Steve Ettridge road bike

I picked up this chromed Steve Ettridge road bike a couple of weeks ago after it had spent a few years in the corner of a garage.

Steve Ettridge

I wasn’t expecting it to be fully chromed I presumed from the advert that it was painted silver not chromed . I could just about make out a Columbus decal but couldn’t see what it said .

Columbus tubing

There’s some very nice details on the lug work and a nice set of playing card fork tang’s featuring the 4 suits .

Fork tang’s

There’s also a Columbus dove symbol stamped on the fork steerer tube .

Columbus dove

The bottom bracket is nicely slotted and has a four digit number along with a separate number stamped on it , having contacted Steve Ettridge he didn’t think it was a shop made frame so it must have been made elsewhere and labeled up as an Ettridge.

Slotted bottom bracket

It’s very nicely constructed frame that is for sure and is also fitted with some campagnolo gear mechanisms and shifters and drop outs.

Campagnolo rear Drop out

So far it has only had a few short rides and one longer one of 25 miles just to get an idea how it rides and feels. After servicing the headset and swapping out the wheels for a matching pair with more user friendly ratios.

Steve Ettridge out and about

It still needs a bit of fine tuning and some in depth cleaning to get the Chrome sparkling and it riding as good as it looks but given time it will get there.

Ettridge and a pumpkin person

Stuart Sinclair re comission.

A couple of weeks ago I dragged my Stuart Sinclair road bike out of the shed after putting it in there about 18 months ago. My plan 18 months ago was to replace the existing sti units and mechanisms with a set a complete set of Shimano Claris units but for one reason or another it never actually happened.

My intention was to get the bike ready for wet and winter bike use . Part of the work included fitting a set of indexed 7 speed down tube shifters and swapping the wheels for a set of wheels that had just been overhauled with new hub bearings .

Sinclair re emergence

All the mechanical side of the re commissioning went well and I even treated it to a quick clean. Once I was happy all was working ok I took it for a quick ride along the local cycle path to check that what worked on the maintenance stand actually worked on the road.

Sinclair shake down

The initial test ride went well and only needed a couple of quick adjustments to the already fitted new cable’s.

Outside number 9

My plan for my early Sunday morning ride this weekend was to use my Ridley Orion for approximately 20 miles then come back and swap over to the Sinclair and do a 10 – 15 mile test ride. But soon as I opened the garage door I realised that I needed to move the Sinclair out to get at the Ridley.

I decided there and then that I would do my test ride first and then swap over to the Ridley. After a couple of laps of the local estate roads I decided to press on with my test ride which ended up being 31 miles in length.

Sinclair outside a doorless phone box

Next job is to add some bar tape and sort out the front mudguard so it’s already for winter bike action.

Ridley Orion

I picked up this 2008-9 Ridley Orion a couple of weeks ago, I have been looking at Ridley’s for a while but they are always either way too far away or to expensive.

Ridley and an arch

After selling the Dawes Galaxy, Pinnacle and my Dave Lloyd the day before it meant I had a bit of room in the garage.

Recently sold Pinnacle and Dawes Galaxy

I hadn’t been looking for anything special so when the Ridley popped up locally and at a very good price it was hard to refuse it . So I made contact with the seller to check some details and once I was happy made arrangements to go and view it .

Ridley Orion seat post cluster

Soon as I saw it in the flesh it oozed class and a quality product and one that hadn’t had a hard life over the years. The seller said that he hadn’t used it for a couple of years and the amount of dust and cobwebs proved that. He did say it had spent some time on his turbo trainer have the slick rear training tyre.

With Shimano 10 speed 105 STI units and mechanisms which all worked well. The unbranded brake calipers were covered in cobwebs the chain was checked for wear and showed less than 50% wear .

Ridley and a door to who knows where

Once I was satisfied with the bike I paid the seller and loaded the bike into our car and home . Once home a quick inflation of tyres and a more thorough check over I decided on a short test ride which went well . Over the next few days it got de dusted and peddles , rear tyre and saddle were swapped over and adjustments to saddle and bar height were made to my starting point measurements which proved to be good.

Checking frame size

A few more short ie sub 6 mile rides followed to gain confidence and checking that it was set up correctly for a nice comfortable ride I ventured out for a longer early morning 12 mile ride which went well and certainly made me smile.

And this morning I completed a 40 mile ride on it around the local lanes and roads , it was a case of man and machine in harmony which is always good.

Damp underfoot miles

It rained for most of yesterday leaving the roads damp underfoot this morning at 5am when I got up to some early morning miles.

Blue gateway

I had already decided that my Dawes Galaxy was the machine that I would be using , mainly because it was the easiest bike to get to with mudguards fitted. The roads were damp underfoot but not soaking wet.

Initially I was thinking about just keeping it local just in case the rain returned but after 7 miles the sky was getting lighter so decided to take a longer route. Yesterday’s rain had left some small puddles and with nice and empty roads I was ok to ride around then rather than through them .

New bike shelter

The thing about the Galaxy is how easy it is to keep a good pace going despite the gearing being more suited to touring than outright speed but it certainly makes for a nice bike to ride on all terrains.

Another check of the weather forecast at around the 20 miles mark confirmed that it was meant to be dry till well after 10am so I pressed on hoping to do a 50 mile ride so had to try and work out a route that was going to give me that distance.

Door in the corner

As I pressed on dry bits of tarmac were starting to appear in places and small amounts of blue sky started to appear amongst the grey clouds. It was another faultless performance from the Galaxy and another fabulous ride for me .

A May weekend in June.

Well another week is drawing near to completion on this Sunday afternoon. I have done 4 rides this week and all have been on my Ian May machine and totalled 125 miles all in .

Moulton rememberence stone

I have owned this bike quite a few years now and have always enjoyed riding it as I think the red paint and polished alloy forks go well together without being too showy .

A Holcot arch

The 4 rides have been made up with two early weekday rides of 22 and 21 miles each then a nice 50 miles on Saturday and a 32 miles earlier today. All four rides have been on different routes but have covered a few sections on one or more of the rides.

An early morning shadow

All four rides have been in ideal weather conditions and mostly under sunny skies which always makes a difference. I have even bought out the shorts so be warned. I also swapped the Selle SMP lite 209 saddle for a less racy Selle SMP trk saddle as I couldn’t quite find the sweet spot on the lite 209.

There’s something about jumping on a bike and within a few yards of setting off on your ride getting the feeling that all is well and hopefully this ride will be just what you needed.

King of the mountains horse

The one thing I really like about this bike is the wide ratio rear cog as I have never found a hill it won’t climb so I never have to think about what route I am taking. And on Saturdays ride I found some new to me roads to cycle over . I always enjoy looking at the countryside and the buildings I pass on route, I dread to think about what some cyclists miss when out riding .

A fungi growing On an old tree stump

Cougars first time out 2023

This weekend was the first time that my Cougar road bike has been in use since 2022. It has spent at least 6 months languishing in the corner of my garage.

Here comes the sun

I gave it a quick once over on Friday night just in case I used it over the weekend but in the end I used it on Saturday and Sunday for my early morning rides. So Saturday morning when I opened the garage door I decided to use it so manoeuvred past my Ian May and Dawes Galaxy bikes.

I took it nice and gentle for the first few miles on Saturday just to make sure all was ok with the machine. Once I was happy all was good I pressed on with the idea of covering at least 50 miles on it .

Irthlingborough Green bike

I was heading towards Molesworth which is just over the Cambridgeshire border and a village I had not visited before which meant some new to me roads which are always nice.

St Peter’s in Molesworth

Once I headed home I was trying to work out in my mind which route would get me over the 50 mile mark so headed back via Clopton , Titchmarsh , Twywell , Barton Seagrave where I was met with the smell of Weetabix from the factory in nearby Burton Latimer .

Waiting at the gate

Sunday’s route was heading out to Olney then assess how things were going and either head straight home or carry on . Olney came and went and before long I found myself heading down the very quiet A428 towards Bedford.

Two big cats go head to head in Yardley Hastings

My route home was via Stevington , Carlton , Hinwick, Wollaston,Wilby and home. I had no specific mileage in mind but thought it would end up around the 40 mile mark and sure enough it was 42 miles completed.

Royal George and my Cougar

The Cougar behaved well and coped with the terrain that I covered on both days. It’s a nice machine to ride with its a distinctive paint job and it’s great pedigree . I am looking forward to seeing quite a few more miles covered soon.

Ian May out and about

My Ian May bike always makes it’s yearly debut during the month of May . This year’s debut was slightly late but it still happened in May .

An Ian May Sunrise

I had planned to fit a set of Reynolds wheels but the axle is too big for the rear drop outs, I know this could be easily rectified but I decided against any modifications. So specification is as per last year.

Waiting at the bus stop

First couple of rides were short 10 – 15 mile ones just to check all was ok these where normally carried out early in the morning before the roads got busy with commuters making their way to work.

Once I was happy with the set up I tried an evening ride to my parents house and back which went well apart from my phone making a few random calls as I rode along.

I know which one I prefer .

This weekend it was my bike of choice for some miles and as in previous years once you have the set up right it makes for a very comfortable ride and eats up the miles well . Saturday’s ride was a nice 56 mile ride down to Hartwell across to Turvey and homewards via Bozeat and a couple of other small villages en route.

Tyringham Arch

Sunday’s ride was a 52 mile affair across to Kimbolton castle and then down and into Bedfordshire with a decision of left or right at the t junction in Odell I decided on a left turn and headed towards Olney this also meant another 50+ ride was in the bag . After Olney came Yardley Hastings, Castle Ashby and Wilby before getting home.

Kimbolton castle entrance.

All in all a good weekend for riding and a bike that rides well and looks the part.

Dawes Galaxy first 100 miles

I picked up this Dawes Galaxy locally a couple of weeks ago on marketplace for a very fair price.

On arrival

It hadn’t been used for a few years and had been resting in the corner of a students grand parents garage till he decided he now longer needed it and asked his grandfather to sell it on his behalf.

After a quick check that both the seat post and handle bar stem were free to move and adjust ok and the frame was free from cracks etc etc I handed my hard earned cash over. And bought it home for some TLC and miles.

No buses stop here .

On my initial test ride I felt that both hubs were a bit noiser then I would like but spun freely . The front hub was duly cleaned and rebuilt with some fresh grease which improved things greatly and when I did the rear a few days later again it made a difference and now the bike rode a lot smoother and quieter. So time for some miles.

The first ride was a nice local 20 miles with a few little hills just to check that the 3 X 7 gearing was working as expected and sure enough it went well.

Sywell reservoir

Next up was a couple of late 30+ mile rides that again took in a mixture of local lanes and roads which were all covered with ease by the Galaxy. I had also found the sweet heights for the saddle and bars at this point which made riding this machine a pleasure.

A drive of colour

The ride on the coronation bank holiday Monday was the one that took me over the 100 mile mark and also over towards some of the bigger hills in this area of Northamptonshire. The bike handled the 3 climbs with ease and with a few gears left in reserve .

I think the Galaxy suits my style of riding well and is built with enough feeling and feedback to be an enjoyable machine to ride . Next job is a bit of a clean and some new bar tape to replace the scruffy white tape currently fitted. The long term future depends if other machines selling or not .

But so far I have enjoyed it and look forward to doing a few more miles on this Dawes Galaxy.

A VR post box

More Pinnacle miles

This weekend was the first one for a while where I have been able to ride on both Saturday and Sunday mornings .

Pinnacle with a snowdrop background.

Saturday’s ride was a nice but breezy 30 miles down and across to Yardley Hastings and then back home past Santa Pod and over Hardwater crossing. The weather forecast was for gusts between 18-36mph so I knew that it would be hard going in some places.

Outside the Hill in Wollaston

The wind certainly made it’s presence known between Earls Barton and Denton with a good strong headwind. The birds were tweeting and moving in and out of the hedgerows well which is always nice to see and listen to.

As usual the Pinnacle coped with the conditions and did all I asked off it . The newly resurfaced section of road between the end of the Bozeat straight and just before Poddington was very welcoming as a lot of my local road surfaces leave a lot to be desired. The rest of the ride across hardwater crossing and back through Wellingborough bought the total up to a nice round 30 miles.

Outside Nemos fish bar .

Sunday mornings weather forecast was for slightly less breezy conditions so set of just after 5.30 am and was surprised that it felt chilly with a stiff breeze so again I knew at some point I would be facing a headwind.

I headed out towards Rushden via Irthlingborough road and on towards Higham Ferrer’s and Chelveston where it was just starting to get lighter.

A Raunds sky

The town of Raunds was it’s normal quiet self with just a couple of people up and about along the high street. As I turned onto Denford lane I started to plan my route for the second half of the ride . Denford lane was it’s normal traffic free couple of miles which is always nice and it gives me the opportunity to watch the wildlife flitter about in the hedgerows.

Instead of just riding on the main route through Ringstead I turned right and went through the centre of the village and out the other side before crossing the river Nene at Woodford mill and on to Addington.

Here comes the day.

From Addington I headed towards Kettering via Cranford and back over the A14 into Burton Latimer and on towards Finedon and the decent into Wellingborough. It was a nice 32 miles and again the Pinnacle performed without fault or concern.

Pinnacle road bike

I have owned this particular Pinnacle road bike just before Christmas 2021 from it’s then second owner who like the original owner had used it vary sparingly.

I used it for a few rides in 2022 before putting it up for sale even though I had a few enquiries it never actually sold so it sat unused in the corner of my garage till a couple of weeks ago in January 2023 when I dusted it off and re inflated the tyres.

It’s equipped with a 2 X 8 Shimano 2300 system that works as nice and fuss free as you would expect. Wheels are Alex rims and unbranded hubs so hardly the lightest set of hoops around but they do the job nicely.

Pinnacle wheels

I fitted a set of guards to give me some wet weather protection almost straight after purchasing it so as to make it a good all round bike that would appeal to more people.

Today’s ride was a nice 30 miles around one of my regular routes taking in the local villages of Orlingbury , Holcot , Moulton and Grendon before heading home. It’s not a challenging route by any means but it’s miles and that’s what I need at the moment.

In front of the arches.

It’s a nice bike that does all it needs to do when asked by it’s rider . The black paint has contrasting silver decals , the frame has all the braze ons for guards front and rear and two bottle cage points with the facility to also mount a rear rack if required.

I have shown it a bit of our local area and it will get to see a bit more over the next few weeks weather permitting. So be prepared to see more pictures of the local area .

First Daffodils of the year.