john, i am brand new here but i don't believe i'm out of place to extend a welcome to you...as for what you can contribute, already your short bio has conjured up images of you as a young boy riding the english countryside on your fixed wheel bike, slick roads.....i can smell the rain and the trees. there is much talk here about the old bikes from the continent... and that is good...but americans of my age(58) really longing as young boys for their first lightweight often had that dreamed realised with an english 3 speed...they were lighter than the most common american quality bike, a schwinn, and had well thought out components, and they came w/ that seat bag w/ a booklet and that flat bar multiwrench....good lord, we were expected to work on our own bike!!! not one person reading here didn't think back on flipping their bars and shedding those fenders....and the gritty, black stripe up the back when rideing in the wet.....you have much to recollect here and i hope we hear plenty about what you lads were rideing and coveting across the pond...you gave us yanks the Dawes double blue and the Austin (healy) bug eyed sprite...so welcome back john...we'll all enjoy the recollections you care to share here...we're a stronger list now that you're back....charles flaherty in downtown baltimore maryland.... PS: my fisrt lightweight was my brothers hand me down, a dutch Hartog w/ a Brampton 3 spd hub... i replaced a broken pawl spring in order to restore a second gear to working status, and got hooked for life. welcome