Mont Blanc and me!

The pug still going strong!!

2013-07-16T05:29:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to say that now the pug has a few miles under it's belt and doing fine! I had to make a few modernization modifications... I found the old bars where not very comfortable on the road and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't find a brake position that offered up comfort when on the hoods and lever reach on the drops so new FSA Gossemar bars and modern ahead stem where the way forward. I had to fit a "quill stem to A-Head set adapter" which worked very well and allows me to use more modern bars and stem. This bar shape is so comfortable all round and gives a great (and reassuring) lever reach in all positions.

The drive train however has been a pain in the arse! The rear mech (if you look back) you'll remember I had to JB weld on to the frame.....this made positioning it a nightmare..although I moves through all the sprockets smoothly there is a little noise when sat in the middle sprockets which is a little worry..It's one of those noises where if you give it some tater (sorry, northern for pressing hard on the pedals ha ha) you feel like somethings going to slip and leave your balls wrapped around the top tube!! One other annoyance is that the chain set is slightly buckled so when in top unless I get the shift lever in the right position i get a nice "ting ting ting ting ting" with every revolution!

I would also be nice to not have the shifters on the down tube as when your flying down a hil and need to change up its a bit nerve wracking to take your hand off the drops...especially on out pot-holed filled UK roads!!

As you will have read we are taking on the mammoth Lands End to John O'Groats ride this time next year. Although I will need a new ride for that I will be putting lots of training in on the pug...Hopefully it will last!!!

Will try not to leave it so long between posts this time! Why not subscribe now...that way I know you are there and ill update more often ;)

Stay safe!!

900 Miles for Epilepsy Bereaved

2013-02-28T06:01:00.002-08:00

So, I re-built a classic! We will no RIDE a classic!!! Yes ladies and Jelly-spoons Myself and a few other blokes are cycling 900 miles from Lands End to John O'Groats for a charity close to our hearts: Epilepsy Bereaved!

Ok, so this has been done a couple of times....The challenge however is the fact that we are...er....chubbs....and unfit!!! Follow us on our journey from Chubb to Uber-Chubb!!!

Have a look at our blog, Chubbs Cycle Challenge and show your support!

CBR Corsa budget Road bike review

2012-12-10T09:24:00.003-08:00

Firstly it's important to note that this isn't a "oooh buy my bikes" type review! Rather an " I'm really surprised at how good these bikes are for the price"

When I opened the shop I came to the decision that I wouldn't sell road bikes. We are a family shop and our bikes are mainly MTB, Hybrid, Ladies and kids. With a couple of shoppers thrown in. Our most expensive MTB is £425. I was of the opinion that a road bike within this price range would be pretty pants. Since opening however every other customer has been asking me for road bikes. I then had an email from my main Supplier "Claud Butler" with a good offer on a budget road bike. The spec was, in fact not bad and for the price of £360rrp it looked quite smart. I bought two.

They came today and I have to say that I was completely blown away! Opening the box and taking off all the protective stuff the first thing that struck me was the awesome colour scheme! It's all Olympic GB colours! RED/BLUE/WHITE/BLACK with nice corked white bar tape. Really very pretty indeed.

CBR Corsa

So spec then. Well, first thing to be noted that this bike is fitted with shimano light action shifters. If you are unfamiliar with these, unlike Sti shifters that are operated by flicking the brake lever/paddle to one side these have a more traditional shifter mounted on the top of the bars. I have only seen these in the magazines and prior to hopping on this bike was unimpressed. But you know what? They are great!

They are really easy to get too. FAR EASIER THAN DOWN TUBE SHIFTERS and have the added benefit over Sti shifters that under heavy breaking you'll never end up inadvertently changing gear! Also, they are not just a lever, they are very ergonomic and feel very natural to change. Maybe that's because I rode MTB's for years. The only downside is that you can't change gear in from the drops without taking a hand off the bars (and crucially away from the brakes), and although beautiful to operate they could be a little prettier. Whatever, they really are great & just work!

Rear much is very much a budget mech, although at first glance looks more hi spec than it is. That said, it shifts and does it's job in a "Hey I'm not compag but I'm changing, I'm pretty quiet...what...you want me to make a brew?" sort of a way!

Drive train does it's job in a similar fashion. The CBR Corsa has 14 gears. UP the front the double chainset has a 52/41 set-up whist the screw on free wheel (which is about as heavy as my car) at the rear has a low sprocket of 28 teeth down to the smallest of 14. The low "hill climber" sprocket is very welcome on a road bike of this level as the double chainset may be a little tough of the climbs for a road newbie!

Wheels are a CBR branded Quando, with hubs to match. Strangely only the front wheel comes equipped with quick release axle. More annoying than anything. Frame is a great hydroformed t4/t6 6061 alloy whist the steel forks absorb a good deal of road judder, although compared to it's carbon fibre cousins adds a lot of weight. The bike weighs a respectable 12kg. Ok ok, elite roadies are sniggering....well....you know what? Lose 5 kilos while riding and you'll have the same effect as riding a full carbon fibre rig!

Braking is taken care of in superb fashion by the Shimano BR-R450 dual pivot calipers, which have far more stopping power than the Tektros on my own bike. Levers are comfy and easy to break with power from the hoods. The hoods are nice and large (which is rare for non Sti levers) The bar, although alloy is a budget bar and too wide for me at 41cm (centre to centre) and probably the first thing I would upgrade, but that is just a personal preference. You might love them!

To summerise: Great ride, very fast, handles well, bloody lovely to look at, forks and freewheel make the bike a little heavier than those price a couple of hundred pounds higher, but at £360.... THis bike is amazing....and I'm going to buy one myself!

Comments, questions? Just ask!

Unfit, cold penis

2012-11-30T02:22:00.001-08:00

First ride on the Peugeot last night! Good one Lee, chose a freezing cold night to go! Not just the first ride on the Peugeot either, it was my first ride for about a year... A few observations then:

It wasn't as painful as I thought it would be, but then I only did 7 miles
Toe clips are a right pain in the arse to get into & out off so screw them and back on with the SPD's
My new lights, although quite budget are amazing! Really, really good front lamp with a large flood not only lit the road well but ensured I would be seen! Very pleased with them!
The bike rides well, is very comfortable in the drops and (my unfit legs, lungs and heart not withstanding) quite fast
Down tube shifters are a right pain in the arse too, not only is it annoying to reach them but I keep trying to change gear with the brake levers....
Freezing cold weather & muddy fox all season tights = HOLY SHIT WHAT HAPPENED TO MY PENIS!!!!!!!!????!!!!!!!!!

First ride, fitness, and workshop & you tube!

2012-11-29T03:06:00.000-08:00

Wow! It's cold in Sunny North Devon this morning!

First "windscreen scrape" of the winter! I probably shouldn't choose tonight to take the Peugeot out for it's proper maiden voyage!

But what the hell, I'm young & reckless and it's only cold right? Out comes the winter cycling gear anyway! Base layer, tights, gloves, buff!! It will only be a few miles though as it's a good while since I've ridden and my fitness isn't up to much!

The was, of course to get out days ago but with the weather being so wet and windy I wasn't up for that! I used to ride lots of miles, in all weathers and now need to find the motivation to get off my arse! Well, the motivation is my arse...it's getting bigger you see...And also my Uber sporty big bruv beats me hands down on the fitness thing and that just shouldn't be!!!

Work wise, it's been a quiet week. Lots of people looking, getting advice but not buying...I guess it's that time of the year/month! I did have a mountain bike to service though... Now, I'm not for one minute putting down this chaps wheels. Customer was a thoroughly nice bloke. He explained that the bike once belonged to a lodger, who when moving over seas donated the bike. It's been on a long journey too because he moved to Oz so it spent a long time at sea in a big shipping container.....then spent 4 years un-ridden in an Australian shed..then came all the way back to Blighty again when they returned.... Then day he decided that it might be time to take up cycling so is starting out on this wonderful journey of discovery on this little blue beast.....

Now, as I said earlier...I love that my customer is choosing to take up cycling, and rather than spend lots of money has decided to bring an old and otherwise unloved bike into service....
What amazes me still is that there are SO MANY of these things on the road though as it's a very odd concept really...Suspension is intended to maintain traction over uneven ground allowing the tyre to remain in contact with the ground. That never really happens hear because of the lack of damping....this makes the spring push the bike up after it's been compressed losing traction! And it's just so boingy! TO the point of funny! Any they are so heavy!! They often come with cheap Chinese components, and poor quality bearings..this one was no exception. Aweful bike or not, it looks like this one had been left out in the rain to suffer the British weather (as so many do) so was in a bit of a state. It was, needless to say, not fun to service. The bearings were nearly square too, which is odd as I don't suppose it has had much in the way of heavy riding. I had to condem the forks though as they were knackered, and dangerous and not worth the time to strip and service. Instead I suggested that my customer buy a cheap £10 threaded set from Ebay which I will fit. At least it's another cyclist on the road eh?

Finally, before I log off and do some work, have a look at some of the Helmet camera cyclists I follow on YouTube: There are many more, but these guys are a pleasure to watch and record every commute, For pleasure, but mainly for the simple fact of protecting themselves for the foolish driver element. Lots of interesting cyclist safety info, near misses, crashes, driver education" Serisouly, you really must watch these videos!!!

Magnatom
Traffic Droid 360
CyclingMikey

Stay safe!

.

Cyclist safety: BBC NEWS

2012-11-27T00:14:00.001-08:00

This story was on BBC Breakfasts last week, kindly uploaded for me by my friend James Vertigan.

Well worth a watch cyclist or motorist.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Jn2hgY1FcM

Crap cycle lights

2012-11-22T02:18:00.004-08:00

Image courtesy of tredz.co.uk

Why are so many cyclists using little, infective or no lights?

The road I use to get home at night is heavily populated by cyclists. These range from elderly commuters, guys on £100 full suspension MTB bobbing up and down (!) to chain gangs of roadies on a club run....

Image courtesy of kevela.co.uk

Generally speaking...all the above have a dazzlingly bright head light up the front...This seems to be where the money is spent...but naff all up the back!! 99% of the time nothing on the side either! The most common up the back is a cheap little £3.00 flashing LED the like of which are intended to be used as supplementary lighting. These are normally either dirty, dim because of a low battery, pointing at the floor or otherwise obscured by the tyre/clothing etc.

People know the law of the land says they must have one so as long as there is a red light on the bike that's fine...... sod the minimum requirements & protect yourself!

One chap I often see has two mega bright lights on the back of his bike...but they are attached to the bottom of the seat stays which is far too low so hard to spot...he's also a kerb hugger so prone to randomly riding into the lane without looking/indicating when there is a parked car/debris.

As a side note, it's amazing how much you see that actually....cyclists hugging the kerb but not anticipating hazards up ahead so they go from 3 inches from the kerb so swerving around a car with no warning, rather then seeing it ahead, checking behind, indicating & taking the lane well ahead of obstacle.

Come in people, lights are not that expensive...get a decent rear...Ideally a flasher and a static light. Flashing lights are great for getting drivers to spot you but they make it very hard to judge distance/speed etc...a static light solves this problem...same on the front. Keep them visible & well maintained (battery in a smoke alarm comes to mind yadda yadda)

And to the cyclist I nearly hit with my car last night when I was pulling away from the kerb....Had I not checked my blind spot and saw your unlit self I would have squashed you. If you had lights however I would have seen you in my mirror just before I checked over my shoulder!!!!! Oh but wait, you didn't need lights because you had a hi-vis vest on (shame it was covered by a rucksack, and as it was dark no UV light to make it stand out) nice one. :D

Rant over! :)

Finished!

2012-11-19T06:06:00.000-08:00

This was a project to get this old Peugeot (and my fat A$$) back on the road!

I haven't done a re-spray as I don't have the time or the facilities...so paintwork wise just a rust treatment touch-up where the paint was broken. Oh, it's weighs a not awful 12k... OK by modern road bike standards thats not great but still light!

To jog your memory, here is what the bike looked like when I
picked it up:

After 8 days of work - here is the finished article!!

Sorry the photos are not great quality! I have lighting issues in the shop...!! I'll post some in better light at a later date!!

Polshing touches....Oh and new bars...and levers!

2012-11-19T02:24:00.001-08:00

Sorry for the lack of pictures but I've been held back somewhat...Firstly; you know I needed to find some new levers? Well...it seems that non Sti levers are like rocking horse shite in North Devon...but after a few phone calls I managed to track down an old set of Weinmann levers complete with hoods....Oh and handlebars & stem for the total sum of £10!

This has left me with a predicament.....The bars are much better that the original ones.....More comfy and ergonomic too.....(although of the same period) Problem is I'd need new bloody bar tape....bugger! I might have to just suck it up and get some more tape....

Photos will be coming later this afternoon...

Oh yeah and the light have stopped working in my shop so its quite dark! Great!!

Ready to ride!!

2012-11-17T02:34:00.003-08:00

I collected the frame last Sunday, realised it wasn't actually a Mont Blanc (no matter) and set about turning into a bike!! Everything is not set up and working wonderfully! It rides like a new bike! There are a couple of niggle though....I need to finish the paintwork..It's never going to be perfect as there are to many scratches/grazes for that but it will be much neater and closed to the elements. I'll then get tome metallic T Cut on there which is specially designed for bringing up lacquer so should come up quite nicely. Then a protective coating of polish!

Brakes are a pain....Firstly I have no hoods....Secondly....The levers don't spring back unless I let them twang" if I just ease of the levers the don't close fully.....They did this with the old side pulls too.....Not sure what it it...I have used brand new cables (lightly greased too) & outer and used ferules each end..I don't think the cables are catching...I've been very careful with the routing too...I've replaced the brakes & cables at least 7 billion times in my life (I run a bike shop remember) so I'm pretty sure it's the leavers that are at fault. How hard is it to find normal levers then?......!!!! The shifters are on the down tube I don't need STi levers..I was hoping to find them locally for quickness sake but I'll have to order them from one of our suppliers....which of course means I get them much cheaper than retail prices...but also means I have to wait until Tuesday!!!!! I'm not very patient!

This brings me to pedals......Well, it doesn't but that's where we are. The bike has the original Toe-clip pedals..I'd need to buy straps and clips etc. but it would be original. I do like my SPD's but I would have to buy shoes (I have very little cycling gear left...Long story....those who know me well know why ha ha). The bike is mainly for commuting and fitness so I don't think I'll but SPDSL/Look pedals on...Not ideal for commuting really as I always find it takes a little longer to clip in and when you need to move off quickly to avoid being dead at traffic lights for example, there a pain in the arse...Road pedals are efficient but I'm happy to loose a bit of efficiency for not getting quashed.

On with the painting & polishing....Some pics to follow this afternoon!

2012-11-16T07:26:00.003-08:00

Brakes adjusted - Although the levers are not springing back very well....A little of it was to do with the cable routing, but I think I just need new levers to be honest....They were budget levers back in the day so now they're a bit tired! Plus I don't have hoods so another reason to treat myself to shiny new ones :) Gears adjusted and working well!! The rear mech seems to be holding out!!

So....Just the bar tape to add... and the saddle and ready for the test ride!!!!!!!

Nearing the final straight now!!!

2012-11-16T05:05:00.003-08:00

Nearing the final straight now!!! I collected a set of dual pivot brakes this morning...Used, but for the princely sum of just £10! Ideal! Thank you Chay from Bideford Peleton for that!

The one problem with an old bike though is that it's often not simple to just retro-fit new parts. This came up when fitting the new callipers. The bore of the hole is too small for the mounting bolts of the new sual pivot calipers...Nothing that the judicial application of "drill bit" won't solve!

I also bought some new bar tape today....I won't say what colour, you'll have to wait for pics! Meeting with the boss this morning so too much tea drinking left no time for any work on the pug. Down to it now..... On go the calipers...

2012-11-15T09:14:00.003-08:00

I have one thing to say: Old side pull brakes Pi** me off!

Shiny spot the difference

2012-11-15T06:45:00.001-08:00

Shiny spot the difference is my new favourite game!!!! (the grubby bit by the pad has been cleaned since the photo was taken :) )

Rear mech

2012-11-15T03:52:00.000-08:00

If I learned one thing today it's that JB-Weld smells bad whilst curing. I don't mind this....However my customers think I smell of rotten eggs.

After a load of prep to clean the threads I mixed up the epoxy and applied it to both threads and then installed the mech. Tidied up the epoxy from the back of the stud too. Hopefully this should do the trick!

I can't really do much with the bike now for 12 hours so on to stripping the callipers! A job that I have been putting off. I hate side pull breaks (man that epoxy stinks!!!!) they hardly ever pull equally on both sides which is a real pain. Once the bike is set up I think I will replace them for dual Pivot brakes.

Also, in the short term I'm going to put a spot of black smooth Hammerite onto the rust areas At least then If I decide to respray it I can sand and maybe use a spot of filler here and there if I need to. I won't have to worry about rust anyway!

Nice Rubina tyres came today Syrinx V80 :)

Bar tape

2012-11-15T00:24:00.000-08:00

I'm a bloke....colours are, well, colours.......I thought I'd add a tape the same colour as the decals...so lots to choose from....yellow? Pink? Was thinking red? Don't want white as it looks dirty, possibly black or blue....?

Help?

Quick update....

2012-11-14T08:42:00.001-08:00

Quick update for today......After much conversation with men in the know I think some sort of metal bond like JB-Weld is the way forward for the rear mech bolt.

Done well! Left to do:

Strip & service & polish the brake callipers...install new blocks
Service the front mech (won't take long, bugger all to that)
Install rear mech (as above) and install cable
Tape up the bars
Whack a saddle on

Then it will be ready for a test ride!! Not bad as I only picked it up on Sunday! Really though it's not in too bad a state... I've been very lucky that bearing cups/cones etc. have been in great condition which made life easier...meant I didn't have to source parts. I have some Claud Butler "puncture protection" tyres on at the mo but have a set of dual compound Rubena sport on the way.

I''ll leave you with a few photos whist I make a brew!

Spot the difference? Oooooh shiny!!

Bars ready for some tape...I'm thinking Red or vintage yellow? Black is to obvious!!

2012-11-14T05:12:00.001-08:00

Aaaaaaahhhhh so annoyed!! It would appear that the thread is knackered on the mech hanger :/ I don't have a tap to hand either......Also, the springs inside the mech are knackered....Both the main de-railer spring and also the cage spring.......So.......I need a new mech, and need to look at either tapping the hanger or finding different way of hanging the mech.....Of course I could turn it into a single speed...... ????

Any suggestions? :D

Update!

After some jiggery I've sorted both springs - I assumed they had lost tension but the main spring problem was with the cage not tensioning the chain properly. Upon closer inspection the stop in the cage has worn away the soft alloy of the main body and turned round a revolution. A little bit of inspired bending has sorted that out....So...to the hanger....Tap it? or....Just get it heli-coiled...?

Couple of pics then I really need to tidy the workshop!!!

Steel Hanger

Alloy stud

Never trust a guy with a tidy workshop

Day 3

2012-11-14T00:23:00.001-08:00

Busy day yesterday! I decided to use new wheels...... They are not expensive wheels let me make this clear. The reasoning is as follows: after measuring the original rims are very narrow (20c) which for commuting on North Devon's generally crap roads is needlessly narrow. So replacing with a more standard 23c is the obvious choice. Until I know the bike is suitable for me and don't want to spend a load of money on a wheel set....Also, it's my opinion that I'd rather loose a stone in fat to increase speed rather than loose a few grams from the wheels :D Plus upon close inspection the rims are in poor order, a few dents and nicks on the rim edge etc. whilst they are the original mallard wheels I'd rather repair them and re lace them when I have more time. Also, the tool required to remove the old freewheel is a really odd 5 splines really wide tool which I've never seen, don't have nor can I find in my supplier catalogues. Running a bike shop helps with things like this but not in this case!!!!!

Forks were removed yesterday too and the races/cubs cleaned and greased along with the bearings. Stem is shiny too!!!

So today? Brahe clean up, rear mech is already off so clean that up, and replace all the cables.

Still need some levers as the hoods are missing and finding new CLB hoods is proving impossible :/

Until next time!!

Oooohhh shiny Stem!!!

2012-11-13T06:18:00.000-08:00

Oooh Shiny Stem!!

Lots of varying degrees of wet & dry and some polish! So, just the bars, brakes, levers, shifters, & mechs to go then.........!!!

Day 2

2012-11-13T02:27:00.002-08:00

Day 2!

Fairly quiet day in the shop yesterday so I managed to get a fair bit done.

Chainset & BB removed, degreased, re-greased & refitted!
Front hob stripped, degreased, re-greased & Refitted.
Rustty bits on frame sanded back to steel for touching-up
Cleaned it a bit

OK so that's not loads, but I'm thorough! Plus the BB cups were a right bitch top remove!! Helpfully though the BB bearings, cups and axle were in great condition...although no remnants of grease so it must have sat for a long time! The front cones and bearings were in good order too, as was the axle so it was a simple service.

I have a couple of quandaries however. Wheel wise i'm actually surprised how light they are, the rims and spokes are in good mechanical order, but the spokes had some sort of coating...Not sure if they were chromed or maybe and anti-corrosion coating? Either way is peeling off and not pretty. I've just a bit of wet and dry and that seems to have cleaned them up pretty well! So, I'm undecided whether to replace them?

Then we get to the frame.....Oh the frame!!! There will be quite a lot of touching up so I'm contemplating (just contemplating mind) doing a re-spray...But of course that brings with it a whole host of "ass pain" as I don't really have anywhere suitable to spray a frame properly... I think it may be a case of getting up and running so it's weather proof, riding it and checking that I like it before taking the time to respray.

Shopping/to do list

Remove forks, strip headset. Re-grease or replace bearings
remove brakes. Strip, clean, grease and re-fit
Fit new brake cables
fit new gear cables
remove seat post, remove corrosion (it does come off, already checked ;) )
Strip and re-grease rear hub & Replace freewheel for something lighter
replace brake leavers/or find replacement hoods
Remove, strip, regrease & re-fit rear and front Mechs
Strip and re-grease shifters
Oh yeah, new bar tape
Replace saddle
Road test!
pub
Oh and tyres obviously dur....
Maybe fit a shorter reach stem - (Current 10cm is a tough too long)
Make decisions about re-spray....hmmmmmmm
Polish all the alloy!

Not in the mood for stripping side pull brakes today so starting with rear hub and freewheel :)

Well this is embarrassing

2012-11-12T03:48:00.002-08:00

Ha ha well, this is embarrassing...Having not seen the bike but after lots and lots of research I decided it was a Mont Blanc.....So URL of the blog is peugeotmontblanc .........Name of the blog is Mont Blanc and me.....And guess what?

Pantera then....

Bugger.

So, I'm left with a dilemma now! Do I mess about changing the blog or just leave it for hilarities sake? Answers on a postcard please!

So, me and my gf met up with Bruvva yesterday and had a nice catch up over a brew at the services... Very excited and quite pleased! Although it's a bit scruffy it is mechanically sound! I was amazed actually that the BB is running smoothly as are the hub bearings! You'd never believe mechanically that it had spent the last 10 years or so sat in a garage!!

I need to do some research and find out it's age, no easy task so I'm reliably informed after reading various websites. Then the next plan is to trip the frame and decide what work to do, what to replace, what to clean and service.....The big question is whether or not to respray it...? Ok, as you'll see from the photos the paint work is in a bad way is certain areas...not awful but not pretty either...But I kind of like that...it's honest it says "I'm not a brand new road bike, I'm not trying to be fashionable, I don't care that I have outdated geometry"... What do you think?..... I'm toying weather to change the wheels - They are straight as a die which is good and in great condition...they are not that heavy....(The freewheel on the other hand seems to be made of cast iron!!) SO I think I'll maybe replace that and keep the shiny wheels :) The sidepull brakes are a pain though so I might replace those..

Anyway, on with the photos. Just using my iphone so apologies for the quality :D

Original Chainset

Indexed levers! I thought they would be friction!

Not a fan of the side pull

Garage damage

The downside of the old pumps is wear...

More garage damage! Made in France though..

Original drops

Head tube crest

Levers in good order but one hood missing

Sachs Hurret Classic rear mech....

CLick

On the workshop stand

Heaviest freewheel in the known universe

Remarkably light....

So there you have it!! Now begins the strip and clean up.. More to follow!

Lee

P.s. If you find this blog interesting please share it :D

This is the story of the restoration of a classic!

2012-11-09T03:39:00.000-08:00

This is the story of the restoration of a classic Peugeot Mont Blanc PH-20 Road bike... Well, a classic to me and I dare say many others of the same age! Follow this blog as we bring new life to this iconic "racer"!

Was it a Sheffield thing to cover your
bike cables with these?

I'm 30 years old and have been riding and playing with bikes since I was tiny. Possibly due to my older brother Steve and his obsession with fixing things..(including on one notable occasion my Sony walkman ..which wasn't broken...until he took it apart...)

My first memory of cycling is one of pain and bleeding...We grew up on a council estate in Sheffield and at the top of a fair hill. A few doors down was a little girl with one of those pink girls bikes, lots of tassels and (if memory serves) the brake cables were covered it bread tags!...
Steve and my even older sister Debbie "dared me" to steal her bike and ride it down the hill...I was about 5 years old...I declined but egged on by my older siblings we "borrowed it" from the front porch and took it up the hill. We lined up for the approach and I jumped on the seat...Now, have in your mind (as I do now) two naughty young teenagers laughing at the impending doom of there little brother, who had never ridden a bike with stabilisers let alone one without! One big push....!!! And were off!! I swear to got I heard a sonic boom I was going that fast....after a little while (through crying and terrified screams) the momentum subsided along with my balance and the inevitable happened.... I won't use the word "face plant" but it hurt...a lot...!! I even remember Debbie and Steve running down to help me half laughing, half getting ready to explain what happened to mum...! I'm not sure if we broke the bike but it certainly put me off 2 wheels for a while!!

The Racer!

I remember Steve's Bikes, most of them in fact. They were always so big and of course it was totally forbidden for me to touch, let alone ride these bikes! The first one was a white Raleigh road bike (racer as we called them then) ....to me shiny in every way...and so big! I remember that it had to be kept in the kitchen and not outside, this meant that the temptation to climb the thing was always present! Climbing was all I could do though as I could not yet ride on 2 wheels, moreover I didn't possess a bike in which to try! I will spare you the story of how I learned to ride a bike but it started with a BMX...this was the mid 80's the first time that BMX's were cool and the "racers of the 70's were a thing of the past. Mountain bikes were also starting to make an appearance...only with the rich kids though...!!

I'm digressing now....back on point...After a few BMX's Steve had his first Mountain Bike it was a Raleigh Mustang and he gave his racer to me! I didn't really appreciate it at the time though... it had two sets of brakes I remember..the main set on the drops and a kind of separate lever on the top of the bars... Me and my mates used them for just riding about..Of course at the time they were the nearest thing to a mountain bike because of the gears but for a kid in the mid-late 80's they were pretty uncool!

So to present day.. I've had loads of bikes in my life - Built a couple myself too....I also had a really good spec. Trek road bike but sadly during a period of financial hardship it had to go the way of ebay....! I now run a bike shop (Steve is very jealous as I get to repair bikes all day!) but at the moment I don't have a bike! I don't have the money for a nice road bike.. OK so I could afford a new low spec. bike as I would pay the cost price but I know I would hate it. But, I really need to get on my bike again. I'm getting fatter and unfit! It was then that an idea popped into my head!! Get an old steel racer, and restore it to it's former glory!! ! I'm an adult now, I can appreciate good engineering! If I'm lucky I could probably find a Reynolds 531 frame?! So the hunt commenced......I searched high and low....Scoured the newspapers for weeks, poured over the internet, Facebook, twitter...Even tried to but a retro 531 Claud butler Mountain bike from a customer for £50 but he was having none of it! I have visited the tip too but nothing....It seems everyone is having the same idea but turning them into a fixie! I don't want a fixie....just a not crazy heavy road bike for fitness and commuting....

In my desperation I text my brother and asked him to put the feelers bout at work...."after an old 70's/80's ralegh, peugeot, Claud Butler something like that" as my text.....Amazingly the reply came "My old mate "running Roy" let me have his old Peugeot racer years ago...I've still got it in the garage!" "I'll give him a call"..." It's a go - come and get it".....So thanks to my big brother and "running Roy" I am now the proud owner of a 1980's Peugeot PHE 20 Mont Blanc!! I'm yet to collect it as I live in Devon and Steve in Worcester but were meeting half way this Sunday!! So.....Ladies and gentlemen readers and finders of this blog.....these are the photos I have......

I do have wheels but they will be HEAVY!

So....Mangalloy then..!!!

Oh, I've just realised that it might not actually be a Mont Blanc...ha ha ha ha I'm pretty sure it is
though....!!