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Hoping to make it again this year. Just need to sort out a way to get back to London. Don't fancy the couch - has anyone tried getting the train back from Ipswich?
Me and a friend got a lift back with his family last year which was very welcome. We lured them up to Dunwich with the promise of a day out at the sea but after perfect riding conditions the weather turned foul on Sunday morning so they basically ended up doing a 3 hour round trip for a fish and chip lunch.
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1990s 26" Vernon Baker (formally know as MB Dronsfield) with 8x3 speed Campag Mirage groupset over on cycling uk. Seller (not me) is in Dronsfield and wants £350 ono.
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there can't be many of these about: Saxon Twin tube tandem. £75 start, in Caterham.
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not cheap but a very nice proper FH Grubb in Ruislip.
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Lugless Claud ending in an hour - currently £60.
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a couple more interesting machines on ebay:
1951/2 Holdsworth Sirocco/Whirlwind, in Wigston (near Leicester). Looks totally original (aside from the pipe insolation bar-tape) and appears to come with a spare Brooks B17 and a vintage track pump. Stunning.
1940's Evans with clip type headset but mostly cheap 80's parts and a slightly unsympathetic powdercoat. £59 start, in Hastings.
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this looks interesting. Badged as a Holdsworth but it doesn't look like any Holdsworth I've seen, having Ekla lugs and a reinforced brake bridge. Hill Special maybe? Mostly 70's low-end components but it does have a nice Simplex 'Competition' double chainring and half a Juy '51 shifter.
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nice (late 50s?) EG Bates in Portsmouth with lovely original paint/decals and some original parts. Currently £3.20 with four days to go...
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I must've imagined that Dawes with the same lugs as after trawling through the catalogue on VCC nothing remotely similar has popped up.
I'd spotted the chrome, the rear dropout are very similar too. Is that the slightest hint of a decal under the paint on the headtube? ...Gotta hope someone rescues it.
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As @midlife said, it was on cycle chat first and I thought maybe I'd seen the same lugs before on a higher-end '50's Dawes but I couldn't find anything that matched until I spotted this Maclean which is similar but obviously not identical (the seat cluster for a start):
http://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/bikes/macleans-hellon-rb.html
A frame number would be the way to determine if it was a Maclean or not. It's too small and too far away for me though whatever it is...
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the lugs on this royal blue 3-speed town bike on the left, looks very similar to @Jingle_Jangle 's (former?) Maclean Featherweight on the right.
the scruffy blue onr is current going for £15 in Ely, Camb:
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Royal Flamboyant Blue Enamel + a coat of lacquer (after the decals were added).
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actually, this gives a better idea of the finish and colour.
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I thought the lugs looked EB-ish but the heraldic headbadge confused me.
Here's my '53 Ellis Briggs Superbe re-sprayed by BJ*:
*I got it resprayed via Ellis Briggs but, unfortunately I'm not able to recommend going through them.
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what @withered_preacher said, a gentle t-cut and some wax/polish unless there's some nasty paint loss that's not pictured. If possible original paint is best.
Otherwise Bob Jackson in Leeds will do a great job - one colour with decals will be something like £150. Vaz Finishes would be your other option whom I've not used but examples abound further up the thread (and on their website).
Looks like a lovely frame - I'm guessing a Harry Quinn or Geoff Clark?
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Yep, it's just a bit stiff today, thanks.
I think I was kinda lucky in that my head was angled slightly downwards and it hit me towards the front of my helmet which may have dissipated some of the force. If I'd been more upright there may have been more direct force. ...the flipside of that is if I'd been looking upwards I might have spotted the barrier coming down!
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I'm sure Harry Hill's voice over will be very sympathetic...
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Leaving the underground car park at work last night in a sweaty rush, I foolishly tried to follow a motorbike through the barrier. Thwhack! The barrier promptly comes down and gives me a massive whack on the noggin! I had no idea what had happened at first - thank fuck I was wearing a helmet. I was a bit dazed for a minute but aside from a stiff neck I'm ok. Without the helmet it could've been an embarrassing thing to explain in A&E.
The shame!
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Absolutely stunning. Great work.
I never did get back to you with my Ellis Briggs experience. I actually wrote out a full post listing all my gripes but in the end I deleted it. I couldn't bring myself to bad mouth them all over the internet as I don't think Paul (the owner) is a bad guy I just think he really, really needs someone to be running the shop and for him and his mechanic to focus on the workshop side. Communication and organisational skills levels are hovering around zero.
They are still in business - although I don't see how they can make any money - the liquidation in May was to get out of a bad rental deal and they moved a few shops along.
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ah, thanks for your informed reply. The brief report I'd read said
"protest at plans to improve safety and reduce harmful emissions by Transport for London who are proposing to restrict any vehicles other than buses and bicycles from nearby Tooley Street."
but as you point out there's clearly more to it than that. I'm not anti black cab at all but just think it would be great if cabby organisations could became more part of a solution to the state of London traffic and air, rather than often being found protesting for the status quo.
there's an interesting piece about the electric cabs here (although it reads like an advertorial at times):
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/levc-geely-london-electric-black-taxis-cabs
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I've cycled through them every evening this week - at least 50% have their engines running. Now, I can see why they're not happy about Uber but fighting for their rights to pollute Tooley St? Nuts. Surely a better approach would be to try and get some sort of TfL/Govt. subsidy to switch over to newer electric cabs? Pursue something that would benefit all Londoners. They would then be in a much better position to claim privileges over which streets they're allowed on.
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...and then he drives at you at speed ...and then you pull his wing mirror off ...and then you both end up wrestling to death in the gutter.
I think riding away with a sense of moral superiority is a better move. No of the times that I've lost it and called bad driver a prick have resulted in them apologising and amending their behaviour. I have had someone drive at me though after I (justifiably) shouted abuse...
Assholes don't become less assholey when their assholiness is pointed out to them, usually the opposite is true.
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something French? Louison Bobet with Nervex lugs and chrome fork ends:
looks similar to this one: http://classiclightweights.net/france/louison-bobet/1955-louison-bobet-tour-de-france-bicycle/
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cheers @wildwest @honk for the tips.
Good to know it's straight forward, if that proves to be the best option. I must admit that I'm not overly keen on adding another 30 miles - even after a breakfast pint. But it might be that needs must.