Anyone heard of 'Romany' bikes

[531colin]

Thanks for the responses

I think i'm going to go with this frame (as it looks superb) and build it up around a triple ultegra/105 set up for light touring and commuting to Uni.

If I do any heavy touring I'll just swap out the necessary bits for lower gearing.

McVouty is there any niggles you have with the bike?

This be my first build - kind of been forced into it as i was going to buy the Ridgeback Panorama from Cycle Surgery for 699 pounds but left it just one day too late and they had all gone.

But never mind I think it'll be a more personal bike building it myself and it be good to learn the skills.

Post a picture if you get the frame, somebody here will recognise it!
I have an early Orbit Romany in 853, welded, with hooded rear dropouts, unicrown fork with 1" threaded steerer, and offset back end.
I got it at a good price direct from the factory, as it had been out to a magazine tester or two. I think those early frames were UK built.

[Big T]

I used to have a Revel Romany - made of Ishiwata tubing, bought around 1990. Didn't last long as it had a substandard paint job and quickly went rusty. Could be bothered to get it respayed and binned it.

[petzl]

Thanks for the responses

I think i'm going to go with this frame (as it looks superb) and build it up around a triple ultegra/105 set up for light touring and commuting to Uni.

If I do any heavy touring I'll just swap out the necessary bits for lower gearing.

McVouty is there any niggles you have with the bike?

This be my first build - kind of been forced into it as i was going to buy the Ridgeback Panorama from Cycle Surgery for 699 pounds but left it just one day too late and they had all gone.

But never mind I think it'll be a more personal bike building it myself and it be good to learn the skills.

Yes like many others this was also on my wish list, no matter. If you intend to gear it down at some future date check on the rear drop out width, a 135mm width will keep you going for years with lots of choice for gearing however anything less such as the old 8/7, 7/6 speed (130/126mm) will restrict your choice.

No doubt you know the rear drop out width can be increased. However, having it done professionally (at a price) by a frame builder with the expectation that everything is straight and true is one thing. Applying ones own (or local gorilla) brute force to cold set the width is another matter.

[spanner]

Thanks for the responses

I think i'm going to go with this frame (as it looks superb) and build it up around a triple ultegra/105 set up for light touring and commuting to Uni.

If I do any heavy touring I'll just swap out the necessary bits for lower gearing.

McVouty is there any niggles you have with the bike?

This be my first build - kind of been forced into it as i was going to buy the Ridgeback Panorama from Cycle Surgery for 699 pounds but left it just one day too late and they had all gone.

But never mind I think it'll be a more personal bike building it myself and it be good to learn the skills.

my romany has a shimano biopace triple chainset and the third ring gives a very low gearing i can climb the nearest steep hill to me in about fifteen minutes with the largest rear spocket and third front sprocket it feels as if you are getting nowhere but you do eventually!
anyone had problems with the fag sealed bottom bracket unit the one on mine is knackered and am trying to get it out with not much succsess when i do will just fit normal bb cups and axle
anyone know what the thread tpi is is it standard 26 or 24

[spanner]

anyone had experience of taking the f.a.g sealed bottom bracket unit out of a romany racer?
anyone know what the spindle size is? as the one on mine is knackered and i cant get it out but as its plastic reckon
i can drill the plastic to release it anyone had experience of a seized sealed unit?
the chainwheel is a shimano biopace triple chainwheel if this help for the axle size
would standard bottom bracket cups and axle fit if so what size axle will i need?
any help much appreciated

[spanner]

"McVouty is there any niggles you have with the bike?" Well, I used to be able to get the frame flexing at the bottom bracket sprinting for 30 signs, but that is hardly a criticism; after all, it never pretended to be a racer, even if its rider did. I would say, if you have the frame stripped down anyway get it resprayed with a tougher finish, as the original chipped rather easily.

i found that as well with my romany that the paint work was chipped i tried to get a match but the humbrol paint i got(modelling paint) was just that bit lighter than the original paint
any idea what the colour is mine is a sort of metallic gunmetal grey
if i could locate where i could get replacement transfers i would send it away to dave yates or bob jackson to get refurbished
any suggestions anyone where i can get transfers including the reynolds transfers?

[McVouty]

You may get some ideas from the "Transfers" thread or the "where to get Reynolds transfers" threads on this forum, last posts 6/10/09 and 30/11/09 respectively.

[McVouty]

You should be able to get a match using Humbrol paint by buying two tins, one a darker and one a lighter shade of the colour you need, and mixing them. Experiment on a less than highly visible part of the frame, let it dry, then try again (and again and again) as necessary; you can always paint over the experiments once you do get a match. Do the mixing a drop at a time, and keep notes; it will be 24 hours before you see the results, and small quantities of Humbrol will dry out, so that you'll need to mix again. This is only a temporary bodge and no substitute for respraying if you're concerned to restore the bike to showroom condition, of course.

[ddddddd]

I have a 1982 revell of london romany ...
there is a sticker on the down tube which says frame guarenteed built by haden

On closer examination, I suspect that you might find it reads:

..................................................................................
........... GUARANTEED BUILT WITH

HADEN BROS LIMITED
( Haden )
BIRMINGHAM ENGLAND
HADEN FINE QUALITY FRAME LUGS
....................................................................................

[timskybike]

I have a Romany and found this thread after trying to find out more about my bike which I bought in Brighton for a modest £120 for the sole purpose of cycling across the US. I wanted a cheap touring bike that I could leave behind in LA once I'd finished the trip but of course I ended up getting attached to it and bringing it back with me. I had it renovated and the rear triange widened to take 135mm hubs and an 8 speed cassette and used it to cross Japan the Winter of 08. The bloke in the shop where I bought it from said it was a prototype/sample for the Freewheel catalogue and I've taken a shot of the frame number on the BB to conform this (see below). Its a 50cm frame but has an unusually long top tube at 55cm and the front fork seems to be a cheaper Reynolds standard road fork with pivots and pannier mounts brazed on. The fork is too narrow for the cantilevers to get to a vertical position so the front brake is very weak :-/

I've tried to keep some of the original parts It still has the original Exage cranks SLR brake levers. I left the steel Biopace chainrings on it for the US but changed then to round alloy ones for Japan but the Mountain LX dérailleur was too bent to use with indexed gears so it now has on old XTR on it. It's a very tough frame and has taken a real beating since I've owned it. It's also very,very smooth and not as laterally flexy as you might think. Not bad for a 25 year old bike.

[WorldWideWilby]

I owned a Ridgeback Romany, steel Cromally frame.
Bought about 1993.
Budget Touring bike with dropped bars.

I really liked this bike, unfortunately I took it into too many difficult places and the bottom bracket was seized when it needed replacing, so the frame was scrapped.