Pride and Joy

In the second in our series about our passion for our machines, we hear from East Lothianbased Peter Main who restored a Graham Weigh frame in homage to his father, an accomplished racing cyclist who died in a tragic biking accident in 1992.

REBUILDING MY DAD’S OLD BIKE WAS A LABOUR OF LOVE My father, Len Main, bought his bigger job than Graham Weigh frame around 1990, expected, and I built a bike and raced on it until 1992 wanted to get it right. when, at the age of 79, on another The major problem bike, he died in a cycling accident. I was that the bottom inherited the bike together with a bracket threads lifetime’s worth of his cycling bits to turned out to be add to my own life’s accumulation. badly worn, and kept

Dad was a keen cyclist all his life; coming loose. As it his racing career spanned 60 years stands now, a from 1932 to 1992 with intervals for cartridge bottom WW2, family and work. Over time he bracket is held in place with epoxy resin was a member of Goodmayes together with the remains of the threads, Wheelers, Suffolk Roads, Crawley but if this fails I have a threadless bracket Wheelers and Ribble Valley Cycling waiting in the wings. Clubs and was a good rider at The frame was powder-coated by a all ages. As I’ve aged, local firm, MK2 Powder Coatings, I’ve become Gilmerton, East Lothian. They mostly work increasingly with motorcycle parts but also do bike impressed with frames. They did a good job. You can check his racing them out on their Facebook page. times. He The oldest components are the clocked 29 Campagnolo handlebar changers, the minutes for Brooks saddle with hammered rivets and a 10 mile the Maes handlebars with engraving; all time trial at used by me in the 1960s. Other are mostly the age of from the 1990s onwards, some are new. Len Main circa 193978. The first layer of bar tape is Lizard Skins I had the – this was a great deal from a charity shop frame resprayed but I didn’t like it much, I found it too sticky in 2005, fitted lots – so I over-taped it with some nice Richie of new bits and added cork tape. The whipping uses ordinary decals to advertise our string and is finished with shellac to keep it business, which sparked off quite a in place. Clear varnish would also do. few conversations. This was my “best” As the aluminium seat-post is stuck bike for several years. When I forever, I had it coated with the frame. It’s upgraded to a different machine it my height, so there’s no need to ever move became my winter bike, but it it again. The bolt to hold it in place is just gradually deteriorated until another for completeness. The pump was an renovation was necessary. excellent roadside find.

My thinking was that the I would like to have bought more of the renovation should be a nod towards kit directly from our local bike shop but, in my dad’s memory. It’s also true that I the middle of the coronavirus lockdown, I have a large pile of old, random, was reluctant to visit any shops. cycling gear. I thought it would be an The plan is that most of the time this interesting project, and I fancied bike will used on my turbo trainer and, creating a gravel bike. occasionally, will be taken out and used

The assembly took a while. It was a “off-road”. In East Lothian there are many

miles of fast, rideable gravel and farm tracks, not rough enough for a mountain bike. With the addition of mudguards, it may also be an alternative winter bike.

Would I do It Again? Absolutely not. It was fun, interesting, challenging and, mostly, enjoyable but it was timeconsuming. I want to spend my time riding my bikes and doing other things like going swimming and walking, not spannering away in the garage. However I’m very pleased I did it.

PETE MAIN is a 75 year old cyclist, born in London but these days living in North Berwick, East Lothian. He’s been a member of several cycling clubs over the years, and currently rides with a group of retirees called the BSpoke Cycling Club. He’s also a life member of Audax UK.

He raced seriously between the ages of 14 and 21, and again from age 48 to 52. He’s toured extensively in the UK and Europe. He has also been a keen mountaineer, kayaker, sailor and skier. “I’ve completed many Audax and Sportive events over the last 20 years,” he says, “but nowadays I’m struggling with the longer distances. My focus is now on keeping fit and enjoying retirement.”