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leggy_blonde
@clubman
Red Training Bike
I acquired this frame in 1983 and it's been in more or less constant use since then although it now lives in semi retirement in France. I did ride it last week though. Apart from replacements of worn out parts, the only real changes have been the addition of the Mafac cantilevers (early on, just a whim) and I reduced the length of the handlebar stem from 4" to 3" about twenty years ago. Since it's been used for several different purposes, the wheels have not been constant, but generally it has remained much the same.
I had a road race crash early in '83. I was damaged enough to spend 48 hours in hospital, and I assumed, without really checking, that my bike must have been damaged at least as badly - so when I was offered this frame at a modest price I took it, just as a stand in until I could sort things out. As it turned out my other bike was almost completely unscathed, so this frame was unnecessary but for reasons I can't fully remember I've used this one for most jobs since then.
Although it came without any real history, I'm now fairly sure it's a Ron Cooper. It's a pretty standard frame, although the top tube slopes down towards the head tube.
I've used it for:
Training - chain gangs, early season training runs, weekends away.
Racing - both TT and road. The two up picture above was taken at the 2015 Redmon Gentlemen's GP. where there was a prize for the best ride on Eroica ready bikes. Thanks to my speedy pacer (Nic Stagg) we won this very minor prize, which is pleasing for me since it was almost certainly my last ever competitive ride.
Touring - Some YHA, including one French trip.
Also some hack work - it's hard to know how many miles I've done on it, but a rough guess would be 40,000.
So, if it looks a bit tired in the top picture, there's a reason.