My 1st bike

[rollinbone]

Been rummaging around my old pics and found this

Its the first bike that I could call my own
Pictured at Monsal Dale/Derbyshire in about 1960

Bike was a Raleigh with a 5 speed Sturmey Archer gear hub and with what looks like a Brooks saddle!

All for about £18 from 'Suggs of Sheffield'
What a wonder the internet is I have found a pic of the store in 1960:-
http://www.heritage-images.com/Preview/ ... nseType=RM

The thing I remember is how quickly the bikes of that era started to rust-
Even the rims and spokes, not to mention the steel frame. One trip to school, thru a puddle, and it started!

Anyone else got a pic of their 1st??

[downfader]

Nice. What camera was it, looks almost boxbrownie in quality.

My first real bike was a white Raleigh BMX of some sort, early 80s just after ET. My first bike that took me places was the one I got when I was 14. I used it until I was about 22, a Raleigh Scorpian hardtailed moutain bike.

I dont think I have any photos of my old bikes. Now I think about it that makes me feel quite sad. Its not as if I didnt have the cameras, either.

[kwackers]

Mine was a 'Mongrel Special', hand made from bits found on tips and painted with a stick and a tin of "Canary Yellow" paint (that someone had the good sense to throw out).

It had a Sturmey Archer 3 speed hub (nobody threw away derailleurs back then). One day I decided not to go to school and rode from St Helens to Blackpool and back along the coast road (Blackpool was shut! ) Took me most of the day - plus I didn't take any food or water with me!
Following week me and my posh mate on his Raleigh 'Tour of Britain' rode to Wales and back, on the return I fell off and severed the toggle chain leaving me stuck in 3rd, the return journey was hard - not helped by the fact I'd replaced the sprocket with the smallest one I could find to give me a chance of beating my mate on his Raleigh...

I do remember he let me have a go of his bike (just once, tight git) and it felt soo nice to ride compared to mine...

[cycle cat]

My first bike was in 1974 and it was red.
It had a step through frame, a white saddle and tiny wheels.
My nan would tie a piece of string to the handlebars and tow me up the hill.
Well it did have stabilisers and I was only 5!

I have 2 red bikes now. No more stabilisers though.

[Ugly]

My first proper bike, when I was about 10, was a 19'' Russ, 26'' wheels, Williams c34 44t chainset, 3 speed cyclo 16, 18, 20 cogs, GB drop bars. gears didn't last long and wheel was turned, gear/fixed hub, and fixed cog was fitted. A no-nonsense cycling dad said it would do me good! And it did now in my 65th year and still riding a fixed bike most of the time.

[fossil]

my first bike was a Raliegh Chipper

my . I must have been small

this is a pic from the web , not my actual bike

[crazydavid]

I still have my 1st bike and I still use it.

It is a Townsend Montezuma, bought 2nd hand in 1980. It's a bit like triggers broom, only the frame, seatpost and handlebars are the originals. It is now my winter/reserve commuter bike, currently wearing snow stud tyres. It's slow and heavy, but I love it and will never get rid of it.

[DavidT]

My first bike was Raleigh Chopper.

My Dad presented me with a Halfords race bike in about 1980. Ex skip I think (or lost and found dept) but I might be doing him a diservice

My first "proper" bike came in 1983 and was a Raleigh Medale. I saved up for this from my part time job whilst in the sixth form. Very proud. Collected from Battery Cycles in Plymouth. I think it cost about £120?

Standard steel frame, nothing special at all (by modern or contemporary standards) but that bike introduced me to all my local environs, subsequently gave me 6 months commuting in Cheshire and meanwhile took me on tours to the Cotswolds and Somerset. I was bitten by the cycling bug. The memory of the pleasure of those tours, based on a bike with a low specification, make me smile whenever I read in the mags (or on this forum) of the "must have" kit if you are going to start cycling/a bit of touring! Neither cheapish wheels (although I had updated these to alloy rims)or 3pt steel carrier collapsed under weight of camping gear! The side pull brakes always stopped me. That said, I have gradually moved up the ladder spec wise

I saw a Raleigh Medale the other day. Owner was using it as his cheap winter hack bike. Good memories.

[random37]

Mine was a Raleigh too. We had no money when I was a kid, so all my friends had BMXs because they were cool. But I did brilliant things on my Raleigh. I could stand on the saddle with my arms pointing out to the sides and go around in a circle.

Of course, my first **good** bike was still in use until last year, when it was stolen. Here's a picture of it being used to carry wood to my old mooring:



It was knackered. I had to stop using it soon after that, as its top tube was bent. But I loved that bike.

[rollinbone]

Well 'downfader' I think the camera was a Kodak but I cannot remember the type but not a 'box brownie'

[downfader]

Well 'downfader' I think the camera was a Kodak but I cannot remember the type but not a 'box brownie'

I have 3 box brownies in a collection of some 30 cameras. Most need restoration though.

[CREPELLO]

My first proper bike - a Carlton Continental, apparently identical to the one pictured but I'm sure mine had 24" or 26" wheels - I was only ten. It certainly gave me a life long taste for classic steel bikes.

[Steve Kish]

My first bike was an old Hercules, bought for 30 shillings in about 1963 from someone at school. Single speed freewheel, 26 x 1 3/8 tyres/wheels. I immediately repainted this in blue with Humbrol enamel without all the time-wasting drudgery of taking the old paint off!

[beachcomber]

My first proper bike was a Triumph with 24" wheels. It was used extensively off road. (No mtb s then) It later served as my paper round bike.
For my 12th birthday I got a 2nd hand Dawes.5 speed, mustard coloured with dark green bar tape and trim. Kept it until a few years back when it went to the skip. Kept the bars and stem. The bars were engraved with a leafy pattern.
Next bike was given to me by a neighbour in 1971.A Sun Wisp, fixed gear, large flange hubs, wired and soldered spokes. Brooks saddle. I sold it when I joined the army. Got £10. Almost a weeks wages at the time.

[Mick F]

I'd had three wheeler and a two wheeler hand-me-downs, then for my twelfth birthday, I received a Hercules AMF. Sorry, no specific photographs, but it was red and wonderful! Like this one, but red:

I rode it constantly. I rode it to school, I rode it to visit girlfriends, I rode it on my paper round and to go to the shops on errands. I toured N Wales on it too.

After I joined the RN, I took it with me to Hampshire. We got married and I commuted to work on it up in Scotland. Eventually, back down in England when I was in my late 20s, I gave it away to the young lad next door.

As a 12 year old, I never thought that I would still be riding it at 28.