Fascinating thread. I've wanted to find out more about Les Rigden, his bikes and workshop since buying a 30-40 year-old cycle with one of his frames a year ago, from a collector of veteran cycles near Chichester.
He told me a bit about Les Rigden, his attention to detail, the beautiful tooled lugs, etc. And he reckoned that the Brooks saddle, Simplex retrofriction gear shifts and pristine white cellulose mudguards, together, were worth more than the £100 I paid for the bike.
He was clearing out his garage of his remaining collection of 30-odd bikes, but I think he had had lots more in years gone by. He said he used the one I was buying as his runabout.
I have to apologise for being a technical ignoramus as far as the users of this forum go, but I do like to ride this bike and appreciate its niche heritage. There are some lovely features on it. The saddle is the most comfortable I have ever ridden on, the bike runs well, smooth and quiet, although the headset is a bit on the loose side. It has some nifty release levers which slacken the brake cables to make it easy taking the wheels off.
There's a certain charm to the 70s-style, groovy, almost psychedelic Les Rigden logo on the frame, although the metal name badge is a little crudely designed.
Not been very far on it yet, just some commuting and a bit of pottering, and it really needs a proper service at our good local bike shop for a thorough checking over, but it's a handsome bike, for sure, and not just because it's in the black and white colours of my favourite football team, Port Vale!
So, thanks for the info, and I will try to upload one or two pix.