Old Meadowbank Velodrome bikes being sold off on Ebay

Interesting disposal sale here ....

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/scotia-18/m.html?item=273442136274&hash=item3faa6be0d2%3Ag%3AEigAAOSwq9Zbjp%7Ed&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562

Whoever’s writing those descriptions needs a bollocking.

Posted these in eBay thread, lack of description has put me off.

Yep, looks like all that kit was given to a scrap dealer .......

Looks like they’ve pulled all the listings now

Perhaps some one has made a job lot purchase ... ?

Picked one up for a pal. Got this message today.

1 Attachment

Huh!

Which one did you go for? I tried a low ball offer on one of the lugged donohues, which the seller quite rightly kicked back :-)

Well, perhaps not given to scrap dealer ! The small Donohue bikes were made for the Racers club specifically for Meadowbank Velodrome in Reynolds 653 tubing with Miche group sets and 650c wheels the kids loved them as they were so easy to ride slowly on the backings . Shame to see them thrown out when they could be put to good use :-(

I did similar with the Ti-Raleigh Track that looks to be around 54cm, looks to be the 531 version and not the 753 though, somewhat happy I got rejected with that message though

The Raleigh’s are the 531c frames and those ones from memory had a good few dents and bashes. One has a “modified” right hand chain stay where the chainset has been swapped for a road rather than track crank resulting in the bolts getting jammed on the chain stay..... it’s tough stuff 531 steel ! Probably best you did not get that one !

Do you know what tubing the lugged Donohue frames are? I was looking at those.

Short answer , not sure , probably plain gauge 531, they are not lightweight frames like the SBDU Raleighs .

Long answer : Some of the frames that are lugged and done in the blue Donohue paint finish are actually the 7 Carlton track machines donated by `Carlton Cycles in 1969 when the track was built. These were quite badly neglected having been stored in a leaking cabin and instead of being scrapped they were refurbished in August 1980 by Raleigh as part of a cycle maintenance programme.
They were used ( and abused ) as drop in bikes through to 2004 when the Edinburgh Racers kids club started up and had the blue Donohue mini bikes made to specification . As part of that deal the Carlton bikes that were salvageable were again refurbished in matching blue paint for the Racers club along with a number of donated and abandoned track bikes from the store.
They were used again through to 2016 for fixed wheel training bikes on the road for the cross over athletes and as grass track bikes on the Highland games circuit and a few BC national championships. They had relaxed angles, big clearances, low brackets and were pretty heavy. No one really liked riding them on a steep board track.

When we got a batch of Dolan Precursa bikes they were never really used again other than as a fall back for drop in sessions or some one that looked like an accident waiting to happen that we did not want to risk with a decent bike....

I'm sure he has posted pics of the BB and they have SBDU numbers?

These frames that are in Dayglow powder coat with ESCA stickers are the 1980 Raleigh frames that have been repaired and repainted.

They are Reynolds 531 DB tubing and forks

Posted on this CC thread

Page 2 with pics of SBDU markings..... Or am I getting confused with all the posts between ebay, lfgss, retrobike, cyclechat?

https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/vintage-bikes.238490/

Thats an interesting page, there are a mix of bikes but the SBDU stamped frames are the 1980 Raleighs that are all 531C , the one with the slotted BB was a newer frame that was bought a couple of years later by and individual for their own use and subsequently left at the track when he died.

I hope they all go to appreciative owners, there is a lot of history there.

The SBDU Raleigh frames do build up in to a nice bike though ....

2 Attachments