Recent content by billholding

Sorry I didn't reply sooner, I only just saw your post. The paintwork was OK in places but there were a lot of areas of damage and rust spots etc, which would have required respraying even if I had chosen to keep it all original, and as for the decals they were shot! FYO The new stem is...

Ok maybe I was being a bit oversensitive and I see what you were getting at regarding being able to get a good price for the Castorama. I just wanted to be clear that I was paying the bike the respect it deserves and believe me u have seen some things done to classic bikes as the fixie craze...

billholding Indeed! And if it had been the late Fignon's actual bike rather than a repro made the following year, then I would have left well enough alone! I think he would have been happier riding it day to day as it is now rather than in the colours of a French supermarket anyway!

???? ..."you should have offered it for sale on here. bet you would have had enough money to buy another 653 and some money to spare." Ok, so what you are saying is that basically I "should" have sold on a donor bike which I spent MONTHS trying to find and maybe made a few quid for my...

I didn't have it renovated because I couldn't get rid of it! I spent months looking for a Raleigh made with 653 as a donor bike which was a specific size and that is what came up. Any frame made with that tubeset would have been half decent so it was always going Gp against the grain with some...

Ouch, I can see why that hurts! I went through the same thing, getting rid of an old classic and regretting it, then like you say things like kids etc come along. Thankfully I have the excuse of it being my daily mode of transport in London to justify it otherwise it might get me into trouble!

sounds nice, what happened to it?

Thanks Mark. Also if the paintwork and original decals had been in good condition I wouldn't have bought such a bike as a renovation project, it was the fact that it really was in ragged shape that meant I didn't feel bad about giving it a new lease of life. The bars and stem although not...

I agree, there isn't the same satisfaction walking into a bike shop and just picking something out! Anybody that has seen the documentary "ride of my life" will know that, although Condor is my LBS and they do make nice bikes, but like you rightly pointed out, at a price! I have enjoyed the...

Thanks, glad you like it. I will be updating the blog (see the link under the last picture above) with a few more details on the spec ASAP. I appreciate that there will be plenty of people who disagree with me having a Raleigh Castorama frame renovated in a way that isn't original, and I...

I have just finished a bike build which may or may not be of interest to you guys. Here are a couple of before and after pics as well as a link to a blog I have put more pictures and details on. Before Image: After Image: More Details: http://reduxrides.blogspot.com/[/url]

Found one thanks so the search is over!

Having folded a frame on a stupid pedestrian that ran in front of me from in front of a bus (the trip to hospital will have probably made them think twice about looking from now on though!), it is time to start building a new bike so i am on the look out for a donor frame / bike for...