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@SonicB
Story time. My first proper road bike was a Condor tourer made from Reynolds 531. I'd been coveting it as it hung from the ceiling of Deens Garage in Beckenham, where I was doing work experience aged 16. I then worked out how long it would take me to pay back the cost of the bike in saved train fares, if I cycled to school instead of taking the train. I presented my findings to my parents and it was agreed I could have the bike if I cycled it to school, at least until the train fare savings outweighed the cost of the bike.
Now, at this point I was into bikes, but mainly pissing around on my BMX. Not proper cycling. I was pretty unfit and would come last in the school cross country every year.
However, riding that bike over crystal palace hill every day with panniers full of books soon toughened me up, igniting my passion for cycling, and after a few months of this I came top ten in the cross country race that winter.
Fast forward a few years, I'm at university, I had another bike in my collection, needed some cash, and a friend needed a bike. So I sold on the Condor to her. She rode it for a few years before moving to Japan. It's been in storage for about 8 years.
She's just got in touch with me saying she needs to clear out her Mum's house, and would I like the Condor back? Of course I would! So a friend will collect it for me, and I'll work out how to get it back to London.
I don't remember all the details about the bike, other than it's lovely tubing, campag groupset (with a triple and canti brakes). It had some lovely Italian finishing kit when I last saw it as well.
I have no idea what state the bike will be in when I receive it, but I'll aim to find out some more about the frame from Condor, then restore it to its former glory.
I think the frame will be a touch too small for me now (it always was really, and I reached my dizzying 5'8 quite late in life). But it should fit my partner, so perhaps she'll use it as her around town bike.
I'll document the progress here along with my other tinkerings.