Les Rigden 653

Lysander":3mp3lqmv said:
I visited his workshop many years ago too- must have been 1989 or so- I liked his short wheelbase triple triangle frame.

I remember seeing a pic of one he had done but I don't think he had one in there at the time. Had a few very nice Claud Butler frames I think he had re-worked in there too.

Would like to see another pic of the triple triangle one - seem to recall seat tube dropped straight onto the down-tube and the BB then went up and met the seat-tube?

Memory perhaps not what it was.
 
A Brooks B17 narrow or San Marco Regal would set it off nicely for me. Use the tyres on it, knowing the state of the potholes round here...
 
hamster":15r80nfh said:
A Brooks B17 narrow or San Marco Regal would set it off nicely for me. Use the tyres on it, knowing the state of the potholes round here...

I have a Regal on another bike, might give it a go. The Madison one on it looks like an ugly shoe and is less comfortable than being kicked in the a**. Its like concrete. Will have to find another bike jumble in a hurry to try and find something fitting.

As for the tyres, you may be right, I was going to stick them on some cheaper wheels for running around at this time of year.


p.s. Anyone know of a place that can do paint repairs in sussex / south?
 
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.
 

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Very nice bike there Rigden Roger, and when I said in the first post about respraying mine, I already had designs on Black with gold letters, ala JPS style.

Interesting braces on the seat-tube to the rear stays, worth a picture on here, would be very interested in seeing them.

As per mine, the lettering on the down-tube is not the best, I always figured it had been changed as I had seen the same lettering on your bike on the others, and its a lot more fitting. I have the LER on the seat tube in the same font.

Does yours have the wings painted on the top of the seat stays?

You have a very nice bike and I hope you enjoy it. Mine is in storage until I can sort a few bits for it and the paint, but I will be very specific on the restoration of it so that it looks the part, needs to be 'just so'.

Nice to see another one, they seem to be a bit rare. :)
 
Plus also,

There isn't a lot about on the 'net about Les, but I think there should be more, £100 quid was a steal for that bike!

(Mine wasn't a lot more so I am not complaining).

Good find :)

D
 
Thanks, D. I'll have a go at uploading another pic or two, but last night couldn't work out how to load more than one at a time.

Can't see anything like wings painted on the seat stays, but the overall effect is pretty ornate, with gold paint outlining the cut-away lugs and elsewhere, verging on canal boat decoration, if you get my drift.

The tyres were shot when I bought it, so I put a pair of Schwalbe Marathons on, on the recommendation of a friend. As this bike was owned by an enthusiast, I'm not at all sure how much of it is original, as he seemed the sort who was highly capable of swapping things around from bike to bike. But there's certainly some nice bits on it.

Ok, here we go with a pic or two.
 

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