Not vintage or French Tourers/Campeurs, Trade/Porteurs, Audax/Randonneurs, Commuters/Town

[Mickeyspinn]

Thats the one! @Mickeyspinn check this frame!

Some people really want a hard life! Definitely makes more sense than a fatty tho!

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

Sun Club Racer 1930s Original condition Not my text.

Despite the name, it’s not really a racer. It’s a Sun “Club” model.
What became the Sun Cycle company was founded by James Parkes & Son in 1885. Initially a brass foundry, the company started manufacturing bicycle frames and parts in 1898. In 1907 the company changed its name to The Sun Cycle & Fittings Company and began making and selling its own line of bicycles. The ’20′s through the ’40′s were good years for the brand, and bikes like this club model were quite popular. In the late ’50′s, a lot of small British bike labels consolidated through attrition and mergers, and Sun Cycles eventually melted into the Raleigh brand.
So, it’s not a racer. A touring bike? Sort of.
This old bike was used for randonneuring (or cyclo-touring) by a Seattle man named Tony Soberalski. Tony, a pioneering enthusiast, helped establish randonneuring as a thing to do in the Seattle area.
Randonées are also known as ”brevets” or “cyclosportives”, and are held on courses of 200 km or more, passing through checkpoints every so often to make sure everyone stays on course. Riders try to complete these events within a specified time limit, but there is no “winner”. Everyone receives equal recognition regardless of their finish. The distance is the thing, not the speed.
Randonneurs are expected to be self-sufficient, so the bikes have to be able to carry extra gear. The weather can change dramatically over these long events, so fenders and lights are common accessories.
Guys in the Randonneurs Club would still use this bike today. The distances involved in brevets favors equipment that is “tried and true”. Nothing more tried (and maybe still true) than 80 year old parts. Today, these guys would call the Cyclo Standard shifter “more reliable” than any derailleur with a high-tech return spring. Four gears seems just about right! Modern derailleur systems with 20 or more gear ratios would be derided as “overly complex”.

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

1950s Robin Hood, a badge engineered Raleigh. The owner calls it his camping bicycle. I had put one pic of this on the one retrobike picture thread. I like it, bit heavy for my taste but it obviously works for its owner. Which is I feel what its all about.
Found what the owner said about his bike on Cyclofiend.
"I bought this 1950's Robin Hood bicycle over twenty years ago. It came without fenders, and had a rusty chainguard. Last year I created the bike you see here. Friend Dick Bodell made the custom racks, a porteur rack for the front, and a rear rack modeled on a 1949 Rene Herse camping bicycle. My friend Keith Gaber made the leather case for the hatchet I have had since boy scout days. The drink carrier came from my Dad's sailboat. Brooks saddle, Honjo fenders and VO porteur chaincase complete the bike - the Robin Hood Camping Porteur."

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

1957 Raleigh Lenton Grand Prix. Not my text.
Raleigh made the Lenton collection of club-racer style bikes for fifteen years. Promoted by Britain’s greatest cyclist of the era and Raleigh spokesman Reg Harris, the Lenton was a popular ride.
Club racers like this one represent a great era in British cycling. Earlier road models, typically outfitted with 3-speed hubs, handled slowly and were great for touring, but not for racing. Later eras saw British bikes that were more specialised. You had racing bikes with stiff upright frame geometry or stretched out touring bikes like those found on the continent. Club racers like the Lenton could do it all.
The versatile design of the Gran Prix made the bike feel right at home, whether it was touring Welsh country lanes, negotiating its way through an American pack race or cruising a London time trial course.
This Reg Harris signature model has a lot of great bits. The frame was made from Reynolds 531 tubing. There’s frame pegs to hold the pump. Bluemels fenders. A Brooks saddle.
The steel crank set features the Raleigh heron stamped into the chainrings, and of course there’s the Benelux rear derailleur. It has a plunger-style actuator operated by a pull chain and manages 4 gears in the back. The front shifting (with a 3-tooth gear difference) is handled by a Benelux rod operated front derailleur.
All in all a fine bike with a really long given name. The Raleigh Lenton Marque III Gran Prix Reg Harris Road Model.

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

Jacquie’s Chapman Cycles Tourer.​

From the spoken.
It’s impossible to gauge, just by taking a simple glance, how many hours of thought and work have gone into creating a bike like this. But grasping the work involved is nothing compared to the cultural and emotional significance of this new Chapman Cycles tourer.
Rhode Island’s Brian Chapman, of Chapman Cycles, manufactures bicycles that belie his 46 years. A true constructeur, he mainly focuses on classical genres such as randonneurs, tourers and road bikes.
However, if the customer requests a Rohloff hub, funky geometry or other modern accoutrements, he will still produce a bicycle that retains the essence of the golden era, one that today’s pace — to its chagrin — wants to overtake.
Jacquie Phelans is also someone that appreciates a more natural rhythm. A former pro mountain biker, she’s an incredibly clever wordsmith and founder of WOMBATS, the Women’s Mountain Bike & Tea Society, an off-road cycling network for women.
She’s the partner of legendary cyclist and inventor Charlie Cunningham, whose contribution to the technological advancement of the MTB is evident today, such as compact geometry, the Q-Factor and the use of aluminium for frames and components.
Back in 2015, Charlie had a serious bike accident which resulted in broken bones, bruises and, subsequently, a subdural hematoma. Since then, Jacquie has been his carer, piloting him on a tandem around their home of Marin.
Another of Charlie’s inventions was the Roller Cam Brake, which minimises flex and maximises brake accuracy and power. He was still tweaking and improving it before his accident, even though the design had been licensed to SunTour in 1985.
Jacquie and Brian connected through a fundraiser for Charlie, eventually asking him to build her a bike. Brian was beyond stoked, having been obsessed with Charlie’s work and especially his brake designs.
Brian asked Jacquie if he could make a set of brakes based on Charlie’s lever-link design and she agreed, even sending him a set of the links that Charlie made. Building the arms out of steel, he refined the design until perfect, then had them CNC machined.
It’s an incredibly successful design and stirring to see it in action on Jacquie’s bike. Brian documented the development and fabrication process on his Instagram, which is an enlightening feed, whether you’re a frame builder or not.
Brian’s fabrication didn’t stop there: he also made the stem and the cranks, using pedal bosses and broached spindle bosses from Solid Bikes. The caps with Chapman’s anchor logo are nice touches. The rack is custom-made too, with around thirty-five tiny fillets.
Brian’s attention to detail is admirable, right down to the integrated rear lighting on the Brooks Cambium saddle and the seat post’s wiring through the ‘O’ in Nitto. We have a feeling Jacquie’s bike is going to be a wonderful ride, one that she will love every mile of.

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

1953 No. 2 Ephgrave. A beautiful 650b conversion.

 

[grantoury]

1950s Robin Hood, a badge engineered Raleigh. The owner calls it his camping bicycle. I had put one pic of this on the one retrobike picture thread. I like it, bit heavy for my taste but it obviously works for its owner. Which is I feel what its all about.
Found what the owner said about his bike on Cyclofiend.
"I bought this 1950's Robin Hood bicycle over twenty years ago. It came without fenders, and had a rusty chainguard. Last year I created the bike you see here. Friend Dick Bodell made the custom racks, a porteur rack for the front, and a rear rack modeled on a 1949 Rene Herse camping bicycle. My friend Keith Gaber made the leather case for the hatchet I have had since boy scout days. The drink carrier came from my Dad's sailboat. Brooks saddle, Honjo fenders and VO porteur chaincase complete the bike - the Robin Hood Camping Porteur."

Very slack angles. Even slacker than on a Dutch postfiets/postie

 

[Imlach]

Very slack angles. Even slacker than on a Dutch postfiets/postie

View attachment 665175

Did your posties get inspired by the German officers of WW2?


I'd fear for my life if they came with a non-descript parcel and put it by the front door.

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

Noble Cycles 650b Randonneur. Richard Sachs lugs, Columbus Spirit tubes, Reynolds blades and Kirk Pacenti’s Paris Brest fork crown, René Herse crankset, Dura-Ace 10-speed derailleur, Dura-Ace shifters, Paul Racer calipers and Shimano 600 levers. Gilles Berthoud saddle and 42mm Grand Bois Extaleger tyres. Honjo fenders and SONdeluxe lights.

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

Victoire Cycles randonneur. Victoire Cycles are based in Clermont-Ferrand. A Rohloff internal rear hub. Reynolds 853 tubing. The rear triangle is made with Reynolds 953.