English Cycles and Jeremy Torr

[GrahamJohnWallace]

Re:

As promised...

‘The Fat Tyre’ 2014
30 years of UK Mountain Biking 1984-2014

In order to mark the 30th anniversary of the sport of mountain biking in Britain, Geoff Apps will be hosting two days of activities in the Chiltern Hills. You also might like to celebrate those 30 years by joining us.

The ride on Saturday the 12th of July 2014 will also celebrate the first ever Wendover Bash, which was the 2nd ever mountain bike race event to be held in Britain. The original event being organised and hosted by Geoff Apps on the 17th June 1984.
(We meet around 10am, at Crumb’s Cafe and sandwich bar near the Clock Tower at the bottom of the High Street, where we chat, gird our loins with something to sustain us, and usually set off around 11am).

On Sunday 13th July we hope to join in the activities of The Chiltern Cycling festival held at Amersham old town. (Amersham being the place where the first British made off-road bicycle frames were built circa 1979).
http://chilterncyclingfestival.com/

The Saturday ride is a completely informal event, with no need to register, or anything like that. Just turn up with your mountain bike, or Cleland, or home-brewed lash-up, with an open mind and not too competitive a spirit. Watch this space for more details…
http://clelandcycles.wordpress.com/weekend-rides/

 

[Woody662011]

Just came across this post and thought i would share some pictures of me and the english cycles range rider, my brother worked for Jeremy Torr assembling the bikes back in the 80's.

 

[firedfromthecircus]

Excellent first post Woody! Love the 'coonskin' cap.

A few more details about the time would be great to read.

 

[Woody662011]

Met Jeremy a few times, had tea around his house with his family once,not sure where he is now someone mentioned Australia.

 

[GrahamJohnWallace]

Met Jeremy a few times, had tea around his house with his family once,not sure where he is now someone mentioned Australia.

As far as I know he is still out in Singapore, though I last met up with him in 2010, he did email me with details about his recent cycling adventures about a year ago. I will see if I can find them.

Woody, welcome to RetroBike. It's great to see those great old photos of Jeremy's Range-Riders.

Back in the 1980s I was part of the early off-road riding scene around London and so knew/know many Cleland and Highpath owners. And although I sometimes met Jeremy and saw his bikes at early MTB events, I never went on any of his Telford based rides or met any Range-Rider owners on the rides I went on. From this I can only assume that he sold most of his bikes in the Telford area?

I wonder what happened to all the English Cycles' Range Riders? Do any still exist?
These days, Geoff Apps and I often get approached by Highpath and Cleland owners. But the only contact I have had from a Range-Rider owner was about fifteen years ago after his bike had been stolen.

It would be great to track down some current Range-Rider owners, and maybe have some come along on our rides and events. Or they could do with some spare parts to keep their bikes going.
https://clelandcycles.wordpress.com/history/

 

[Woody662011]

Not sure where the others were sold but four ended up in Cardiff,
Sadly i swapped mine with jeremy for an Eclipse that got stolen soon after, my brother has one up and running again and a friend of mine has his outside in all weathers in his back garden he doesn't use it but he said he oils it every now and then.

30yrs ago this year i rode mine from London to Venice with a pair of michelin zigzags on it they seemed to fit the 650b's quite well,another guy i came across at early events was Pepe Tozzo i think his name was he appeared front cover on an early Bicycle Action magazine with his rare red Cleland,
Bumped into him a few years back on a road bike just outside Cardiff.

my brother could maybe give you more info on the Range Riders as he worked in Jeremy's workshop back then.

 

[Woody662011]

Here's another classic picture of one of the early Telford Events.
Some my brother had taken appeared in the early NORBA magazines.

 

[GrahamJohnWallace]

Not sure where the others were sold but four ended up in Cardiff,
Sadly i swapped mine with jeremy for an Eclipse that got stolen soon after, my brother has one up and running again and a friend of mine has his outside in all weathers in his back garden he doesn't use it but he said he oils it every now and then.

The idea of a bike being reliable even if it is kept outdoors is certainly in keeping with Geoff Apps' low maintenance philosophy. Though because original, well looked after Clelands can be valuable, I wouldn't recommend it.

30yrs ago this year i rode mine from London to Venice with a pair of michelin zigzags on it they seemed to fit the 650b's quite well,another guy i came across at early events was Pepe Tozzo i think his name was he appeared front cover on an early Bicycle Action magazine with his rare red Cleland.
Bumped into him a few years back on a road bike just outside Cardiff.

Here is a picture from around 1983 of a red Cleland Aventura, and on the left is an original Geoff Apps' 1981 Range-Rider prototype from which the English Cycles' bikes got their name. Though this original one is fitted with 700c wheels.

my brother could maybe give you more info on the Range Riders as he worked in Jeremy's workshop back then.

It would be good to know more about the Range-Riders as it's the one area of 'English School' mountain bike history that I know little about.

 

[Woody662011]

Here is another ATB guru we met,borrowed this statement from the Highpath website, the photo is one of my brother's.

Dave Wrath-Sharman made his ground-breaking Highpath bicycles at a time when mountain-bikes were still in their infancy, and he remains the only person to have made small hub brakes that really worked.

 

[GrahamJohnWallace]

Great to see these old pictures taken BITD.

I last phoned David Wrath-Sharmen about 6 months ago. He is now living in Lampeter. I went out riding today on my 1988 Highpath and the brakes are still as good as ever. I have has to put a new pair of brake shoes in the front but the rear hubs are still fitted with the original 1988 ones.

I just looked through my emails and Jeremy Torr certainly seems to be getting around these days. In 2013 he visited Timor and Thailand. Whilst in 2014 his wanderings included, Kazakhstan, Bali, Sri Lanka,Thailand (again), and Cambodia.

He doesn't mention that any of these trips included cycling though motorbikes are mentioned. Anyway, it all sounds a bit more exotic than my own wanderings around Wendover Woods in the mud and rain!