Best bikes that you were given as a presents.

8th Birthday / Christmas 1977 off my mum and dad

Raleigh Tomahawk. It was rubbish and it fell apart but I loved it. It extended my range from the end of the street to Heaton Park, a massive 3 miles away and meant that I could stay out all day! Not as fast as my best mate’s Raleigh Chico and not as cool as all the BMXs that started to appear a year or so later, but it gave me freedom to explore. Sadly I can’t see my boy getting the same unsupervised opportunity. He’ll have to go riding with his dad. How very uncool for him.

40th Birthday off my wife.

Planet X Uncle John. The best bike I own. The road bike and MTBs make me feel like a kid again but the CX is the only one that truly scares me and the only one that I expect to fall off.

When I googled Planet X Uncle John one of the first results was the one shown above which is mine! The photo was taken after the first ride, which happened also to be my first CX race. From the state of it you can see that I had a wild old time. 40 going on 8 again.

My Raleigh Boxer and, years later, Peugeot Premier were both Christmas presents.

They were both bought before Christmas with me there to size them up etc, but I obviously wasn’t allowed to ride them until Christmas Day. I can still feel the pit of the stomach excitement that I used to feel, just sitting in the garage, staring at the bike, aching to be able to ride it…

meh.

Photo link to the UJ didn’t work. Here’s someone elses.

Raleigh grifter….weighed the same as a small car and was indestructible 😀

One of these;

Then one of these;

Susan the Commencal, who was awesome but now needs loads of new tarty bits and a professional to fondle her.

Raleigh Burner
I loved this bike and to this day is still the best christmas present i have ever had.

This:

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…which is now this:

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…for my 40th by Mrs Kryton.

Pals loaned me the dosh in an emergency during a road trip in 2001 when the Proflex got nicked…

Not mine , but a friend gave me one .Still have the frame .

Fixed, natch. Also notice the postman pat slippers. Rode it everywhere.

A the Raleigh Strika for me too, but in black:

niche as you like, singlespeed, triple clamps, comedy bars. Never got to upgrade to a BMX which I think may have scarred me for life……but I wanted one of these:

I once asked why it was called a Budgie – my grandad simply said “they couldn’t fit Budgerigar on the frame”.

1970 8)

it was a 1988 dawes ascent (white/yellow/pink) bought for either my 13th birthday/crimbo.i did my first 100 miles on it when i was 15 😀

niche as you like, singlespeed, triple clamps, comedy bars.

And front suspension 😉

It was just like this:

is this years Christmas pressie from my Lovely wife to be.

none, they’ve all been shit, only good bikes I’ve had were paid for by me.

Sad but true

bitter? me?

edit I had a boxer like IHNs (except it was yellow) learnt to ride on it, calling it a good bike is pushing it tho

Was taken to local bike shop in Leeds in 1980,on my birthday.was told to pick something out for my hand me down bike.But ended up leaving with a Team Murray bmx,was an amazing suprise.I had never seen or heard of a bmx.now i owned one.All my mates were so jealous,most had Gifters and were twice as heavy.I loved that bike.

passtherizla – Could you get your lovely-wife-to-be to have a word with my missus about this whole ‘presents for your fella’ business? 😀

Apollo Atomic with 24″ wheels in the early 90s – the last bike I was given as a present and my first mountain bike. It was a pretty crap bike, but it started an obsession.

I had a boxer like IHNs (except it was yellow) learnt to ride on it, calling it a good bike is pushing it tho

Outside, now 👿

then

never did get that burner I wanted

@ binners… sure 😉

Does yours have a massive rock on her finger? its a good place to start 😆 🙄 😆

Nice scattering of spokey-dokes on the Budgie jools182

12th birthday present. so 1981. My dad bought it on HP from Hirst’s Cycles of Swinton. I did thousands of miles on it. I used to think nothing of riding to Tatton Park and back. Happy days.

Does yours have a massive rock on her finger? its a good place to start

After purchasing my mrs a (suitably sized) rock I did treat myself to an engagement bike 🙂

Outside, now

🙂
calm down dear 😉

Hirst’s Cycles of Swinton

one of many bike shop windows I pressed my nose up against enviously looking at bike stuff I was never going to get my grubby little hands on.

oh and how slack?

Raleigh Strik-argh here too, except mine was silver. I loved it, still haven’t forgiven Simon Longman for kicking a dent into the frame when we were eight years old.

Unfortunately, mine didn’t have the coaster brake so beloved by everyone else, so no comedy skids here. My rear tyre lasted longer than everyone else’s though.

Two years later my Dad bought me an awful Stratton BMX. The thing was made of pig-iron and was so badly welded that great gobs of flux were dribbled all over the frame. It weighed a ton and felt awful, so my Dad told me that it was a Mongoose underneath that had been repainted.

Cheers Dad.

That said, my love affair with bikes is mostly down to him so I can thank him for my two full sussers and my steel hardtail.

Not mine, but you get the idea…

Hirst’s of Swinton was a real emporium. Sadly closed down 10 years or more ago.

That Raleigh Arena cost £87.Big tunes in those days (1981).

I used to by little boxes of .177 Marksmen pellets from Hirst’s for my TJ Harrington GAT pistol.

Yossarian
I think that was my first bike which was a hand me down from my sister!

48th birthday pressie from my beloved. Started out with the Mojo, then the introduction of the HD a few days later meant she paid for the upgrade as well.
Binners, you really need to sort yourself out.

As a kid of about 12ish in the 70’s had a very small Team Raleigh ti replica, made for youths I guess. Not really a road bike. Reynolds sticker on it, but couldn’t remember the steel now.
Had no street cred mind you, against choppers and grifters, but was definitely a step up form the Raleigh 20 it replaced..
Can’t find any pictures of the thing on the inter web unfortunately, so this is the original..