Reader Project: Ian's 1971 Raleigh Superbe

If you read this blog regularly, you'll remember Ian from his 1936 Rollfast, which I posted on back in December. Seems Ian has caught the bug, and couldn't pass up this $20 Craigslist find. Yeah, I know, that's twenty dollars, not a typo. Sheesh.

I saw the post on CL for $20. Didn't know much about the bicycle, but it had a Brooks saddle clearly in the pic, so I thought I'd check it out. When I saw the bicycle I was hooked. It had a baby seat mounted to the back which, while practical, was unsightly (what a snob I'm becoming!) and worse, it smelled of cat pee. I opened my trunk to put the bicycle in, turned around to pick up the rear rack (not in pics yet) and then put that in. As I was driving away I hear, "Meow!" the cat had jumped in my van! My heart leaped for a sec., then I figured what happened, pulled over and let the cat out.

I don't know, Ian, $20 for a bike and a cat, not a bad deal!

More photos from Ian here. And as always, check out the Old Bike Blog Reader Projects Album for images of all past Reader Projects.