Hi everyone,
This is my 1974 Raleigh Esquire, I bought it 2nd hand about 30 years ago. If memory serves I paid 20 - 25 pounds for it. I used it quite a lot over the years, mainly for rides out into the countryside, camping trips and the like. That said, I`ve hardly used it in the past 10 years and its just stood indoors on flat tyres and gathering dust. Well, this summer, I dusted it off, blew up the tyres, and took it out for a spin. Every thing seemed to work ok, a few creaks and groans (the bike, not me lol) and, surprisingly, the tyres didn`t deflate as I was afraid they might. So I`ve got the cycling bug again. I replaced the rear tyre at some stage, but not the front - that`s the original from when the bike was new. It`s badly perished though, so, to be on the safe side, I`ve ordered two new tyres (and tubes). Everything is in good working order - brakes, gears, etc - even the dynomo - thought I might have to renew the bulbs, but no,it works fine! So, it has another lease of life, as do I, though I don`t peddle quite so quickly as I used to. The years have taken their toll on me, but the Raleigh, it seems, is indestructible!
This is my 1974 Raleigh Esquire, I bought it 2nd hand about 30 years ago. If memory serves I paid 20 - 25 pounds for it. I used it quite a lot over the years, mainly for rides out into the countryside, camping trips and the like. That said, I`ve hardly used it in the past 10 years and its just stood indoors on flat tyres and gathering dust. Well, this summer, I dusted it off, blew up the tyres, and took it out for a spin. Every thing seemed to work ok, a few creaks and groans (the bike, not me lol) and, surprisingly, the tyres didn`t deflate as I was afraid they might. So I`ve got the cycling bug again. I replaced the rear tyre at some stage, but not the front - that`s the original from when the bike was new. It`s badly perished though, so, to be on the safe side, I`ve ordered two new tyres (and tubes). Everything is in good working order - brakes, gears, etc - even the dynomo - thought I might have to renew the bulbs, but no,it works fine! So, it has another lease of life, as do I, though I don`t peddle quite so quickly as I used to. The years have taken their toll on me, but the Raleigh, it seems, is indestructible!
