I opened a Raleigh bike shop in Austin, Texas in 1971 and worked there until 1976. Had four of the best mechanics to work in any bike shop anywhere and a lot of wonderful customers. We worked on all bikes no matter where purchased and did 24 hour turnarounds on all repairs. The contributors to this list share an amazing body of knowledge of classic bikes. Brings back a lot of great memories.
Have owned or own these bicycles:
Sears 26" wheel ten-speed Dawes Galaxy Jeunet Raleigh Sport (put 5,000 miles on this one) Rudge 3-speed Monarch Silver King (1939) Moulton Mini, 1964 with FW Le Jeune Benotto Eisentraut A (radical frame, not very stable) Gitane Tandem (fitted with super light setup for night training) Bob Jackson tandem (bent tube, Phil hubs with Weinmann wood fills and del Mondo tubulars, the rest Campy, 1974) Raleigh Pro (1973) Raleigh RRA (1974) (where art thou, my favorite bike of all?) Raleigh International (1973, fitted with Campy triple from a Paramount) Raleigh Competition (the lilac one, never dressed to match it) Raleigh Team Pro (1974, the first to enter the US, came fully assembled, air freighted from London to Dallas in a huge box, came with the first Campy Super Record ensemble to enter the US)
Michael Murphy
Paige, Texas