My brother called last week and said he was cleaning out the garage and his old bicycles had to go. If I wanted them it was now or never. If I didn't take them they were headed for the local thrift store.
He is about the same size I am so I knew they would fit. One bike I was familiar with, his Giant Excursion which is the twin to mine.
The others I had never seen. So grabbed the truck and headed up the road.
Here are pictures of the haul.
1990'ish Giant Excursion, not in quite as nice a shape as mine, but it has been ridden a good bit more and was used as a commuter.
Next bike up is a 1985 Raleigh Record. Nothing real fancy, just a good solid entry level 10 speed in it's day. He had started some sort of conversion on it. Plans right now call for a strip down and rebuild as a city bike for my son who lives in Boston. Going to go with Sturmey Archer drum brake hubs. More to follow on this one.
And last but not least...
1991? Raleigh Tactic. This was an odd little bike they only made for a couple of years. Steel MTB, frame is 4130 CroMo which is one of my favorite materials. Bike is a bit on the small side for me, not sure what my brother was doing with it. Looks like he might have used it as a backup commuter.
4 comments:
Nice haul!
The Giant looks to be outfit for some rando riding. Did your brother do any long distance work with it? I'd love to have a bike set up with braze-ons for a nice front rack like that.
I'll be very interested to see how the Raleigh Record comes along. As I mentioned in one of my blog posts, I'm really hot for a 50s Raleigh Lenton Sport "Reg Harris" which was a club bike with drop bars and a three speed hub. I've been looking over eBay and C'List to find a frame to convert to a Reg Harris look-alike, just haven't come across one yet. You have a lucky boy, for sure!!
hope you are staying cool!
charles
Hi Charles,
Those Giants came set up that way from the factory. I am guessing they were Euro-spec trekking bikes. They originally came with flat bars. We both converted ours to drop bars w/brifters. Me for touring, his for a 20+ mile one way commute.
All Clubman bikes I have ever seen have been too small for me. I have a Dawes Galaxy in the 63cm (25.5") that I am accumulating parts for to build up a Clubman.
Cool is a relative term when the heat index is 113*
Aaron
There's something about a bike with racks and fenders that looks so inviting.
You might want to consider taking the moustache bars from the Record and putting them on the Tactic. Just an idea.
Good luck, and let us know what you come up with!
Hi Big Oak
I have a soft spot for any bike that is set up for utility purposes, especially one with racks.
The Tactic has a nice set of the old style Scott bars on it. I am thinking the mustache bars are going to stay with the Record as it gets converted. Probably swap in a Dirt Drop stem to get them up a bit higher.
The Tactic is too small for me to ride, but DD is headed for school in NH and could probably use a rough weather bike and it is her size.
Aaron
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