TeamGB Olympics 2012

 

Ron and his Hobbs

I mentioned a few weeks back that Rob has embarked on a mission to help Ron realise his dream of recreating  a Hobbs Blue Riband just like the one he rode when he was a lad.

Imagine our surprise when Ron not only concisely recollected the specification of each and every part of the bike. but also conjured up the original receipt.

Bona fide these are

Ron paid £17/9/6 and for the bike, with a £2 deposit up front. He also splashed out on a posh set of wheels from Ducketts of Seven Kings for £10/0/09.

these are the kind of coins he paid with

Rons’ posh wheels where built using:
1 Pair Constructor Bosley Rims
1 Pair Powell Hubs, double sided for ?
Building D Butted spokes
1 Set of Dunlop HP tyres, tubes and tapes
1 Simplex 3 speed gear 16-18-20.

So there you have it, Ron has a memory as a sharp as a lemon and has managed to treasure his receipts for over half a century. That goes to show us  young’uns have memories like sieves and we don’t even make receipts like they used to.

Let’s just hope Ron has a clear grasp of decimilisation and inflation, he won’t even get a pair of inner tubes today for what he spent on that wheel set.

*if anyone has any of the parts listed above for sale, please get in touch.

 

 

 

Sargent and Co to open new showroom

Classic bike restorers Sargent and Co have taken on more space which will see them double their showroom size.  The shop will have been open for 4 years this coming May and after building a solid customer base and a name synonymous with classic road bikes proprietor Rob Sargent told us ‘the time just feels right,  I know their is recession, but I don’t care, the world will be mine’.

The shop today

The new store layout will see a wooden staircase leading up to a showroom space flooded with natural light, complete with a  chair and bicycle related books for customers to browse whilst they await their repairs, ‘ I just can’t wait, it’s so exciting, we are really wanting to provide customers with a true multi channel retail experience, the retail suite will help us communicate our brand ethos and allow the consumer to immerse themselves in all things bike’, says Brand and European Retail Space Development Manager, Georgie Wood.

Paint sits waiting to be applied

Both the  refurbishment of the existing space and development of the retail suite are well underway, and Sargent and Co are confident they will achieve their target opening day of March 16th on time and in budget . The expansion has been partially funded by The Bank of Rascizukistan and the CEO will be making a guest appearance at the opening night.

The mayoral election- vote with your bike

Last decade we had supersaver Martin Lewis from Money Saving Expert telling us to vote with our feet, encouraging us to up sticks and leave our banks, become  ‘credit card tarts’ he urged us and this decade will see us voting with our bikes.

Londoners on Bikes, a voluntary cycling campaign group have launched a campaign urging Londoners to vote in the mayoral elections according to whom will pledge and commit to making London a more cycle friendly city.

The question is, how many people prioritise this issue over all others?

Although an incredibly important issue, will it realistically rank above issues surrounding education and health? I suspect not, but I am confident most cyclists in this city who vote will have a recent ‘near miss’ lingering in the back of their minds which might just swing where they put their cross.

You can learn more about the campaign here.

 

 

 

Robert Sargent- A portrait

A young gent called Fred asked Rob if he would fancy having his portrait taken for a series he is creating, Rob obliged even though he doesn’t like having his picture taken (or so he protests).

Rob stuck to the model mantra 'don't smile'

If you would like to see more of these images or would be interested in seeing the inside of the Brompton factory (I was)  then click here.

Hobbs of Barbican – Blue Riband

Rob is about to embark on a new mission, operation Blue Riband; and no we haven’t ventured into the world of chcoclate bars, that would be daft, we are talking a different type of  Blue Riband here, we are talking the creme de la creme of cycles, we are talking about one of the best machines that Hobbs of Barbican produced.

Courtesy of Classic Rendezvous (http://www.classicrendezvous.com)

We have a customer, Ron, who back in the 1950′s aged 17 was lucky enough to own one of these fantastic machines- he had one identical to the one pictured.

Ron happened to chance upon this picture whilst happily surfing the internet and it set the the cogs in his mind spinning and a turning- could he own a bike like this again?

Ron decided yes, yes he could, he penned a charming email to Rob and Rob hopped on board- between them they will either find this bike or do their damn hardest to make a near as possible replicate.

This is not going to be an easy task, scouring jumbles and websites and trawling eBay to find the ‘perfect’ parts, this mission will require absolute dedication and focus, but the outcome, oh the outcome that is the best part, knowing that Ron will be the happiest rider on earth….even if he doesn’t put the miles in he used to :  )

‘At 78 years of age it would not be used in “earnest”, but for my daily cycle

ride about the countryside of Herefordshire..in the hope that I can keep fit until the Good Lord thinks otherwise’.

Thanks for your custom Ron, it’s an honour.

High on Bikes (www.highonbikes.com)

I have to give these guys a shout out because we ordered a bottom bracket yesterday, late afternoon might I add and we received it this morning and we didn’t pay for shipping. I think that’s brilliant, I really do.

#Sargentandco #vintagebikes hash tag_twy/12!!!

I am not even old, not compared to most people, I am younger than the average person in Britain, yet at my slightly less than tender age I am drowning in a sea of Social networking sites, I have got Instagram, Flickr, Facebook, Twitter all prodding me from all angles and that’s just the tip of the iceberg because for all the ones I do know about their are 10 that I don’t.

Tweet

How does anyone get chance to do anything if they spend half their time notifying everyone? Do you do half as many things? And if you are not on them are you going to be left behind? Will people think you are an eccentric-refusing to be pulled into the 21 s Century?

Here at Sargent and Co both Rob and I have at least one foot stuck in the last century, if not the one before- Rob eats tinned sardines most days, and I am doing a jigsaw at the minute, it’s tragic-  as for the business well, the website is never ever up to date, the blog is updated a maximum of once a week, we don’t really advertise, we don’t have a slogan, a logo, any form of marketing material, we’ve not even got a proper sign above the door.

No one has ever complained to us about these things (least not to our face), but people do say they wish they could have an update to date view of the bikes that we have in the shop and we agree it would be good, so we joined Twitter #sargentandco, today we photographed some of the bikes around the shop. You need never be out of the loop again, and if you aren’t on Twitter you can click on the links to the top right of the blog- these will show you anything that has been put on Twitter…… oooh la la, ain’t that clever?

Ps: It’s a good job I have 2 feet, that way I can have 1 here and 1 back then

Showzam- Blackpool

Blackpool- it’s loud, it’s brash, it’s nearly always cold, it’s full of drunks, it’s got giant seagulls, it’s smells of grease, it’s doesn’t sell anything worth owning and it’s got the highest rate of divorce in Britain.

Blackpool- I bloody love it, it’s guaranteed giggles.

If I was up North I would be getting involved in this- Showzam- a Festival of Circus, Music and New Variety (last year they had a 5 inch woman in a  goldfish bowl and this year they have got an Insect Circus).

Miss behave- ooh ek!

The Times Cities fit for cycling

I guess most people have heard about this campaign in the last few days, it featured on the front page of the paper today and apparently it’s getting tweeted left, right and centre.Tweet Tweet Tweet.

Friday, 3rd February 2012

The campaign is centered around an 8 point manifesto which aims to make roads safer for cyclists across Britain. All the points on the manifesto seem more than reasonable enough (in my eyes) , as more cyclists take the roads we need rules and laws to help protect them, their is no two ways about it.

It will be interesting to see what other groups of road users come up with over the next few weeks, I am sure many of the points will be opposed and many a debate will be had, and tempers will flare- which is all good, as long as people are talking about it things might change. Read about here, and make up your own mind- it’s certainly got my backing.