Glasgow's Cycling Heritage

[Dexter St. Clair]

The Scot is sitting in my hall. I'm debating getting involved in spending a lot of money refurbishing it with campag, mafac etc gear that I had on my previous Scot.
Here's some shots of a friends cycle. Fixed wheel gearing seems to be all the rage.

[Dexter St. Clair]

Another cycle that occasionally graces my hall



Anyone have an old Brooks saddle anywhere?

[Dexter St. Clair]

And other one. Young people are definitely cycling again.

[Dexter St. Clair]

A Claude Butler spotted in the street.

[Dugald]

Great set of pictures Dexter! I think the question as to whether one should spend a lot of money refurbishing with top-o'-the-line equipment should be answered only after a knowledgeable examination of the type of tubing used on the frame. I sold my good Colnago bike to a dealer whom I knew very well, and his reason for buying it was that the frame was of the 531-quality steel (mein was not 531) rather than the currently popular carbon fibre. Seems good-steel frames are becoming scarce. I'd also double check the authenticity of your Scot... here I am suggesting to you what to do and I'm sure you're more knowledgeable about "Scots" than I. I bought a second-hand Benotto once, and it was expensive, only to find out it later that it was a Bianchi... and not of the quality I though I had bought.

Good heavens, how tall is the guy who rides this Bianchi which occasionally graces your hall? The frame size looks like 26" and the saddle is about a foot above the top tube, so I'd guess the rider must be over 6' 6" (5' 18", if you prefer). I see it too has a fixed wheel. My first 10 years of cycling was on fixed wheel machines, and for road races we'd switch to gears; mind you, the gears were usually 3-speed, as we called them, and very undependable!

Wow, a Claude Butler, once upon a time the Rolls Royce of British cycling. I have an 84 year old friend who still rides one on the road (in the winter he pays to ride on a privately-owned wooden velodrome with a 45° banking!). I notice the Claude in your picture has a vintage B17 saddle; I rode one most of my cycling life... not on the wind trainer though.

"Young people are definitely cycling again.". Glad to hear this. Yes, it's the same over here. With the sky-high gas prices the number of cyclists on the road, all ages, has increased greatly, and they all seem to be riding good quality bikes.

[Dexter St. Clair]

It's a 1964 Scot. I had a lighter one which was stolen in 1980. After a valuation by Rattray's the Co operative insurance coughed up £500 which went into buying a flat. My current Scot cost £120 a year later. When it was last into Dale's to get fixed I had a chat with the mechanic. He told me a number of guys were really into restoring bikes or buying retro bikes. I pointed out that middle aged guys bought Harleys, jukeboxes and other items they could not afford when they were young.

Check the prices on the Brooks saddles HERE

I used to have a photo of my original Scot and if I find it i'll post it.

BTW he's 6' 4".

[Dugald]

I checked out the prices for Brooks saddles. There are actually some good buys there, providing the saddles are in good condition. It's usually the older types who go for these genuine leather saddles, the younger riders preferring to go for the seats with a clock stuck in the nose of the saddle... don't know why. I'd say you had a good deal from the Cooperative insurance when you had your first Scot stollen. Did your insurance agent know what day it was?

Just 6'4" eh? Ach well, i was only 2" out... but as cyclists go, he's still a big fellow.

[cell]

I’ve got an old racer which I built up on 22” Carlton 531 frame in the early eighties, I remember buying the frame from Dawes when it was at St Georges Cross, I seem to remember it was a great place with a paraffin stove heated wooden back shop with all the bikes and frames hanging up. I got the frame with the insurance money after T boning a Maxi which turned across my path as I was hammering down hill at a great rate of knots, his passenger door ended up with a huge dent along with a dent on his roof where my chin made contact!

My bike at the time was a Raleigh Silver Jubilee, brought out in 77 for the Queens silver jubilee, it had half decent alloy Shimano cranks, gears and Wiemann brakes. I was quite delighted when the insurance cheque came through as they left me with my old bike which I stripped down to fit out my new frame.

I’m moving soon and reluctantly I was going to put the bike out for the binman however having read this thread and if its of any interest to anyone on here or anyone they know I’d be happy to let it go to a new home. If it’s worth anything I would leave it up to the recipient to make an appropriate donation to the cystic fibrosis charity, how much would be up to you.

PM me if anyone is interested, it could be picked up in the west end or I could maybe drop it off.

[krakow]

I'd most definitely be very interested in giving your bike a good home cell. I've just sent you a PM on the subject and now cross my fingers that I'm not too late.

[viceroy]

Wow, a Claude Butler

I had a Claude Butler for a while during the early 1980's, in fact in 1982 during my summer holiday I went touring on it with a tent on the back. I cycled to Fort William, then cut across to Inverness via Loch Ness and went all the way round the coast until I came to Kirkcaldy. At that point I developed piles [all those hours in the saddle I suppose] and went back to Glasgow on the train after putting the bike in the guard's van. It was a nice bike, but to be honest I preferred the Dawes Galaxy which I bought secondhand from Dales some time later [they were still located in the Maryhill area at that time]. I used the Dawes almost daily until I more or less stopped cycling around 1995. It lay abandoned in the storeroom at my work for many years and sadly ended up in a skip during a clearout.

The Claud Butler I remember buying from a cycle shop in Albert Drive, long since gone and replaced by an off license. It was called Robert Forrest Cycles, I think? Another defunct shop I remember going to was Bob Finnie Cycles on Maryhill Road. He did some repairs for me once. Also, Clyde Tunnel Cycles just off the roundabout at the north west corner of Elder Park.

[krakow]

Bob Finnie only called it a day earlier this year. The shop is still there, but has been shut up for a good few months now.

[Dexter St. Clair]

Thomas Chambers started cycling in 1972 and gave it up in the seventies having cycled i think over 700,000 miles around Britain. I discovered this by chance whilst waiting for another book on Glasgow's criminal past to be brought out of the Mitchell vaults. There was a display cabinet with Tam's diaries, log books, apprentice certificate and clippings. The display is on the second floor of The Mitchell in The Glasgow Room. It also has a a full page from the People's Journal acknowledging him as a record breaker in the total distances he covered whilst on his bike. I've googled him and the only reference is to the New Riverside museum which is going to feature him and his memorabilia as a record breaker.

[Dugald]

Thomas Chambers started cycling in 1972 and gave it up in the seventies having cycled i think over 700,000 miles around Britain. I discovered this by chance whilst waiting for another book on Glasgow's criminal past to be brought out of the Mitchell vaults. There was a display cabinet with Tam's diaries, log books, apprentice certificate and clippings. The display is on the second floor of The Mitchell in The Glasgow Room. It also has a a full page from the People's Journal acknowledging him as a record breaker in the total distances he covered whilst on his bike. I've googled him and the only reference is to the New Riverside museum which is going to feature him and his memorabilia as a record breaker.

Interesting stuff Dexter. I mentioned Tommy in the opening article of this Glasgow's Cycling Heritage thread. I had the pleasure of riding with Tommy on a number of occasions. I think you made a typo in saying that Tommy started cycling in 1972, more likely to have been 1932. In the opening article I wrote:

"Tommy Chambers, a true Glaswegian, spent all his free time riding his bicycle and it was not uncommon for Tommy to ride in excess of 18,000 miles in one year. Over a period of 51 years, Tommy amassed an unbelievable grand total of 799,405 miles (1,287,440 kms) on his bicycle, and was credited with holding the world's cycling mileage record by the "Guiness Book of Records". Throughout his cycling life Tommy kept diaries of all his rides, and recorded all the money he had spent on his bicycle, the number of punctures and all other mechanical problems he'd suffered. When Tommy died, he left all his diaries and other pertinent personal cycling information to Glasgow's People's Palace, along with a very substantial sum of money"

Tommy Chambers was an icon in the Scottish cycling world.

[duck]

I know nothing about cycling but in an earlier post Blueboy mentioned the Clarion Clubs. We were fortunate as kids to spend the whole summer every year on Arran, Catacol to be precise. At the foot of Glen Catacol there was a field we used to call the Clarion camp which, though normally just a large expanse of close cropped grass,would one day in summer turn , seemingly overnight, into a mass of tents . No cars, just bikes. Would this have been the same Clarion Club?
Every summer they challenged the "Catacol folk " to a football match and I have very fond memories of the after-match; big bonfire down by the burn, sausages and lots of guitar playing and singing well into the night ( Wild rover, Holy ground etc etc of course!)

[Dugald]

I know nothing about cycling but in an earlier post Blueboy mentioned the Clarion Clubs. We were fortunate as kids to spend the whole summer every year on Arran, Catacol to be precise. At the foot of Glen Catacol there was a field we used to call the Clarion camp which, though normally just a large expanse of close cropped grass,would one day in summer turn , seemingly overnight, into a mass of tents . No cars, just bikes. Would this have been the same Clarion Club?
Every summer they challenged the "Catacol folk " to a football match and I have very fond memories of the after-match; big bonfire down by the burn, sausages and lots of guitar playing and singing well into the night ( Wild rover, Holy ground etc etc of course!)

It could well have been the Clarion Cycling Club Duck, but i don't know anything about them camping at Catacol (in fact I have never heard of "Catacol"!). There were a number of branches of the Clarion in Glasgow, indeed all over the UK; they were well organized and catered to all aspects of the sport. One of the Kinning Park Clarion, Jackie Taylor, was the Scottish Champion for three years in the late 30's and rated with the best in the U.K.