cut narrow. For a while I had a braking light on my bike having rigged up a crude switch system on the brakes to operate my Pifco rear light. As the years went by numerous partial resprays took place using Holts Dupli Colour brown metallic paint that was a surprisingly good match.

My pal's Esquire came to a sticky end however, as the front mudguard stay came loose as he hurtled downhill, caught the tyre and proceeded to wrap around the axle, resulting in a horrible prang, a heart shaped wheel and broken forks. Didn't do my pal any good either.

My own one passed into the hands of my dad when I went to university, and he ran it for a while before trading it in for a Raleigh MTB, in a frame size that was slightly too big for me, and far too big for him given I am 4" taller. I bought him an Edinburgh Bike Co-op F+F in the right size, so all is now well.

I found an old (but not as old as my Esquire) catalogue from about 1980, so I can show you the bike in question, although I feel strangely drawn to the Caprice next door. I've also scanned in the Grifter page for Zigzag.

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and the Grifter and Chopper page:

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Cheers,
Steven
 
mmmmm grifter with twist shift and foam saddle- now that is a bike (I had the strika) That bike it to big for that fella and love the naturally posed girl and her period flouncy dress too ;)
 
byshk

Have to say that the only bike i really miss is my old 80's Raleigh Criterium.
We used to average a good 200+ miles a week together. Ah the memories.

Dave
 
clockworkgazz":2wc6ajqz said:
mmmmm grifter with twist shift and foam saddle- now that is a bike (I had the strika) That bike it to big for that fella and love the naturally posed girl and her period flouncy dress too ;)
Maaan, I totally forgot about the twist shift - it had a wee window that changed colour to show what gear you were in. Mine's was red, but had different (earlier?) decals.
 
Re: byshk

Tnega":rry4llow said:
Have to say that the only bike i really miss is my old 80's Raleigh Criterium.
We used to average a good 200+ miles a week together. Ah the memories.

Dave


I had Criterium, twas red and white. SLightly too big too, bought form a guy how got it from the club book. Was top of the range(in the club book :LOL: )
 
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