Shropshire Vintage Bicycles: October 2015

Sunday 25 October 2015

Saturday 24 October 2015

Ortlieb Pannier from The Cycle Surgery

Friday 23 October 2015

Wolverhampton Market

This morning we went for a trip to Wolverhampton to pic up the weekly veg.

The fruit and veg market is not what it used to be when I was a kid, but then again nothing is these days.

We visited the indoor market where we found The Spice Centre to stock up on all the ingredients you need for a curry.

The Spice Centre Wolverhampton Market

We then made our way outside to get some Vegetables from Bradleys, They have been trading in the market for over fifty years.

Bradleys veg stall have been trading for over 50 years on the market

However they are very concerned that when the redevelopment of the indoor market happens there will be very little left of the outdoor fruit and veg market.

This problem is not exclusive to Wolverhampton, Markets have been disappearing all over the country , no doubt they are forced out of business when a huge supermarket springs up right next to them as happened here last year when Sainsbury's opened a new 60 million pound store.

Towns like this are suffering up and down the country and the problem is a hard one to solve. The supermarkets bring large amounts of cash into deprived areas which can be very tempting for local councils , especially when they are offering incentives like paying for new pedestrian crossings etc.

We need to find a balance to our retail economy and this is one of the biggest challenges facing government and local planning departments.

Mary Portas had good intentions when she launched her campaign to rejuvenate the High Street a couple of years ago.

A trip to Wolverhampton would tell you there's much more work to be done.

Shoppers at Wolverhampton outdoor Market

Thursday 22 October 2015

Dawes Mirage 1970's

Well its been a good week, I have sold one of my Poyner Bikes.

It's always good to see a bike go to a good home.

On the bench this week is a 1970's Dawes Mirage 22 1/2 inch frame.

The full range of Dawes bikes is available at Evans Cycles here.

If anyone fancies a new bike how about this for a custom build ready in time for christmas ?

Tuesday 20 October 2015

Derailleur Gears

When it comes to Derailleur gear changers you can't go wrong with the Shimano range

Here is a nice example of the Shimano 600 model. I picked this one up at the Bike jumble at the weekend for £4.

When money is tight it is well worth hunting around to see what is available on the second hand market and it's a good deal cheaper than going to Evans Cycles.

It was full of dirt and grease but after some thorough cleaning it came up lovely and is now ready to go again on one of my bikes.

shimano 600

Sunday 18 October 2015

Viking Frame from 1963

My new project this week is this lovely Viking Hosteller from 1963.

I shall be re-painting this bike in the original pale blue and white colours.

I was reading today that you can buy a Viking bicycle from Amazon or even Tesco.

Well I'm sure you can but it won't have the same feel as riding one of the original beauties.

If you are taking your bike outside this week remember to take some warm clothing with you,pop over to Go OutDoors they have some great winter warmers at good prices.