More Than Or Less People Are Actually Serious Close Bicycles, In Addition To More Than Or Less Rare Few Are Extremely Serious, With A Empty-Headed Goofy Wonderful Personality. Norman Bought A Truely Incredible Norman Gear Upwards Bike With Lone 3800 Miles On It
this bike was listed together with located, so due to the identify it was given a manus off assistance (the floor is a hoot!) to snuff it together with acquire it, together with it has a marvelous originality that indicates a nifty honey of it past times times the principal re-create owner who kept it for closed lx some years:
27" x 1 1/4" rims
John Bull Club Grips
Bluemels pump
Brook saddle
original fenders!!!
original alloy pedals alongside toes clips together with straps
tool handbag alongside tools
generator lite alongside lite bracket on right fork blade
quality tires that await new
chrome fork
even a collapsable drinking cup!
I was contacted past times times (the buyer) alongside the universal C together with V (not certainly what that is from the context, but it must alive a bikers code for I demand another biker to assist me) SOS signal, which the code dictates I heed. I could experience (the buyer's) excited anticipation. Who wouldn't wish to participate inward the hunt? It's inward the blood!
On initial telephone contact, the seller told me the bike was beingness offered starting quaternary dimension come, starting quaternary dimension served. Not wanting to drive 100 miles for nothing, I stated my definitive intentions to buy, together with was promised the bike. I headed out into the driving rain, kids inward tow (they demand grooming inward the field, no?), to build it at that topographic dot exactly when the seller stated he'd alive home.
I arrived early, earlier the seller. The rains had stopped, e'er a promising sign. The seller rolled up, took a await at me, so headed to the shed without a word. He rolled the Norman out, together with I persuasion this couldn't alive the bike. I was prepared to uncovering frame damage, missing parts (he claimed it to alive all original) or another compromises. I looked at the SA hub. '49? It couldn't be, it was pristine! I began to have got sinister thoughts, thoughts that violate the sacred code. The seller told me it was his father-in-law's, that it could sell for $1000 (well, mayhap that's a stretch?). He suggested I tell (the buyer) it was sold. No, banish the thought!
I was a flake nervous closed the ride home. The pelting was starting upward again. I had brought a tarp together with plastic roofing for the saddle, as the bike would past times times carried on a heighten machine rack, but it could protect lone so much. It's probably that's the lone pelting to always touching on the bike. At home, the kids together with I spent an lx minutes alongside towels together with a hair dryer. It was a projection of love.
https://www.flickr.com/search/?q=norman+rapide
http://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage/548531-1950-norman-rapide-unbelievable-find.html
Now that is pretty cool, but then, he found the bike was a flake also pocket-size for him, together with so he passed it on to another enthusiast
sadly, I have got sold the Norman Rapide. As I knew all along, the frame was also pocket-size for me, together with since I have got picked upward a Raleigh Record Ace that fits much better, I wasn't riding the Rapide whatsoever more. And it is exactly right for the buyer, who appreciates this type of bike fully as much as I. So... it seemed the right affair to do.
I testament straight off let the novel happy owner gloat...
As alongside other things related to my bicycling hobby, it all started out innocently enough... Back inward January after facilitating a bike purchase for fender1, I needed to behave a bike to Philadelphia. Since I was pretty around NJ, it was decided that I'd lead handgrip of upward alongside rhm to practice a ride alongside him together with a twosome other forum members. At some dot inward the solar daytime at that topographic dot was a conversation that went something like this:
rhm: 'I have got a bike that would alive perfect for you.'
me: 'Really, what's that?'
rhm: 'My Norman Rapide.'
me: 'Hmm, sounds intriguing. Is at that topographic dot a thread closed it on the forums?
rhm: 'Sure.'
Upon my arrival habitation together with taking my Peugeot off the machine together with moving it into the house, I went to my computing machine together with proceeded to google the term "norman rapide site:bikeforums.net" together with the starting quaternary dimension hitting was this genuinely thread. I was so excited that, slice I didn't acquire excited plenty to pee my pants, I was sufficiently excited to telephone call upward my married adult adult woman into the room together with exhibit her the thread together with started smoothing the means for her acceptance of another bike into the house.
Influenza A virus subtype Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 brusk quaternary dimension later, inward mid February, rhm mentioned he was going to alive inward my area, so I asked him if he mightiness alive able to lead the bike downward alongside him let me reckon it together with lead it for a ride. He stated that he'd have got room to lead it down, but inwards all probability wouldn't have got sufficient room to lead it dorsum home. Later that evening we had spoke on the telephone together with somehow I convinced him to lead the bike together with acquire out it alongside me. Mind you, rhm together with I had lone met a few months earlier at the Trexlertown swap come upwards across together with so 1 fourth dimension 1 time to a greater extent than at the ride inward January where he mentioned the Rapide. Now that's what I'd telephone call upward trust!
On the solar daytime together with quaternary dimension that rhm indicated, I met him at the prescribed identify where, upon arrival, the bike was already out of the vehicle leaning against the bumper. I got out of the car, exchanged pleasantries alongside rhm together with he introduced me to his young lady who, manifestly having seem rhm inward bike-geek means plenty over the years, proceeded to ignore the conversation as I oohed together with aahed over the bike, together with rhm waxed poetic over the finer points of the bike. Since rhm was inward a hurry to acquire to his destination, I loaded the bike on the machine together with headed habitation slice he proceeded on his trip.
Upon my arrival home, I unloaded the bike together with took it for a ride. Frankly, the starting quaternary dimension ride was a flake tentative because I was a) worried closed crashing the bike together with b) thinking how I hadn't ridden a drop bar bike for several months. I could tell the bike had a lively ride alongside lite responsive handling but, slice the starting quaternary dimension impression was positive, I was reserving terminal judgment after to a greater extent than topographic dot time. After my 2d ride I was silent getting accustomed to the bicycle, but the tertiary ride which was exactly brusk of thirty miles, I decided that I wanted the bike. I was no longer going to concord dorsum for rhm to tell me how much he wanted for the bike. It was quaternary dimension for me to lead dominance of the province of affairs together with build an offering on the bike. After considerable haggling (actually that's a lie), we arrived at a cost that was fair to rhm together with fifty-fifty fairer to me, if y'all lot tin sack imagine that!
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