To Zimmer Frame and Beyond….
Here, Tim explains what, how and why the bike has been improved for today and into retirement.
“Well, none of us are getting any younger and my knees aren’t too clever. So, over the past four years, putting the Rapide back on the road, we looked forward a decade and considered what my requirements would be then,” Tim explained as we visually toured his pride and joy – starting with the wheels.
Q: I noted the front tyre is 20in, with the rear 19-in. The Avons you have fitted offer a very period tread pattern; were these easily obtained?
A: I managed to get this set from a vintage tyre outlet at Beaulieu that makes them in batches, so I snapped these up.
Q: With the wheels, did you have to start from scratch and use the hubs you had collected over the years?
There were some damaged alloy rims in Greece. The old boy thought they were used for racing on the ice and certainly not salvageable. There were also some studded tyres, but we left it all behind. The hubs were already in my stores,
