Today it is so about THIS bike! Nostalgia meets practicality

When I started cycle racing at the age of 15 in 1976 it was pretty normal for riders to start out with less specialist equipment than today. After a year or so racing on "gas-pipe" bikes with basic components including coterie steel cranks and usually built with pretty basic high-tensile tubing we wanted to move on to something made of Reynolds 531 tubes.

My first 531 frame was a very well used, and slightly too big, Claud Butler which was cheaply resprayed in plain white. After another year or so I finally moved on to one of the aspirational frames - a Mercian - mine was an Olympic, used but in great condition purchased for £35 from the Mercian shop on the edge of Derby.

Over the next couple of years I used that frame for all sorts of racing and riding and gradually upgraded my equipment until I was on Cinelli bars and stem, Campag cranks, hubs, peddles and brakes and a mixture of other equipment of my choice.

Then in 1980 my Mercian was stolen. It was replaced by a Raleigh Pro which itself was eventually replaced by an MB Dronfield in 531Professional tubing made to measure by Vernon Barker. It is a beautiful frame, it handles superbly and it is light and responsive, it is however purely designed as a racing frame and I'm no longer a racer. Much as I love my MB it was designed purely as a racing bike and these days I want a somewhat more relaxed ride, something I could roll along on all day, but one I know I can trust completely should I want to briefly relive those 50mph plus descents of my racing days.

There was only one solution and here it is, my replacement Mercian Olympic after just 36 years; courtesy of my great friend Pat Carr and the Brassworks Cycle Company:
Here on Facebook
Website here

After removing the bubble wrap:

So today the MB Dronfield frame has been stripped of components and it will appear for sale shortly.

The exciting part of the project now is the build of the Mercian, most components will come from the MB but there are a few which the older frame will require to be different. The challenge will be having the Mercian ready for Eroica Britannia at Bakewell in a few short weeks (www.eroicabritannia.co.uk)

An interesting approach to luggage

Whilst visiting SPIN in Manchester I came across the Carradice stand with a great array of bags from the famous Lancashire maker of saddle bags and a wide range of bike luggage. You can find Carradice on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/carradicebikebags

There were traditional bags in the still-as-good-as-it-gets cotton duck material, there were the quality workmanship and there were touches of a modern-retro feel. They've managed to produce cotton duck bags on new colours and there is plenty of Harris Tweed but for the real traditionalist there is still the original black.

For the more weight conscious there are bags made from Cordura, still tough and water resistant and in a range of models and styles. There are bags to fit to your saddle, to front and rear racks and of course as befits a British maker there are bags to fit the luggage block of the Brompton. You can read all about the current range of luggage from Carradice at their website here.

What really caught my eye, and got me talking to the representative on the stand was a whole new range of bags under a new brand name, UPSO.

UPSO bags at SPIN Manchester

These bags are made in the same factory, cut and sewn using the same equipment but the standout features are:

• They are constructed from heavy duty, waterproof, recycled lorry tarpaulins
• Each bag is unique with the colours and design or the material being used to create a brand new and eye-catching aesthetic
• There are brand new styles of bags including seat-packs and bags suitable to use away from the bike

The bags, see picture above, look good. They stand out and the re-use of material is likely to be popular among environmentally conscious cyclists. I've not had a chance to use the bags but the nature of the material, it's similarity to those used in other well known waterproof bags suggest that they will function and look good for a long time.

I had a good chat with the rep from Carradice who was happy to explain the design and production values and processes, including the relatively complex business of recycling the material and making sure it was suitable for purpose. The whole approach of re-use of materials and of new designs and each item being individual appeals usually appeals to me and should I have the chance I'd love to head over to Nelson one day and meet the designers and makers at Carradice.

Were I in the market to replace my current pannier bags then I'd certainly be heading over the hills to Nelson! You can read much more about the new range of UPSO bags here or from the front page of the Carradice of Nelson website here.

I'll be posting about some other interesting finds from SPIN over the next few days....

Had a great time visiting the Manchester edition of Spin, the urban cycling festival, and was delighted to meet up with Marco Mori who brought Eroica to Britain.

Meeting Marco Mori at Spin

Eroica Britannia is a 3 day festival of all things vintage and cycling being held for the 3rd year in Bakewell from 17th to 19th June 2016.

After a successful debut last year I am delighted to have been invited back and will be performing a half hour set of my poetry at noon on Saturday 18th. I will of course also be enjoying the festival and will be doing a bit of bike riding too.

Feeling excited.

More about Spin, including some interesting new products, to follow over the next few days and on my writing blog at www.seamuskellypoetry.co.uk