Cardiff to London Tandem TT Record

The chap with the stylish sideburns is a much younger Richard Oddy, enroute to breaking the London to Cardiff tandem record on 21st October 1973.
The bike is a Mercian, which Richard still owns.
Gearing was 5 speed, 57 t chain ring, with a 13-22 cluster for a short 20% on the course.

DB: Was this a specific record attempt, or a time trial event?
RO: It was a specific record attempt.
There are many place to place records: London – Edinburgh, London – York, London – Brighton, etc. In addition our club had its own place to place records, such as High Wycombe to Cheltenham and back, 142 mi (229kms).

For National Records it was necessary to notify the Road Records Association; they have observers enroute to make sure you don’t cheat (take a train, draft behind a truck) – you are also followed by the time keeper who overtakes just before the finish.

Only one bike or tandem can make an attempt on a record on any one day.

DB: Who is the stoker?
RO: The stoker (guy on the back) is Gordon Wright, my club mate in the High Wycombe C C. He was the club coach.
A week or so before the record attempt we rode over the course on solos, having taken the train from High Wycombe to Cardiff.
The biggest problem with city to city record attempts is the traffic – you can start early to avoid traffic in say Cardiff, but it then becomes a problem in London, which counters the improvement in road surfaces and better bikes

DB: What was the time?
RO: We took 6 hrs 13 min 26 sec for the 163 miles (263kms) and beat the old record by about 10 minutes – can’t recall exactly, but could look it up in the copy of the RRA handbook.
I died badly towards the end as I was really a short distance rider, 10 miles being my forte. (I have a collection of certificates from such events)

Richard Oddy's 1969 Ron Cooper

One of the most gratifying things about organising the Retro Ride is the bikes that have been brought out of retirement to bring along.

Richard Oddy, Chief Spoke of Pedaltours and the only person I know with a helmet exemption certificate, got this Ron Cooper out of the basement for the first Retro Ride back in late 2002. I was immediately smitten with lust, only partially requited by finding my own Cooper-built Gillott last year.

At the Okoroire Ride I took a few photos, and subsequently interrogated Richard by email:

DB: Why a Ron Cooper? Were there other builders that you considered?
RO: At that time, and at least until the mid ‘70’s, if you were English then you would only consider an English frame – very few people in those days rode Continental frames.
There were many builders then, one man businesses in addition to the slightly larger ones such as Holdsworth, Jack Taylor, Bob Jackson etc.
It was usual to buy from a local builder. I lived in High Wyecombe at the time – Ron Cooper was not strictly local but he was ‘Southern’ vs say Harry Quinn. (There was and still is, a certain rivalry between the North and South of England).
Ron Cooper had a good reputation and someone else in my club already had one.

DB: How did Ron Cooper design the frame?
Did he take your measurements, or measure your existing bike?
How much input did you have?
Did you specify the lugs or other frame fittings?
RO: I phoned, then visited, said I wanted a general purpose road and TT bike, therefore no lugs for mudguards, (mudguards were usual then when training) and clearance for tubulars, not hp (clinchers) which were then only available in large section.
I looked at the bikes he had in stock and he measured my leg, torso, arm length.
I wanted plain, not fancy, lugs and said I would build it up all Campag

DB:How long did it take from order to delivery?
RO: 6 weeks

DB: How much did the frame cost?
RO: ₤37-1/2 with a Campag seatpost – I supplied the Campag headset – which was considered a lot of money then.
DB: Incidentally, the average wage in 1969 was ₤24.16s.5d, according to this highly reliable source


DB: Did you initially build it up 'tutto Campagnolo'?
RO: Yes, including the brakes, which at 27 guineas (1 guinea =₤1-1s) was a real extravagance.
Not too many people then had an all Campag bike.
I had two pairs of wheels, 36’s for road racing and training, although most training was on my hack bike, a Bob Jackson, and a pair of 28’s for TT’s
It was 5 speed, 13 – 17, later converted to six. Rings, 44 / 54


DB: Have any braze-ons been added subsequently?
RO: The bottle cages and also the top tube cable guides.
Fashions come and go re brazeons. In those days it was not done.

DB: What bike were you riding previously?
RO: A Bob Jackson.
My first real bike was a Chris Brasher (Walthamstow, London).
Another London builder was Frank Lipscombe – he had a better shop.

DB: What type of racing were you mostly doing?
RO: Mostly time trials. I was better at 10 miles. I once did a 20min 40 10 mile in ’69.
I also rode tandem place to place records. Cardiff to London, 165 miles, and briefly the 25 mi tandem record on a Mercian 5 speed, with a 57 ring, which I still have.
All good fun.

Stephen Sheffield's Ron Cooper site
A Nervex lugged Cooper recently on ebay

Framebuilding Master class

After the ride on Sunday, Daniel Rosser and I were talking about ways to learn about framebuilding.
While I pretend to know what I'm talking about, I am but an unworthy semi-retired amateur framebuilder.
Fortunately, the internet nowadays hosts a plethora of resources for the wannabe framebuilder.

Richard Sachs has just posted some photos of the lug filing process, as it was in the days before investment cast frame fittings.
Take a look if you have ever wondered how a steel bike frame can cost more than US$2500, and take 18 months to deliver.

Sachs himself provides some background in this email to the Framebuilders email list.
Someone with less rigorously retro sensibilities could just order a 'standard' Sachs with oversize steel tubing and Richie-issimo lugs, but, naaah, it wouldn't be the same.

August Retro Ride report

Wet blustery weather failed to deter the ten hardy souls, plus Bunny the stray dog, who fronted for this month's ride.
While some opted to keep their retro bikes warm and dry at home, Daniel Rosser brought his immaculate modern Hetchins, fitted with 8-speed Campagnolo Record.

In deference to the waves of foul weather coming in from the south west, we looped around Mangere Bridge and Ihumatao, returning to Otahuhu via the Airport.
Unlike last month's Bianchi ride, when we were dogged by punctures, we were unhampered by mechanicals, but had a few stops to don or divest rainjackets.

From the slight moral high ground afforded by riding my Gillott instead of the high performance option, I pontificated that a gentleman should own at least one bike with mudguards, until Rick Woodward told me to shut up. Apparently, that's what friends are for...

Returning to my place, Daniel, Rick, Tom Parrish and I rummaged the shed, unearthing a few vintage framebuilding parts and other junque, while Peat Alexander (below, red helmet) entertained the masses with an impromptu exposition on carbon fibre construction techniques.

The next Retro Ride will be on September 10th.

Okoroire Fun Ride Report

A small but enthusiastic retro grupetto gathered at the Okoroire Funride last Sunday.

The Pedaltours van, containing Pippa & Richard Oddy, Richard's friends Dan & Bill, Janelle Porter, Glenn Selwyn and myself, towed trailer with five righteous steel road bikes and one lonely aluminium Giant.

Rumours of Symon Coles' presence were confirmed after the ride.
Choosing to go with the front runners on his late '80s Bridgestone
RB-2, he was in the lead bunch until the last hill.

Vaughan Yarwood joined us on the start line, riding his lurid Colnago Master Olympic, to make up a group of four with Richard (on his '69 Ron Cooper),Glenn & me (both on 50's Holdworth fixies), which stayed together until we lost Richard a few k's before Arapuni.

Janelle put in a sterling effort in her first ever fun ride, completing the 40k ride in 1:32.

Click here for results.

The Okoroire Mid Winter Fun Ride is always a great day out.
While the the Okoroire Hall is too small to accomodate the whole field at prizegiving, the organisation is faultless, and friendly. The course is fun to ride, without being overly challenging for those who have succumbed to winter lethargy.

The organisers, Sandy & Cliff Kingston also run the Tokoroa Forest Charity Fun Ride every March, which is mainly on closed, tar sealed forestry roads.

Get 'em before they're hot!

Back when I was misspending my youth, I knew a geezer who had recently bought an AJS 7R, out of a barn, for $400.
At the time, 1978, this was a great score, and my guess is that it appreciated in price tenfold in the next five years. This coincided with a worldwide groundswell of interest in classic motorcycle racing and collecting, which rapidly put the sport out of the financial reach of most of the gentleman losers and proto-bogans who had been fooling with old motorbikes during the 70s.

Overseas, there are parallels with the current state of vintage lightweight bicycle collecting. Events like le Cirque du Cyclisme, Velo Rendezvous and L'Eroica nowadays draw entrants from round the world.
The internet has internationalised the market for vintage parts and high-end vintage bikes, and punters are willing to pay serious coin for the right item.
But the local market is lagging, maybe years behind, and I suspect that Trademe is partly to blame.
Trademe is a great medium for buying and selling commonplace items, but the New Zealand market is not big enough or rich enough to get top dollar for your old bike junque. In contrast, an Australian vendor on ebay.com.au is effectively selling into the international market.

The cost of international shipping is also a factor.
A bike like this Masi Special, which sold via Trademe to a Japanese collector for NZ$2560 last year, has the mojo to justify the cost of international freight and extensive restoration. However, in three years of Trademe membership, this may be the only bike I have seen that was worthy of export.

Most Trademe vendors don't deserve to get a good price for their old bikes- photographs are typically of the wrong side of the bike, out of focus and devoid of detail. Descriptions are hyperbolic, and just as equally devoid of detail.
Obviously, some vendors simply want to be rid of an old bike they no longer use, like my Condor, and their investment of effort reflects their expectation of the transaction.
Others seem to think that merely using the words 'rare' and/or 'collectible' will invest their bike with the sort of mojo that makes bidders go wild, and compensate for their inability to photograph or honestly and accurately describe a bicycle. In reality, such auctions rarely reach reserve, and are relisted week after week.


Whatever the reason, I reckon that very few vendors who have high price expectations based on perceived collectibility are getting the prices they want.
Right now, this is small, poor, buyers market, which, in my opinion is no bad thing for enthusiasts.
Chances are, if you've got a old bike to sell it doesn't owe you much, and if you're buying, gems like this Roberts (right), which sold recently on Trademe for $356, will never be cheaper.
Though the bike is probably twice as old as claimed, and the auction text is typically over the top , at least this vendor provided detailed photos and was not delusional about the bike's value.

If overseas trends are a guide, it is only a matter of time before vintage lightweight bicycles start to attract the undiscerning rich.
My advice? Snap them up while they are cheap, and ride the ass off them.

This is sharp...

This Cycles Tournesol Legere sportif from Hampsten Cycles is the best road bike I've seen on the interweb for quite a while.
I would like it even more with a steel fork, but at least this Wound Up fork has clearance for mudguards and eyelets to fit them to.

The spec looks like a Campagnolo Centaur CT drivetrain, Shimano BR-R600 brakes, Nitto Noodle Bar, Fizik Aliante titanium saddle, Honjo mudguards.
That Berthoud saddlebag will carry everything you need for a day ride.

More Cycles Tournesol, including a full carbon sportif weapon here.

1969 Ron Cooper-built Gillott

This bike was advertised on the Classic Rendezvous website in early 2005.
I emailed the vendor for photos (above), hoping that it would be truly awful and that my temptation would be ended there & then, but it was not to be.
Somehow, the the fleur-de-lys lugwork and the curve of the forkblades eclipsed the dents and manky chrome. When the Grand High Lama of Gillott Mark Stevens told me that he would buy it if I didn't, I could resist no longer.
Mark confirmed that the frame was built by Ron Cooper in 1969, after he had left Gillotts to work for himself.
The Titan bar & stem and Universal centrepull brakes suggest that original owner had retrograde tastes for the time, perhaps an older clubman rather than a fashionable young racer.
He was probably a well-moneyed gent- with fancy lugs and chrome plating, I expect it cost a fair bit more than the exorbitant ₤37 Richard Oddy paid for his '69 Ron Cooper.

Unfortunately. the bike was in Brisbane, Australia, about 1500 miles of water away .
A complex strategy evolved using up many favours, to get the bike sent to Sydney where friend Gaz would collect it on his next business trip. This took a couple of months, giving me time to redish a nice pair of plausible-looking tubular wheels, and amass a box of sound components in anticipation of the Gillott's original hardware being worse for wear.

When the bike arrived, I didn't even need to stay up late to get it rideable (left) for the next day's Breakfast Ride, though I still had a couple of worrying moments.
The headset tightened as I turned the fork, suggesting a bent steerer, but the problem was cured by facing the headtube & fork crown with the appropriate Campag tools.
About an hour later, I discovered that the rear Universal 61 caliper was too short to reach the tubular rim. Sliding the wheel to the back of the dropout provided a short term solution, and an appeal to the CR list brought a long reach mod.61 caliper from Scott Davis, who had already provided a fresh set of Universal brake hoods.

Overnight, the Gillott became my favourite bike.
The first time I took my hands off the bars, it ran straight unlike most of my vintage junkers.
The seat tube angle is shallow enough to let me put a Brooks Pro in my accustomed wayback position.


Since it’s obviously not a racing bike, it is the ideal recipient for the Berthoud stainless mudguards that were looking out of place on my Cecil Walker.

The Titan bar & stem, respectively too narrow and too short, had to go. I replaced them with a Cinelli 1a stem and 66/44 bar.


The sweeping fork rake, one of the initial visual hooks, results in only about 25mm of trail. This does not affect straightline stability, but the steering is light and almost feedback-free, especially with 25mm tyres. Fitting 700 x 28 Rivendell Ruffy-Tuffies seems to have made a difference.

to be continued...

Stephen Sheffield's Ron Cooper site
Classic Rendezvous Gillott page
More Photos

Headset________________Campagnolo Nuovo Record
Bottom bracket__________Campagnolo Nuovo Record
Crankset_______________Campagnolo Nuovo Record 175 mm 41/52
Brakes_________________Universal mod.61
Brake levers____________Universal
Shift levers_____________Campagnolo Nuovo Record
Front derailler___________Campagnolo Nuovo Record with cable stop
Rear derailler____________Campagnolo Nuovo Record PATENT, no date
Hubs__________________Campagnolo Nuovo Record 32/40
Freewheel______________Suntour Winner Ultra 6 14-24
Rims__________________Mavic MA2
Saddle_________________Brooks Swallow restored by Tony Colegrave
Seatpost_______________Campagnolo Nuovo Record
Stem__________________Cinelli 1a
Handlebars_____________Cinelli 66/44 (now 64/42)

Wasting time with old bikes, part 1

The recent city-wide powercut gave me an unscheduled half day off in which to goof around, so I retaped the bars of my Gillott in this harlequin or diamond pattern.

To maximise my use of the bonus spare time, I also wrapped the tape 'Alex Singer style', with the ends of the tape tucked under the brake lever hoods.

As far as I know, cotton bar tape is not readily available here in New Zealand. Mine came from Bicycle Classics.

At the moment the tape looks a bit bright, but with time it will acquire beausage to match the rest of the machine.

The best instructions that I have seen for wrapping tape in this way are at: http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/articles/diamondweave/

Bianchi Retro Ride report

The day dawned dismally, with frequent showers that belied the few small blue blotches on the Metservice rain radar.
As I headed out the door to forage for doughnuts, Matt Sinton called, demanding a cast iron guarantee of fine weather. Donna assured him of blue skies in Otahuhu, which was only true if you were looking in one direction.

Returning from the doughnut run, I found Simon Foster-Moan, parked in the street with his Gianni Bugno-era Bianchi atop his equally-beloved Holden Kingswood. He was already levitating with excitement, so being a responsible and caring host I gave him more coffee.

I put out a few interesting knick-knacks to keep the multitudes distracted (a Nakagawa road frame and some grubby Campagnolo pedali con denti, but Kim Sinclair upstaged all of my Show & Tell items with his set of 1974 Bianchi Campagnolo team cards.
Russell Milliken, wearing Liquigas-Bianchi team jersey and shorts, but riding the first ever Benson frame, won the draw for the celeste bike ribbon.

Matt Sinton finally arrived at 9:30, complaining about early morning churchgoers clogging Spaghetti Junction, so we got off to a late start, compounded by me leaving the front door open. While we waited for Donna to deal with that problem, Allister Worrall made some last minute adjustments to his mint '83 Specialissima that was probably being ridden in the rain for the first time ever.
Given the weather and delays I decided that a loop around the flats near Ardmore would be sufficient, but coming out of Alfriston it started raining in earnest.
With Matt bemoaning the wet stripe on his nifty Zieleman jersey, we headed straight for the cafe at Ardmore, where a quantity of pies and cake was consumed.

After the ride, we had a weigh-off, proving to Kim's satisfaction that Bianchi's have got heavier in modern times:

Kim Sinclair____________ 1975 Specialissima 18 1/4 pounds
Allister Worrall__________ 1983 Specialissima 19 1/2 pounds
David Benson ___________ late 80's 20 1/2 pounds
Simon Foster ____________1992-ish 22 pounds

A coupla Coppi-era Bianchis

With the Bianchi-theme Retro Ride only a week away, here are a couple of bikes to stoke the anticipation of the Bianchi tifosi

While surfing my favourite Japanese bike sites last night I found this 1953 Bianchi that deserves a wider audience.
It looks like this bike was carefully stored in the back of the barn when one of the crank cotter pins wore out- see how the front crankarm is drooping.


Peter Johnson's 1956 Bianchi has a few interesting features like an early Campagnolo 2-bolt steel seatpost, and Ottusi-modified Brooks B17 saddle.

1963 Condor Italia

Frame serial #6305

Not my size, but at NZ$72 on Trademe I couldn't help myself.
I suspect that the fork isn't original, but I'm sufficiently charmed by the British Cycling Federation stickers on each forkleg not to care.

As purchased there wasn't too much to get excited about except the frame, which has faded but original paint, a good headbadge and exceptionally sharp lugwork.
Although it is blue/grey now, unfaded paint under the clamped on fittings is a rich purple.

The lugs seem to be sandcastings, which must have been unusual by the time this frame was built. The ID of the seat lug is stepped to allow the top of the seattube to be cut square, a common practice with modern investment cast lugs.
The Campagnolo 1010 dropouts have no eyelets, suggesting that a single purpose racing frame rather than a generic English clubmans bike.

More photos
Condor page at Classic Rendezvous

Headset________________Campagnolo Gran Sport
Bottom bracket___________Stronglight
Crankset________________Stronglight
Brakes_________________Mafac 2000 (Mafac Racer pictured)
Brake levers_____________Mafac
Shift levers______________Zeus Criterium
Front derailler___________Zeus (Campagnolo Gran Sport pictured)
Rear derailler____________Zeus Criterium (Campagnolo Nuovo Record pictured)
Hubs__________________Normandy
Rims__________________700c clincher
Saddle_________________Brooks Professional (Ideale Mod 90 pictured)

The Retro Ride

The Retro Ride is a monthly group ride from my house in Otahuhu, Auckland, New Zealand.

Although the use of a vintage or retro bike, and the wearing of vintage clothing and regalia is encouraged, it is by no means compulsory.

Because the ride leaves from my lounge room, the Retro Ride is by invite only.
That's the way it will be until someone opens a cafe nearby that is open early on Sunday mornings.

On a good day, we'll cover about 60kms at a conversational pace, stopping for coffee somewhere in the South Auckland countryside. On a miserable wet day, we'll do an hour around Mangere and then drink coffee in front of the fire.

Attendance varies. Rain or shine, someone always turns up, but we have started one ride with two riders, others with as many as 14.

Occasionally, Westie heartthrob and track racing legend Matt Sinton organises a West Auckland Retro Ride from the Swanson Railway Station cafe.
Girls, watch this space...