Spot the difference

May 2008


March 2010

Top picture:

red; worn out; rusty; front gear change broken; mudguards barely attached; tyres cracked; saddle a mess. The old bike.

Bottom picture:

black; in excellent condition; no rust. The new bike.

But there are actually a remarkable number of similarities.

Same style of dropped handlebars with brake lever extensions; same method of (frame-mounted) gear changing; same frame construction and size.

I bought the old bike from Phil Corley Cycles in Milton Keynes with £100 I was left by my Granny in, I think, 1984. Since then it's been hammered. I reckon I've done at least 60,000 miles on it, and when I stopped using it a couple of weeks ago, like the legendary broom, there wasn't much left that was original (only the frame, brake levers and calipers, rack, pedals). It's been in a major road traffic collision; it's been mildly crushed between a low bridge and the boat's cabin top; its saddle has been wrecked by Wrenbury Lift Bridge.

I bought the "new" bike from a garage in a nearby village. The man there buys up bikes from police auctions and collects abandoned ones from the University of East Anglia, and accepts donations. He does them up, and sells them in aid of East Anglia's Children's Hospices. My bike has hardly ever been ridden. Indeed, it must have been taking up space in someone's garage for years. I've just searched for the name on the internet, and the few references to it seem to date it to the 1980s, making it probably the same age as my old bike! And that would explain the similarities, I suppose.

The bike man gave me the purple metal mudguards from a scrap bike as the originals were pathetically short. My test ride was in the rain; I got a wet bottom from all the spray flung at me from the back wheel. You will notice that I've transferred across the paniers, the D-lock, the lights, the bell and the pump. It's a lot heavier than when I tested it!

Now, the question is: will it be suitable for towpaths?