I think Ray is absolutely right in saying that a frame had to be a master of all trades in the UK until quite recent years. The current silly obsession (of many of my friends) of changing TT frames every year in the mistaken belief that a gramme of weight will make any difference is a result of too much money burning a hole in people's pockets. As for carbon fibre, lets not go there, just for environmental reasons, as well as being off-topic)! Though a committed cyclist since 1949 I did not start time trialling until 1983, when my son threw down the gauntlet. Yes, I used my everyday bike to do the business and refused to upgrade until I had broken the 24 minute barrier for 10 miles. I then made a serious mistake and bought a Raleigh Ti Dynatech frame. Nice bike and I did break the hour on it but....it wasn't steel and it will shortly be for sale as a glued frame is not my cup of tea! So I am with Ray, we should not confuse cycling ability with the ability of a bicycle. It is all in the legs, not in the tubes! As a local friend told me recently, when I bought a bike from him. "It's just a bike." How true is that?
Nigel Land
Barton on Humber UK
Date: Fri, 28 Apr 2006 18:24:23 +0100 From: <greenjersey@ntlworld.com> To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org> Subject: [CR]North South divide and other matters. Message-ID: <20060428172423.FMEO24467.aamtaout02-winn.ispmail.ntl.com@smtp.ntlworld.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Precedence: list Message: 10
Nigel is absolutely right that the real divide is between England and Scotland. I and many other Englishmen dream of the day that the UK breaks up and there is again an English parliament in London. I can confirm that the Southport CC in the sixties had about 100 members. I dont think anyone rode a Raleigh, maybe one or two on a Carlton. One or two guys had frames from "down South" that they had bought while stationed there when doing National Service. I remember a Rotrax and maybe a H.E. Green? I would say that 90% of members rode a frame from a small lightweight builders located in the North West of England. I think Frank is wrong to say that only 10% of clubmen raced. I have a Southport CC Club 25 start sheet listing over fifty riders. As I say we had 100 members. I think the racing/touring frame distinction was pretty irrelevant in the sixties. I rode a first category road race on my Walvale and the next day I fitted mudguards, HP's (wired ons) and a Carradice camper longflap saddle bag and left for a three week tour of Spain. Cycled to Southampton, boat to Santander and then on to San Sebastian to see Simmy win the Worlds. We did another 1000 miles in Spain. With 72 degree angles and a 42 inch wheelbase my "massed start" bike made a perfect tourer. Ray Green, Brighton, ENGLAND