Adventure, Discoveries…..cue RESEARCH!
Two Sundays ago a few of us (read: myself and Deborah and Audrey) ventured out to Edmonton Bicycle Commuters (EBC) to find some spare parts we were told existed NOT on eBay alone.
Sadly the part(s) we were searching for (namely rear fender reflectors for Nicki’s Winnie) were not in existence. All was not lost though!! There were some WONDERFUL finds in their stock piles outside (in the chilly snowy winter weather). Most of the bikes they have (either for sale or still needing mega work) are men’s styles or newer and sportier, which is fine, really, but its not what we’re about…so they were skipped over.
So it went, skipping over sporty bike after sporty bike…until we noticed this beauty:
What you see here ladies and gents, is a (can I say rare? OOOh can I? Done!!) “rare” Eaton’s Glider… and this alone was incredibly exciting… until… wait for it… we realized that the distance between seat post and handle bars was small… perhaps this was a kids bike? We’re pretty sure she is, and as an added bonus, she has the chain guard in tact (with just a bit of rust, probably a clear coat protection would keep her pretty and vintage and covetable (as in I wish I was a kid so I could ride her). Check it out:
I’m not even gonna lie you guys, I am 100% in LOVE. The head badge alone had me sold and the absolutely divine curve on the bottom bar…WOW. She has rod brakes (which I’m still learning about, as in I just know they’re different and less reliable and possibly not as safe as caliper brakes? – correct me if I’m wrong, I’m going just one the bit of research I’ve done!). It looks like the rear brake would need to be completely re-done since there’s no rear wheel (something I’ll get to right away) though Deborah had an awesome suggestion of just going with a coaster brake for the rear, which will then make the rod brake less the only style I have (and since I’d ride in some wet conditions…it’d be a plus!).
And then we searched the wheel size, in the first picture you see it “requires 28″ wheels, and so we tried to price them out. Someone on eBay was selling a 28” wheel with a 3 speed hub …any guesses to how much it ended up going for? Yeah…almost $400 Canadian + shipping and handling. Needless to say I’m now less excited about trying to work on this Raleigh (even though I’m in love and want sooo badly) until I’ve done more research on rear wheels, and options I’ll have when it comes to replacement…
Some Pashley’s have 28″ wheels right? So maybe I’ll go to RedBike and see what they can do. Alternatively…is it possible to put a slightly different size wheel on? How much does that affect the bike? 28″ isn’t common but what if a 28 1/2″ is easier to find? Or do I need to go slightly smaller? Can I even find an appropriate size without totally breaking the bank? I want this bike SO much (I barely stop looking at the pictures!) but I cannot justify $400 or even close to that just for the rear wheel and hub…UGH!
Anyway, now that I’ve stopped complaining, enjoy our finds, covet along with us, and if you have suggestions or solutions we haven’t though of, PLEASE share!!