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What you lot need is a good...

PostPosted: Sat Jan 05, 2013 9:56 am
by simonknee
... restoration project for the New Year!

Look what I picked up for twenty quid from a fellow evictee. (Our garages are being turned into pokey flats)

chopper.jpg and


HAPPY NEW YEAR

Simon

Re: What you lot need is a good...

PostPosted: Sat Jan 05, 2013 9:59 am
by garyeanderson
Looks kind of complicated, most of us wouldn't have a clue as to where to put the key. :)

Gary

Re: What you lot need is a good...

PostPosted: Sat Jan 05, 2013 11:30 am
by elanfan1
Well done Simon - that'll be worth a substantial amount more once it is finished.

Re: What you lot need is a good...

PostPosted: Sat Jan 05, 2013 1:15 pm
by 65sunbeam
That is a very nice Raleigh! I have a few Moultons that I ride. Any other British bike/Elan owners out there? Let us know how your Chopper restoration goes. Eric

Re: What you lot need is a good...

PostPosted: Sat Jan 05, 2013 3:37 pm
by twincamman
think Id rather have the Mini ---I discovered the internal combustion engine in 1956 and never went back to bikes ---I have a 1969 Botteccia race bike with 25 miles on it I generated enough methane gas to melt a whole ice burg Andburn a hole in the ozone layer while riding it ...Ed

Re: What you lot need is a good...

PostPosted: Sat Jan 05, 2013 5:46 pm
by UAB807F
You've been done Simon - the petrol tank and engine's missing !

:)

Brian

(seriously, that's a good find. I do a fair bit of cycling, like tinkering about with bikes and have often thought about getting an old Moulton to restore)

Re: What you lot need is a good...

PostPosted: Sat Jan 05, 2013 7:42 pm
by ElanSeries2
Lordy lord. Sorry, but a Chopper? I should think you lust after a TVR! It handles like a pig, weighs far more than any bike should, and was out of date before it arrived. The Elan, on the other hand...

If you are going to restore a bike, how about a Hetchins? Witcomb? Mercian? Roberts? Bob Jackson? Orbit? Or any decent handbuilt frame? You may need to learn to ride with "drop handlebars", but its worth persevering, I think. :wink:

But then, if you're into bikes (whatever ilk), you are ok by me. Happy riding!
:)

Re: What you lot need is a good...

PostPosted: Sat Jan 05, 2013 7:56 pm
by GrUmPyBoDgEr
ElanSeries2 wrote:Lordy lord. Sorry, but a Chopper? I should think you lust after a TVR! It handles like a pig, weighs far more than any bike should, and was out of date before it arrived. The Elan, on the other hand...

If you are going to restore a bike, how about a Hetchins? Witcomb? Mercian? Roberts? Bob Jackson? Orbit? Or any decent handbuilt frame? You may need to learn to ride with "drop handlebars", but its worth persevering, I think. :wink:

But then, if you're into bikes (whatever ilk), you are ok by me. Happy riding!
:)



Oh, ooh, aah a Hetchins! I have dreams about curly Hetchins; also Cinelli of the same era.
Campag', Mafac, Mavic & Dunlop Silks to finish 'em off of course. Lubberly!!
All like rocking horse poo these days :cry:
I could never have afforded them either when I was a youngster :cry: :cry:

Satisfying myself presently with a Giant 2011 steel framed Fixie; tons of fun when there's no wind :oops:

I read somewhere that Sir Alex Moulton recently died; a great engineer RIP.

Cheers
John

Re: What you lot need is a good...

PostPosted: Sat Jan 05, 2013 11:35 pm
by lotocone
ElanSeries2 wrote:Lordy lord. Sorry, but a Chopper? I should think you lust after a TVR! It handles like a pig, weighs far more than any bike should, and was out of date before it arrived. The Elan, on the other hand...

If you are going to restore a bike, how about a Hetchins? Witcomb? Mercian? Roberts? Bob Jackson? Orbit? Or any decent handbuilt frame? You may need to learn to ride with "drop handlebars", but its worth persevering, I think. :wink:

But then, if you're into bikes (whatever ilk), you are ok by me. Happy riding!
:)



Oh, you're making me think about my '72 Hetchins frame. It doesn't have the curly stays, but the fork crown is great. Too bad I crashed it in a race years ago and damaged the top tube. I might get that replaced if I can find the right person. There is a 70s Holdsworth Professional here that needs to be restored too.

Yes, happy riding!

Bob

Re: What you lot need is a good...

PostPosted: Sun Jan 06, 2013 5:39 am
by CBUEB1771
65sunbeam wrote:Any other British bike/Elan owners out there?


I had a Bob Jackson in the seventies, two locally made frames now, a Chris Chance and a Peter Mooney. Hetchins frames are truly lovely.

Re: What you lot need is a good...

PostPosted: Sun Jan 06, 2013 11:08 am
by rgh0
I ride an early 80's Dawes Galaxy. I have probably put as much mileage on it as on some of my Lotus in recent years

cheers
Rohan

Re: What you lot need is a good...

PostPosted: Sun Jan 06, 2013 12:02 pm
by GrUmPyBoDgEr
lotocone wrote:
ElanSeries2 wrote:Lordy lord. Sorry, but a Chopper? I should think you lust after a TVR! It handles like a pig, weighs far more than any bike should, and was out of date before it arrived. The Elan, on the other hand...

If you are going to restore a bike, how about a Hetchins? Witcomb? Mercian? Roberts? Bob Jackson? Orbit? Or any decent handbuilt frame? You may need to learn to ride with "drop handlebars", but its worth persevering, I think. :wink:

But then, if you're into bikes (whatever ilk), you are ok by me. Happy riding!
:)



Oh, you're making me think about my '72 Hetchins frame. It doesn't have the curly stays, but the fork crown is great. Too bad I crashed it in a race years ago and damaged the top tube. I might get that replaced if I can find the right person. There is a 70s Holdsworth Professional here that needs to be restored too.

Yes, happy riding!

Bob


I just can't imagine how it would be possible to replace that top tube without pulling, at least the whole main triangle apart.
That would mean heating / releasing the braze at all of those joints / lugs at the same time. The building process the other way around is relatively simple but an alignment jig is invariably used for that.
I'm pretty sure that Reynolds 531 double butted tubing can still be sourced though.
Maybe just using that lovely frame as a conversation piece hung on the den wall is the easiest solution. :)

Re: What you lot need is a good...

PostPosted: Sun Jan 06, 2013 1:07 pm
by elj221c
My daily rider, when I was much younger was a 1948 Paris, the frame of which was given to me by the original owner. (I wasn't born in '48!) Before that I owned a Cinelli but all I have left of that is the head badge. A lovely frame which I terminally bent in a crash.

For those that are interested in classic bikes, try this site:- http://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/index.html

Re: What you lot need is a good...

PostPosted: Sun Jan 06, 2013 2:49 pm
by lotocone
CBUEB1771 wrote:
65sunbeam wrote:Any other British bike/Elan owners out there?


I had a Bob Jackson in the seventies, two locally made frames now, a Chris Chance and a Peter Mooney. Hetchins frames are truly lovely.



Do you have any pictures of the Chris Chance or Peter Mooney frames? I've never seen either one. On Mooney's website, his frames look great.

Bob

Re: What you lot need is a good...

PostPosted: Sun Jan 06, 2013 2:52 pm
by CBUEB1771
elj221c wrote:For those that are interested in classic bikes, try this site:- http://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/index.html


Thanks for this link, a very interesting site!