Darrens bike .

[mrs doubtfire]

A couple of weeks ago .I answered a call of help .A newbie wanted to go out with a regular cyclist .So i responded .I am 61 ,Darren turns up nearly 17 .Great lad but needed a road bike .Put out a few messages and ,well up popped this beauty .Giant ocr compact .5-7 years old .Spent £65 on new bits and hey presto .

Got the bike for £25 dirty and hanging in a grubby garage .All in all £90 a serious bargain .Taking him out tomorrow ,weather permitting .

[fausto copy]

Wow, that looks like £90 well spent.
And well done too for hopefully getting another cyclist on the road for a lifetime's pleasure.
Hope Darren appreciates your efforts and you enjoy each others company.

[Mick F]

Won't he be embarrassed to be riding a ladies frame?
It looks almost like a Mixte.

[fausto copy]

Come on Mick, don't put the lad off already.
The operative word is "compact".
Mind you, hope he's not a six-footer.

[mrs doubtfire]

Mick F ,I had never seen a slope like it .We bought it off a bloke who got it from a very well known shop in Garforth Leeds..So i went into Giant bike archives.Right back to 2002 .and there is not a lot of info on this model .So i googled it and hey presto .Three private sales three different colour schemes in three different locations .Main one was from a women ,who explained she had got the bike as it was sold to her as a unisex bike .But she did not like the hard ride of it .Especially the un femine saddle .One of theother sales a guy .Because he did not like the non manly saddle .I think this was maybe a one off trying to pitch to both sexes that did not pay off.And so the style vanished .All in all it's a great looking bike .And the third sale was also a bloke .So maybe it is a unisex frame .

[Mick F]

Good on yer!
Bargain anyway!

I spoke to you on the phone some years ago - dunno if you remember? - I was with some of your mates cycling LE to JOG. We stopped for a snack just east of Launceston. I met them in Camelford and "escorted" them to Okehampton.

Daveg, as I remember.
Where is he?
He was a regular poster back then.

[mrs doubtfire]

He is still cycling .Not sure about his posting on here .Me and my family changed chuches a while back .So i don't see him that often now .He won't mind me saying that his mum passed away a few weeks ago .So he is a little busy at the mo.But we do try to cycle the odd saturday together along with Andy (now a new Dad ) and John Gamson .Both who were on LEJOG .

[Mick F]

July 2008 was their LEJOG.
Only seems like yesterday!

Give them my regards if you're in contact.

[thirdcrank]

... Got the bike for £25 dirty and hanging in a grubby garage ...

I've lost count of the times I've advised somebody interested in cycling and desperate to shell out zillions for a new bike to try it out first on a bike they might beg, borrow or buy from somebody who has a little-used one in the garage. That one's obviously a lot better than some of the 70 quid supermarket jobbies bought and ridden once, but it shows what's there waiting to be snapped up.

[reohn2]

Won't he be embarrassed to be riding a ladies frame?
It looks almost like a Mixte.

When you look at the range of people who could ride that bike compact frames make perfect sense to me.

[mrs doubtfire]

Thanks to all for your posts.It was on here i saw his request .Today took him on his first ride with his bike .He is a natural cyclist .Takes instructions and acts straight away .A joy to be out with .The bike is just stunning .We got a bargain ,the guy who left it to rot in his garage ,well he should see it now .It gleams, weird ,but it almost seems like it has come back to life .According to info on google the frame can take someone upto 5' 10".Seatpost has only 1" left in it .Fits him like a glove .

[tooley92]

Seatpost has only 1" left in it.

I hope that's 1" left to the limit mark or he won't be riding for a while if it snaps (I don't think that there is a "brings tears to the eyes" smiley).

[reohn2]

Thanks to all for your posts.It was on here i saw his request .Today took him on his first ride with his bike .He is a natural cyclist .Takes instructions and acts straight away .A joy to be out with .The bike is just stunning .We got a bargain ,the guy who left it to rot in his garage ,well he should see it now .It gleams, weird ,but it almost seems like it has come back to life .According to info on google the frame can take someone upto 5' 10".Seatpost has only 1" left in it .Fits him like a glove .