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UK based online retailer Kinetic Rush have dug out their John Tomac Raleigh for display in their Leamington shop, John Atkins Cycles. What this means for us is they've done a whole load of great pictures of this iconic machine, enjoy the images :D This Tomac Raleigh was purchased direct from Raleigh UK by the store owner back in the 90s and is believed to be a Merlin built model. Check the Kinetic Rush blog for a full set of images and details.

:: Date: Saturday 24th of March 2012 :: Time: 10am for a 1030 start. :: Meeting at: Brandon Country Park Visitor Centre, Bury Road, Brandon, Suffolk, IP27 0SU :: Directions: Brandon Country Park Visitor Centre is situated on the B1106. from the A11 this is the elvden cross road, signposted for brandon & centre parks. traveling from the A11 towards brandon the Brandon Country Park Visitor Centre is on the left. Parking is now Pay & Display, £2.50 all day. there is extra parking in the Orchard car park behind the old peoples home. :: Terrain: Lots of single track, bomb holes and forest trails. Last year 47 people turned out for some great riding around the trails of Thetford. Sign up now! Click here to sign up now!

Following on from his previous articles Paul Brodie kindly sent us a further article detailing the rebuild of the 1888 Whippet at Flashback Fabrications. Enjoy :D I have quite a few photos of the Whippet sitting in the Ottawa Museum of Science and Technology. It's under plastic, sitting up in a mezzanine, and not on display. I do not, however, have one photo that shows an entire crank arm. So, here is the lower section, held to the BB axle with a tapered cotter pin > The top of the crank arm featured an adjustable slot for different crank lengths. Isn't that perfect for a cyclist that has one leg longer than the other? The starting point was a bar of 954 bronze that cost me $100 several years ago. 954 bronze has a higher...

Privateer Issue 8 goes on sale tomorrow the 16th March 2012. If you haven't subscribed already be sure to check out the special Retrobike subscription offer. In the new issue, and of particular retro interest, we have: *Steve Peat talks to Tym Manley about his career to date, and why de doesn't plan on quitting at the top. *Next on the agenda, Andy Waterman visits Nicolai Bikes in Germany to uncover the human faces behind these teutonic classics. *Later on in the magazine, another Mike, Mike Davies, continues his look at the technical side of mountain biking with an in depth look at the science of the bicycle wheel. There's more to it than you might think... Elsewhere, we interview John Lloyd, prolific organiser of endurance events...

Following on from his previous articles Paul Brodie kindly sent us a further article detailing the rebuild of the 1888 Whippet at Flashback Fabrications. Enjoy :D The Whippet bottom bracket is not so simple. It holds the lower spring mount, and also incorporates the swing arm pivot. On the far right is the "spoon" brake, used against the rear tire. The Whippet has no front brake. Good Luck if you're going downhill in the rain... More metal: 2 chunks of steel, a thick walled tube, and a couple of sealed bearings. I decided it would be easier to make a 3 piece BB, rather than carve it from solid > This setup is on the milling machine. The vise holds the blocks and the digital readout (not shown) makes it easier to locate centers...

Following on from his previous articles Paul Brodie kindly sent us a further article detailing the rebuild of the 1888 Whippet at Flashback Fabrications. Enjoy :D The Whippet rear hub was made of bronze on this original bike, and also had radial spoking, which I did not expect at all > I ordered a short bar of bearing bronze, and took a few cuts. I did make a quick drawing on a piece of cardboard.. Here, the shape is being "roughed out". This is Machinist talk. Also, if you can use a lathe, but are not too skilled, you're a "rough turner".. The hub shape is finalized, and the thread cut for the freewheel.. I took a short piece of 6061 aluminum, and cut an internal thread to go onto the freewheel threads. This will...

We have recently added a complete set of retro Saracen catalogues to the archive covering the classic 1987-1998 era > Saracen Catalogue archive. Big thanks to Neill who visited Saracen HQ to scan the content, Paul who completed the conversion to pdf and Ben for adding to the archive. Enjoy :D

Following on from his previous article on the Whippet seatpost Paul Brodie kindly sent us a further article detailing the rebuild of the 1888 Whippet at Flashback Fabrications. Enjoy :D The Whippet Chainring was my next project. This is a 17 tooth chainring, but I made mine 18 teeth because it was so much easier to hold in a 3 jaw chuck. The chain is a 3/8" block chain. It was hard to find; I finally located one in England. Notice the 2 "stops" on either side of the crank arm.. This is how I figured out the length of the chainstays. I knew approximately the size of the sprockets, and the cardboard cutouts worked fine for this > I used a scrap 1/4" aluminum plate and cut a circle on the bandsaw. Then I mounted the disc on a...

Following on from his previous articles Paul Brodie kindly sent us a further article detailing the rebuild of the 1888 Whippet at Flashback Fabrications. Enjoy :D I didn't have a lot to go on for the Whippet seat post. The Whippet drawing shows a straight seat post, so why does this one have a kink? If the factory wanted a bend, it would have been a smooth bend. I chose to ignore the kink, but I did like the shape of the top clamp > I used a piece of 954 bearing bronze. As long as the cutting tools are very sharp, machining is not a problem > After drilling 2 holes, the block is turned, and the centre milled out > The block is now mounted on a spigot, and spun in the lathe. I machined the top of the clamp at an angle and...

In the latest of our industry interviews, we visited a small outfit in the south of England producing some of the best known British bike components of the last couple of decades, Middleburn Engineering. Chances are you will have come across their chainrings at some point over the years in your retro chainset buying experience, but there’s a lot more to these guys than just cogs...as we found out when we nipped down last month for a cuppa and a chat with Matthew Starey, head honcho at Middleburn. There is also a companion article to this twenty questions in this month's Switchback Magazine, check the Switchback issue 3 preview here. 1) Retrobike: Hi Matt, how’s business at Middleburn in 2011? Matthew Starey: Hello Retrobike...

The February 2012 Photo of The Month (PoTM) contest was won by SwanHouseNappa's 'It's Not About The Bike'. Click here to see SwanHouseNappa's shot in all it's glory 1. SwanHouseNappa's 'It's Not About The Bike'

The The February 2012 road Bike of The Month contest was taken by Citoyen du monde's 1965 Masi Special - another great month. Second was taken by dancingjack's 1989 Merlin Titanium and third by Hunterlar's 1994 Roberts. Bring on March :D The full result is as follows 1. Citoyen du monde's 1965 Masi Special 2. dancingjack's 1989 Merlin Titanium 3. nevadasmith's 1996 Ritchey Road Logic Now taking nominations for the March 2012 rBoTM contest. Click here for more details and full results The February 2012 road Bike of The Month top three are as follows 1. Citoyen du monde's 1965 Masi Special Click here for full 1965 Masi Special build thread. 2. dancingjack's 1989 Merlin Titanium Click here for full 1989 Merlin Titanium...

Following on from his previous articles Paul Brodie kindly sent us a further article detailing the rebuild of the 1888 Whippet at Flashback Fabrications. Enjoy :D Building the seat collar was a fun job. Pretty simple, and only one days work. First step was to figure out dimensions > I drew on cardboard, and made the correct amount of space for the bolt. Starting with 1" mild steel, the drawing was transferred by scribing on layout dye > The rotary table really was invaluable when building the Whippet. The combination of lathe, mill, rotary table, and digital readout is REALLY quite powerful > OK, there were a few steps in between these two photos. After milling the radius (above), the seat collar went into the lathe, and...

The The Febraury 2012 'Aluminium Special' Bike of The Month contest was taken by Baulz's 1992 Mountain Cycle San Andreas. The San An will be featured in next month's mbr magazine and Mike will receive a year’s subscription to the magazine. The full result is as follows 1. Baulz's 1992 Mountain Cycle San Andreas 2. Pinguwin's 1990 American Comp-Lite 3. Frogskin's GT Zaskar LE Now taking nominations for the March 2012 BoTM here. Click here for more details and full results The Febraury 2012 'Aluminium Special' Bike of The Month top three are as follows 1. Baulz's 1992 Mountain Cycle San Andreas Click here for full Mountain Cycle San Andreas build thread. 2. Pinguwin's 1990 American Comp-Lite 3. Frogskin's GT Zaskar LE...

Bigger and better Bespoked Bristol rides back into town! Bespoked Bristol, The UK Handmade Bicycle Show, returns from March 23rd to 25th 2012. With over 70 leading independent makers from the UK, Italy, France, USA and Germany coming to Brunel’s Old Station to showcase some of the most beautiful and desirable cycles on earth. Now in its second year, the event provides a platform for the public, industry and press to meet artisan bicycle makers and share ideas. Organisers Phil and Tessa Taylor are promising a bigger and better show for 2012: exhibitor numbers have doubled since last June's inaugural event at Paintworks, Bristol, requiring a move to a larger venue. This will allow space for more stands, a dedicated area highlighting...

Following on from his previous articles Paul Brodie kindly sent us a further article detailing the rebuild of the 1888 Whippet at Flashback Fabrications. Enjoy :D Hi. Paul Brodie here. NAHBS is coming up FAST, and I still have a LOT to do on the Whippet! I have never made so many parts for just one bike. In this tour of my shop, I'll show you how the brake lever was created by copying the original in the photo below. In all, it took about 2 days > I wanted to carve it from solid, with no welding. I should have used a 1X3" steel flatbar, but only had 1X2" on my shelf. So, I cut a notch > This is my big torch, with a "rose-bud" tip... it generates a lot of heat > The bar is supported in the arbor press and heated > It gets...

Saturday saw round one of the Retrobike National Event Series 2012 with support from Bikefood take place in the Lake District. Thirty five hardy retrobikers on almost all retro machines completed a 20(ish) mile loop around some of the Lakes best and most scenic trails. The weather was positively balmy for February in the Lakes and the drizzle almost warming. Full Lakes ride aftermath up here. Next National Event is the Thetford ride on 24th March.