Spindles & Sprockets

Hub Geared Bikes

2012-02-18T18:12:00.000Z

There has been a trend in recent years towards fixed geared bikes which provide an uncluttered 'clean' look as well has being light. These are fine for flat places like London but if you live in a hilly place then fixies are more problematic.
The next bicycle renaissance will be for hub gears as Sturmey Archer provide a range of alternatives up to 8sp, there is Shimano Nexus 8sp and Alphine 11sp. The gold standard in Rohloff 14sp which are used by many round the world riders. The big advantage is their durability.
The bike below is a Dawes 531st frame (possibly a Galaxy) with a Sturmey Archer 8sp hub which was built by Spindles at the end of 2011 for a local customer. We upgraded the bar end changer to an American design to give superior performance. Price was £350.

Our next project is a Dawes Jaguar with a Sturmey Archer 5sp, deep section rims and hub brakes.

Spindles Is moving to the Community Centre

2012-02-08T18:05:00.000Z

Our tenure at the Pound Arts will finish in February 2012. We have had a good two and a half years at the Pound and the space has provided us with the ability to develop the project as a cost effective cycle maintenance facility for Corsham.
We have now secured a space at Corsham Community Centre (see map below). The process of moving will take a couple of weeks so we will not be operating out of the community centre until March

View Larger Map

As you may be aware the Community Centre will be demolished next year (2013) to make way for Corsham Community Campus so we will still be on the lookout for more permanent premesis

Spread the word and get in touch.

A Joblot of bike frames for sale on ebay

2012-01-14T18:15:00.001Z

Here is a good close up image of the bike frames for sale on ebay

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Raleigh-Hercules-Dawes-Frames-joblot-/180797102097?pt=UK_sportsleisure_cycling_bikeparts_SR&hash=item2a1858d811

The Hercules probably has the most potential

A Hard Lesson

2011-10-18T23:30:00.003+01:00

A Mountain bike came into Spindles last Saturday that was unmaintainable. It had disc brakes and grip shift with full suspension and had been bought off the web for about £100 for a Christmas Present. It came in a box, was assembled by the 14 year old recipient and then taken to Halfords to be 'tuned up'.

It looked like it had hardly been ridden however, the discs were bent, the brakes were 'wobbley' in their housing, the rear mech. hanger was bent, and the L.H. pedal looked as if it had been cross threaded. On closer inspection it was the threads themselves that were not straight. It weighed a ton. The Discs would just not go straight and it didn't help having a loose front wheel nut.

The ride was as bad as it can get with the skewed pedal inducing a mild form of sea sickness. It was a hard task to tell the lady who brought the bike in that it was not going anywhere. It was not her fault. These internet deals look appealing and £100 full sus bike looks like a real bargain. Alas a £100 internet bike would only cost £35 pounds to make and you cannot get much of a bike for £35 no matter how may Chinese workers you throw at it.

Ultimately quality costs. A quality bike would last many years, be a pleasure to ride and would therefore get used. So bikes are for life not just for Christmas.

Only Buy on the net if you know what you are getting

Don't buy from a supermarket or similar

Quality reconditioned Second hand is always a credible option

Ribble 653 racer

2011-08-31T22:17:00.001+01:00

An example of frame building at its best from the late 90s with some nice touches in the way the cables are routed under the bottom bracket and top tube. Shimano 105 groupset use throughout with Mavic Open Sport rims and Look pedals. It's a large 25" frame suitable for a 6'2"+ height. This bike has not been ridden for over 10 years so the cables need replacing, we will also be fitting crosstop brake levers. Offers in the region of £350. SOLD

John Pavey 531 Single Speed

2011-07-23T10:40:00.001+01:00

We got the frame some time ago (see picture below) and as it had horizontal dropouts it would make a good single speed/fixie. The frame was stripped and powder coated with the rear chromed stays and Campag dropouts being preserved. I built a pair of wheels from a pair of Mavic Open Pro rims, a Hope front hub and an On One rear flip flop both of which used 32 Stainless Steel Italian spokes.

Tektro Brake Calipers and bar end levers provided stopping power on Bull Horn bars that were generously wrapped with cork Gel Tape. The rear cable is routed through the frame top tube which is a nice touch on the design. The Chain Set is a basic Shimano with 46 T chainring.

Seat is provided by Planet X

Sold

18 tooth sprockets on the back

Classic Hope front Hub

23mm continental tyres

The Original Frame minus the forks

Child's Marlboro bike from 1968

2011-06-26T08:09:00.001+01:00

This Marlboro child's bike has been in a garage since the 1960s and has hardly been used so is almost mint condition.
It has one gear, 18 wheels and would suit a 6 to 9 year old. SOLD

Raleigh Trent Tourist Frame for sale

2011-06-07T22:51:00.002+01:00

This is a Raleigh (or should I say 'The Raleigh') Trent Tourist bike probably from the 1950s. The decals are is reasonable condition for its age and are quite aesthetic, I cannot see any dents or damage. There is rust in several places but would probably clean up. please see pictures below. The frame No is 29936N and has an 'AG' underneath it. I don't know what the state of the headset or bottom bracket is but they are included as seen. Its currently for sale on Ebay

Our Calendar

2011-06-01T21:08:00.000+01:00

New Spindles Web Site went Live Today

2011-05-20T22:34:00.002+01:00

On Friday 20th May Spindles new Web Site finally went live. It uses pivotx for the backend which has proved to be quite easy once the concepts are mastered. See what you think at Spindles

Bob Jackson Images

2011-05-09T17:48:00.002+01:00

Here are a few images of the Bob Jackson. Its a Nuovo Olympus from the late 70's Early 80's with Prugnat Professional lugs, Campagnolo dropouts. To turn this into a Single speed would be logical but too obvious.

The New Cargo Bike Test Drive

2011-03-15T10:23:00.000Z

I used spindles new cargo bike for a week and was very impressed. I loaded it will logs as well as roofing felt and other odds and ends. As the weight is very log and around the rear wheel the handling is much better than a trailer. It's still hard work up hill though.

About Us

2011-03-06T13:57:00.001Z

'Spindles and Sprockets' is a bicycle maintenance project based in Corsham Wiltshire at the Pound Arts Centre. Our aim is to provide a maintenance service based on recycled old bicycle bits as well as new parts to keep Corsham Cycling and to increase the number of journeys made by bicycle in and around Corsham.
During Corsham festival in 2009, Richard and Edgar provided free cycle maintenance in Corsham High Street. Many people brough their bikes along so we were very busy. The feed back provided that day led to the conclusion that Corsham needed a cycle maintenance facility. This would:

Promote the skills of bicycle repair and maintenance.
Keep bicycles on the road and being used.
Increase the number of bicycle journeys in Corsham.
Provide a recycling point for unwanted bicycles.
Improve peoples experience of cycling.

Spindles and Sprockets was thus born and currently consist of:

Edgar

Richard

Nick

Robin

Josh

Dawes Debutante for sale on ebay - SOLD

2011-02-23T23:51:00.001Z

Here are some more pics of this lovely bike

Shopping Bike Art

2011-02-14T19:26:00.001Z

This raleigh shopping bike was in a poor state when it was donated. As an experiment we decided to paint it and get it working. The paint job is effective if a little blotchy. However this is a very appropriate endeavour as we are in an arts centre. The bike is now in full working order and is sold.

The completed bike

Detail on the chain guard

simple but effective design

design on the main tube

Spindles Cargo Bike

2011-02-14T18:54:00.001Z

Spindles got its first glimpse of the Cargo Bike the other week. It behaves like an ordinary bike although we haven't used it load up. It's made from about three separate bicycles that have been skilfully cut and then stuck together.

Very simple design

The 'running boards' have yet to be added

Being taking away to get the final touches and some paint

Direct (shaft) Drive Bike

2011-02-06T16:14:00.002Z

Here's a direct shaft drive bike that was given to us. The main cranks and bottom bracket mechanism is missing. However its a good paint job and and interesting frame design. They are 26" wheels and full mudguards. see ebay link http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180622252540#ht_500wt_1153 if you want to buy it.

The Shaft

The full Bike

The Model name is Trident

Rear Drive

Is this the makers name?

Key BB mech is missing

The Shaft

Travelling With a Marlow Tandem by Train

2011-02-05T18:46:00.004Z

Whilst visiting family in Cumbria I realised I had an opportunity to return with a Marlow Tandem. My Sister and her husband had bought the Marlow at a York Rally many years ago as part of their transport portfolio. However after moving to Cumbria and the children growing up the Marlow had been unused in a Barn. So I bought it off them and made plans to return with it back to Corsham on the train.

I knew that Great Western would not be a problem as their 125s can take a tandem, however the Virgin trains are slightly more restricted with only single bikes being permitted. I decided to take a risk, take the racks, wheels and mudguards off and strap them to the frame and carry it, then reconstruct it when I got to Chippenham so that I can ride it home. For this my Brother-in-Law lent me some basic tools and some cable ties for the journey.

The first leg of the journey down to Birmingham was very straight forward. The bike could be carried with one hand (just) and it mounted on the hooks provided by Virgin trains. The change of platform at Birmingham was OK with the ends of the bike catching on the stairs. It was heavy but manageable. I decided that I would start constructing the bike at Bristol but only had 15 minutes between trains. By the time I got into the guards van there was only 8 minutes to play with. I got the cable ties off with a knife I found at the bottom of my bag which was a bit of luck. This released the wheels which I put in place first but did not tighten them up. The lower part of the back rack was attached when the Guard boarded who said I had one minute to get in the passenger section, there was no possibility of staying in the guards van to finish the job. I secured the bike as best as I could and found a seat.

Dark was just descending on Chippenham when we pulled in. I raced to the guards van, balanced the mudguard and remaining front rack on the bike and started to roll it out. Due to the slanting angle of the track the door shut on me before I got to it. There then followed a comic situation where after opening the door with one hand and getting the bike half out the mudguard began to fall into the gap between the train and the platform. Catching it pulled up the forks and the front wheel came out which also started for the gap. Luckily all the bits ended up on the platform and could I complete the construction. After a while getting the rear rack on - it does not quite fit, tightening up the wheels, fitting the lights and securing the rest of the bits to the frame I was ready to go.

The ride back was slow due to the low position of the seat and the significant resistance in the bottom brackets. The wheel rim also seemed to rub and all this provided a lesson in poorly configured bikes being hard work. After nearly an hour I arrived home.

The Marlow at Spindles

Marlow Tandem

A view that highlights the beautiful stays

Marlow Tandem

Specification

The frame is undoubtedly 531 as its light and has probably been made to order. I haven't measured it but it look about 22.5/18. The slightly different colour of the forks suggests an update of some kind at a later date. Overall the deep blue enamel works well and is in good condition. I have not seen a design involving two sets of long narrow stays before as can be seen above. There are custom made front and rear racks from tubular steel as well as a multitude of braze-ons. Its a TA chainset for both front and rear. The Deore V brakes were added by my Brother-in Law as were the alloy handle bars front and rear and the twist grip changers. The wheels are the weak point and want rebuilding. The rear wheel contains an out of condition hub brake that's not connected.

This is a quality bespoke bike that would be ideal as a adult child combination Tandem and well worth the journey

Its all about bikes

2011-01-22T23:37:00.001Z

Donated Bikes
So far this year we have had 2 folding bikes, A Lenton Sport from the 1950's, a Raleigh Supreme, another Raleigh gents bike from the 1970s, a good BMX, a shaft drive bike, a Trek and a Bob Jackson. Not to mention other assorted items and spares. Unfortunately the Lenton Sport has a serious crack at the bottom of the seat tube which is a shame as its probably 531. The Bob Jackson is in excellent condition frame and paint work and is 531c. Here's a picture

This is a beauty but presents a problem, what do you do with it? Rebuilding as originally specified with 14 speed would not make a desirable bike. Putting a triple speed chain ring at the front is OK but this frame begs for something special. A single speed or fixie is possible but for a good job would cost around £150 to £200 in parts if the wheels are included. This makes the final price £300+ and a limited market.

It may be better to sell the frame and with the money buy a new stand. What a choice.

Service
It's heartening to have had a number of people through the door wanting their bikes serviced. The cold weather and snow takes its toll on chains and sprockets. The dark morning means that there is little day light time for bike maintenance. There have been one or two bikes with chains that can flex a full circle. We are busy and I hope it will stay that way.

The Meditation of Wheel Building

2011-01-22T23:01:00.001Z

About a year ago I started building bicycle wheels seriously as part of the Spindles project. I had built a wheel about 3 years ago for my own bike which was a very unsatisfactory process as I didn't have the correct length spokes and so had to cut my existing spokes to length. Since last year I've probably build about 16 wheels and so become somewhat more than a novice. I found that there are three very important aspects to wheel building: getting the right length spokes, gradually increasing the tension and awareness.

The right length spokes.

I have used a number of the web based spoke length calculators but the best one for me is Sapim as its very clear as to what should be measured and seems to give the right answer. I don't like the calculators where there is a drop down list of hubs or rims as the one I want is usually not there. I can use a vernier calliper (at least an electronic one) and have a steel 650mm rule to get the measurements required by the site. I've used DT spokes but have also started using Alpina plain gauge stainless steel as they come in boxes of 144 for about £20. I have a box of blue nipples that provides a single marker spoke for each wheel that I'm building this year. This is a trick I picked up from reading 'Its all about the bike' by Robert Penn.

Increasing the Tension

Many words have been written about the number of turns to apply when threading nipples onto spokes during the lacing process. I have found that to start, just screw the nipple up with fingers so that it's edge is just hiding the end of the thread is sufficient. When lacing the alternate direction spokes, if there is tension building in the wheel then slacken off the other spokes with a couple of turns. The aim is to have almost no tension in the spokes after it has been laced but all the nipples are at the same number of turns (assuming the rim is new and round). Hopefully this gets the radial position even and no 'judder' up or down as well as lateral evenness. At this point start to evenly increase the tension on each of the spokes using the 'key' spoke as a guide. The best spoke keys are produced by Park.

Awareness

The most important aspect of wheel building is being focused on what is happening. Don't try to lace too quickly as mistakes are time consuming to rectify. Go at a pace that allows the mind's attention to easily follow. Don't listen to music or get distracted, just stay with the building of the wheel. Focusing the mind is the most difficult thing but can also be the most rewarding. Building wheels is almost a meditation practice: as the tension in the spokes is slowly built in the wheels so the tensions in the mind are released. Before you know it the wheel is built.

Spindles in 2011

2011-01-04T22:41:00.000Z

Saturday the 8th Januay is our first open day at the Pound Arts Centre in Corsham. We have a number of new road and mountain bikes that are close to completion as well as the Cargo Carrier Bike that a friend in Biddeston is currently constructing.

On the agenda for 2011

We hope to do a newsletter for Katherine Park that will identify safe cycle routes into Corsham town.

Start a Wheel Building Service.

Promote the project in local magazines.

Find things to do with old tyres and inner tubes.

Cargo Bike

2010-11-03T23:32:00.001Z

This Cargo bike was make locally and provides a very useful combination of bike and carrier.

The maker it currently designing a Cargo bike for Spindles that is capable of transporting bikes as well as carrying advertising.

wheelchair bike for community use

2010-11-03T23:25:00.000Z

The wheelchair bike

This wheelchair bike was locally made for a person with MS who is now too ill to use it. It 's a clever design integrating bits from several mountain bike as well as a wheel chair. If you know anybody who who have a use for it then get in touch using our email address.

Condor Display from Earls Court Cycle Expo

2010-10-29T23:17:00.001+01:00

Condor have produced an exquisite display of bicycle pornography

The enamelling is superb. Very nice aesthetic bar stems!

More from the Cycle Expo 2010 at Earls Court

2010-10-29T23:09:00.002+01:00

Demon - Great paint job - It's a work of art

Peugeot - Very good display

CYCLE Expo 2010

2010-10-27T23:55:00.002+01:00

Here are some pictures of bikes that we likes at the recent bike exhibition at Earls Court London

Pashley

Cooper Bikes

Carlton Single Speed

2010-10-06T21:47:00.008+01:00

A town bike with a little style SOLD

This bike started life as a frame that was obtained locally. It's a standard 23" frame that probably dates from the 70s or may be the 60s but is nothing special. The paintwork was poor and some touch up has been attempted in the past however there was little rust. It hung around literally for about 6 months until I decided to turn it into a single speed. It was painted with black hammerite and the lugs were highlighted in white. This is primarily to preserve the frame but provides a pleasing effect.

Here's the finished bike on sale for £180

The bike provides a pleasing ride easy ride with the gearing big enough to provide real speed and acceleration.

Specification

Carlton 23.5 frame

Wheels: New Mavic A119 700C rim on Mailard Large flange hubs built with new stainless steel spokes

New single speed 17 tooth freewheel sprocket

New Octalink splined Bottom Bracket

Shimano Ultegra Chainset with new alloy 47 tooth chain ring

Weimann Cantilever brakes

New Tecktro brake levers and cables

Ribble branded Stem

New Tuvati Alloy bars

New Wellgo Alloy BMX pedals

New Bontrager Grips

New chain

Alloy seat pin with racing style saddle

All bearings have been re-greased

Here are some more images

Single Speed - light 24" frame

2010-10-01T10:37:00.001+01:00

A 24" frame Single Speed/Fixed speed. SOLD

This bike has an unknown origin as I originally came as a standard geared bike. The frame is made of thin steel tubing - may be Reynolds - that has very neat fillet brazing. The rear dropout is 120mm and the bottom bracket is threadless that suggests a track frame. However there are braze-ons to support front and rear gears. There is one small dent in the left seat stay. The paintwork is scuffed in places. The single speed configuration seems to work best and the whole bike weighs around 21lbs and is a joy to ride with the extra narrow 27x1x1/8 ulta sport tyres.

The buyer suggests that its a 1970s Viscount with Chromo moly tubing see sheldon brown's page on this

Price £180 - see Ebay Entry

Specification:
Classic 27" wheels -Mailard Large Flange Hubs - Alloy Wienman Rims (flip flop rear hub) that have been rebuilt with new stainless steel spokes
new Continental Ultra Sport 27x1x1/8
Specialized Saddle
new threadless sealed bottom bracket
Weinnman Calliper brakes
ATAX Stem
Alloy Chainset 46 tooth chainring
Fixed gear 19 tooth sprocket and single speed 18 tooth sprocket
Wellgo platform BMX pedals
new Tektro levers
Alloy bar

The following photo shows the slight dint in the rear chain stay

Great fillet brazing

1940s Raleigh Ladies Bike with Brooks B66 Saddle

2010-09-07T18:09:00.006+01:00

An Original Raleigh Ladies 21" 3 speed Roadster possibly from 1940s SOLD

This was in poor condition when we got it, but was complete apart from the saddle. see Raleigh Renovation The previous owner claimed that it was 1940s. It has interesting cable brakes that may be from around that time however I do not believe the handle bars are original. The front axle has been replaced along with the cables. The frame has been pained with Hamerite to preserve.
There is a 3 speed Sturmey Archer operated by a modern lever. The lovely original was not in working order so had to be changed. The gears work but are not 100% as positive as a new 3 speed would be. Vintage back rack is included.

The bike is now sold

Variety is the spice at Spindles

2010-06-07T23:42:00.002+01:00

I came back from holiday (cycle camping of course) last week so I hadn't been to Spindles for a couple of weeks. I caught up with the news of getting some generous bike donations (mainly children's bikes) and Nick's hernia. Good progress has been made on the Black Apollo by Josh who seems to be very keen. Matt is also making progress on his Cannondale.

We didn't have many customers last Saturday so I was a chance to finish the Orbit Gold Medal and the GT easy rider with the stuck seat post. The extraction was filmed as follows:

Robin did a good job painting the 1940s Ladies Raleigh.
We need to do more advertising and get some of the stock sold. An advert in the High Street would help. Only Robin and Myself next week

Moley

Spring at Spindles

2010-05-01T19:41:00.000+01:00

The last two months have been very productive with an emergence of a clear direction. The bike hire has been put on hold due to the fact that there would be too many problems. Bike hire needs lots of bomb proof bikes and we could not hold a sufficiently varied stock.

We have had several good mountain bikes through as well as a number of ladies bikes Saturday mornings have been busy with lots of maintenance jobs and bike sales. There is not enough time to work on bike projects. Today we had several children in stripping bikes, cleaning bikes and working on their own projects.

We are now concentrating on maintenance and keeping a stock of reasonable quality road and mountain bikes. We also have two pre war bikes, one BSA and a Raleigh that are being done up. These bikes take time to restore and get into working order, sourcing new bits its time consuming and cleaning the grime can take ages. We have Robin who is excellent at cleaning years of grime off wheels and frames.

The last month has been our best ever selling 8 bikes and keeping much of Corsham cycling. The word is spreading and we seem to be getting a good reputation. Roll on the summer.

Once a Week at the Pound Arts 13th Feb

2010-02-14T17:18:00.000Z

13th February
Spindles is now once a week at the Pound which will hopefully give us some regular custom. We had three customers today, one of which bought a bike and the others required some maintenance. Robin worked on the Ladies Viscount which has almost never been used although its over 30 years old. It will make a good little run around. I would like to do a straight bars conversion on it but its just too expensive as we would only hope to get £40 for it. We are open until 1pm so its a bit of a rush to get everything done. We still have too many kids bikes which are taking up room, maybe an advert on trade-it would do the trick.

Robin is getting better at cleaning bicycles and we are almost running out of bikes for him to clean. I managed to get a 1 1/4 headset for the Cannondale only to discover that the forks have been filed where the bottom racer sits which is a blow. I have some suitable shims that might work but that's even more time. We just need to sell it as a frame. It would be a fantastic bike once finished.

Nick was kept busy on Customer bikes. It will just be myself and Robin next week

A Cold day for Cycle Maintenance

2010-01-10T10:44:00.000Z

Saturday 9th January
A perishingly cold day to do cycle maintenance although everybody turned up. We have sold the Caprice to a lady in Manchester who found it on the web so Nick did the final tests and tweaks. I worked on the Viscount and Edgar, with the help of Robin, worked on the rusty Carlton.

Matt and Sam came with their flash tool kit Christmas presents which spawned a few ideas.

Sam's bike was stolen just before the Christmas period so we have decided to sell his the small MB which Edgar has just finished for £30 and if he still has it in a year then we will give his his £30 back.

Still not sure what to do with the Cannondale MB. The front forks are great but we cannot get a head set to match.

The Debate.
After lunch we had a chat about where the project goes from here. The issue is that many bikes that we see are cheap, poorly made and heavy ATBs resulting in an unsatisfactory riding experience. Cheap bikes that are made in the far east and sold on-line or by big department stores are designed to fall apart so that eventually the rider will go out and buy a new one. This is a common theme in most commercial business models. We can end up spending a lot of time fixing these kind of bikes which ultimately only encourages this approach to cycle manufacture.

There is a clear difference in the riding experience between mass market bikes and the light weight 531 based quality second hand bikes which we believe in. The problem is (a) encouraging the use of 531 based bikes and (b) getting hold of old 531 frames to rebuild bikes on.

A direction we need to go in is more frequent opening, one day a week which will probably happen after January. Morning session will be for the public to bring their bikes for service and the afternoon will be to work on donated bikes.

We should think about training days in March when more people will be cycling. Either a 'fix your own' bike day by providing tools or course.

Next Spindles will be 30th Jan 2010

Bike Maintenance Day - a deluge of bikes

2009-11-01T15:20:00.000Z

31st October At the Pound Arts Centre

Only one Customer but 8 bikes were donated.


	working hard getting donated bikes working

It was a day of bike renovation with 8 bikes and a frame donated. The day started early with the apprentices Sam and Matt arriving before anyone else. We opened up and got the completed bikes in the display area and got the tools and stands ready. I spotted a child's bike that needed a the tyres pumping up which turned out to have 4 punctures. Whilst fixing the puntures we got some visitors who donated 6 bikes (pictures to come) 4 child bikes and 2 - 'his and her' - adult bikes. They had not been used for some (maybe 20) years and has been stored in a garage so were not in too bad shape.

Sam and Matt were emediatly onto the childs bikes taking the wheels off and cleaning the frames. I carried on mending puncures. Nick arrived with another childs racer to sell then Tim arrived with a mint Raleigh 'Caprice' Ladies bike with flowers on and a Cannondale Aluminium mountain bike frame. Both had been rescued from the doom of a recycling centre. The Caprice had never been used as the inside of the mudguards were mint. There was however a major amount of rust on the Chainset and rims which Nick got to work on.

Edgar arrived with Robin and got the work bench out and worked on the Trek mountain bike with the rusty chain and mechs. I still worked on the punctures, The Green Dawes and juggled trouble shooting Sam and Matt's queries.

One customer came through the door today who had a bottom bracket problem which was fixed for £7.5. later on we got drinks and a slice of cake for everyone for about £10 so we made -£2.50. However, the day was productive with lots of bikes saved from landfill and made ready to be sold. Hopefully there will be a Christmas rush.

Veer the movie

2009-10-15T20:24:00.000+01:00

see Trailer here http://www.veerthemovie.com/trailer.asp

Hanging the Bicycles

2009-10-11T18:18:00.001+01:00

Tim and I (moley) did some work at the Pound yeasterday. We put up some hooks so that the bikes could be hung and added some bike stands.

I've also bought some 6 and 7 speed freewheels and barings

Third Bicycle Maintenance Day

2009-10-05T23:55:00.002+01:00

The third Bicycle Maintenance Day took place on the 3rd October. We had Bradley Wiggings old Trek road bike in for the brakes to be fine tuned, a challenging gear shifting problem on a second hand racer and two apprentices Matt and Sam. We got about 5 customers plus we also sold a bike and got 5 bikes donated including two childrens bikes. Matt and Sam are brothers who want to learn about bike maintenance and brought two of their own bikes along that needed attention. They managed to get the bikes going themselves and rode them away. Next time they will have their own project.

We were very busy all day and more needs to be done. People are already asking about the next one which is on the 31st October. We should do something before then perhaps rebuilding the Cannondale. We should also have a special event on the 31st.

I get the feeling that we are growing and heading in the right direction

The second Bike Maintenance Day 5th September

2009-09-08T23:59:00.000+01:00

It was a sunny day for once but this time we only had 4 or 5 customers. Still plendy to do renovating the bikes that have been salvaged. One bike had its seat pin stuck in the frame. With two people holding the frame and Edgar pulling on a very large adjustable spanner, the pin managed to shear off. The Dawes and the Shopping bike are progressing well. Robin did a sterling job of removing the grime.
We managed to sell our first bike for £60 which doubled the takings for the day. This money will go towards tools for the project.

Website just created

2009-08-29T21:26:00.000+01:00

Ive just finished the website for Spindles and Sprockets and its on line. I've also created this blog so that we can get feedback and comments. The URL is www.spindlesandsprockets.co.uk

Next week on Saturday the 5th September at the Pound Arts Centre in Corsham Wilshire is our second Bicycle Maintenance Day starting at 9:00 in the morning and going through to 5.oo in the afternoon.