I had my old Speedwell fitted with a few new parts so it would be a viable bike for everyday use. I really regretted its having to lose its old world look, but I reconciled myself to that and decided I would just have to get used to it. Changes had to be made to the handle bar setup to accommodate this and I had opted for red tape to cover up the chipped chrome, in addition to the necessary new grips. I was shocked, when I picked it up from the bike shop, at its change in appearance.
The new wheels, and the cable I got used to, they are after all new and shiny and make the bike ride, and stop, really well. The tyres, with their reflective strips, look almost like white wall tyres too. The handlebars I could not get used to, I did not like either the look or the feel of the chubby modern grips or the look of the red tape on the handlebars (it was designed to cover up the chipped chrome) so I removed it and put on faux cork grips and am much happier with the result, both in terms of overall appearance and the feel of the grips …
Oh yes, I like the changes.
Thanks Annie!
I really enjoyed last night’s episode of American Pickers. The lads found a couple of brilliant vintage bicycles including an American 50’s Panther with white-wall tyres and a clip-on “gas tank” and an old French racing cycle that was seriously beautiful – But nothing compared to the Penny Farthing in perfect ridable condition. A great episode !!! I think the allure of that particular show is the opportunity to go sifting through more than a century of “junk” – I love to see what treasures are uncovered.
I missed that show Steve, it sounds great! And so do the bikes!
What about the front basket? Are you going to put the black one back on the Speedwell?
This comment went into the spam queue and I just found it Annie …. No, the basket is not going back on due to the cable problems I had before. Not sure what I am going to do about a basket or rack at this stage.