Hi
I'm new to this site, so hope that this thread is in the right catagory.
My daughter brought me round two bikes that she had pulled out of a skip. One was a Townsend Gypsy and the other a Raleigh Tourer. She knew that I had fixed up my old Dawes, Sprick and Puch bikes and sold them last year.
These two bikes were in a sorry state, having been left out in the rain for a number of months. However, undeterred, I got to work blowing the tyres up, which have remained inflated since.
Upon checking the crankshaft and wheel bearings for wear, I could find absolutely no play in any of them. I also 'wire wooled' the rusty wheel rims and it has brought them up a treat.
I really cannot understand why anyone would dump such excellent strong bikes, unless they had let them get into such a state, as to think that they were unroadworthy! They had even left working front and rear lights on the Tourer.
While my daughter wants the Townsend for herself, I was going to sell the Raleigh, 'Made in Ireland', Tourer and was wondering what it should go for, as it maybe a collectors item.
I attach a few photos of the 'cleaned up' Tourer for info, (I have since wire wooled the rusty pannier carrier, so it is clean and shiny!).
Thanks
I'm new to this site, so hope that this thread is in the right catagory.
My daughter brought me round two bikes that she had pulled out of a skip. One was a Townsend Gypsy and the other a Raleigh Tourer. She knew that I had fixed up my old Dawes, Sprick and Puch bikes and sold them last year.
These two bikes were in a sorry state, having been left out in the rain for a number of months. However, undeterred, I got to work blowing the tyres up, which have remained inflated since.
Upon checking the crankshaft and wheel bearings for wear, I could find absolutely no play in any of them. I also 'wire wooled' the rusty wheel rims and it has brought them up a treat.
I really cannot understand why anyone would dump such excellent strong bikes, unless they had let them get into such a state, as to think that they were unroadworthy! They had even left working front and rear lights on the Tourer.
While my daughter wants the Townsend for herself, I was going to sell the Raleigh, 'Made in Ireland', Tourer and was wondering what it should go for, as it maybe a collectors item.
I attach a few photos of the 'cleaned up' Tourer for info, (I have since wire wooled the rusty pannier carrier, so it is clean and shiny!).
Thanks