Post by corto on Apr 23, 2020 14:04:10 GMT
Hello all, firstly I hope you are all safe and well in these strange times.
I'm new to the forum but not to Cotton's.
I have a 72 cavalier that I bought with my paper round money way back when I was fourteen, it was my first bike. I worked long and hard on that paper round in rain, hail and snow with the specific goal of buying a bike. A Cotton came up in the classifieds in Nympsfield, not to far away and on my budget. Dad took me there in his rusty Cortina estate and after riding round the chaps garden I fell in love and paid the man the money, no bargaining, the princely sum of £125, all I had.
Getting it back was scary, it almost slid out the back on the hills a few times and I hung in to it like grim death and nearly went with it !
I rode that bike on the estate, green lanes and when Dad picked up a bike trailer, farther afield at Kilkenny quarry. I smashed it up once, broke my heart but after visiting Antig engineering in St James Street they kindly fixed it up again, for £125 !, I still have the receipt.
I rode it to school once for a show and tell, I researched the whole history of Cotton, I even met and interviewed Mr Onions himself, I got an A+ and a caning for breaking the rules !
Life moved on, the bike got stored, not ideally so.
Now I'm in my fifties, I've moved country several times, always with the Cotton in tow. A lot of bikes have been and gone but not my Cotton.
My son is now 21, I signed over my Armstrong mt500 to him for his birthday, he was chuffed to bits but ... He wants my Cotton !
So it's out of storage and back in Gloucester being rebuilt by a Friend of my Dad's, after all, In a way, this is all his fault !
Dad's Friend has already rebuilt one Cotton and a lot more British machinery besides so I know it's In excellent hands.
All I have to do is find the parts he needs as he needs them, sounds easy doesnt it !
Well, as you all probably know, it isn't !.
And so I've belatedly joined the club because I need help, advice and, well, I should have joined years ago when both myself and my bike still lived in Gloucester then I could of participated more.
So that's the brief history of my 74 cavalier from 82 onwards.
So may I ask your help ?
My backwheel is in need of replacing, an 18 X 400. I cannot find a replacement on any website as apparently it is specific to the hub.
I cannot imagine with the delicate state of the company in 72 that Cotton produced thier own back wheel rims, far too expensive. So does any one know where I can find a replacement or, if not, what wheel they used so I can try and find one as there are no markings on the rim whatsoever. I could always have it respoked and rechromed, has any one had to do this ?
Thank you all in advance for any and all replies.
Kind regards,
Corto.
I'm new to the forum but not to Cotton's.
I have a 72 cavalier that I bought with my paper round money way back when I was fourteen, it was my first bike. I worked long and hard on that paper round in rain, hail and snow with the specific goal of buying a bike. A Cotton came up in the classifieds in Nympsfield, not to far away and on my budget. Dad took me there in his rusty Cortina estate and after riding round the chaps garden I fell in love and paid the man the money, no bargaining, the princely sum of £125, all I had.
Getting it back was scary, it almost slid out the back on the hills a few times and I hung in to it like grim death and nearly went with it !
I rode that bike on the estate, green lanes and when Dad picked up a bike trailer, farther afield at Kilkenny quarry. I smashed it up once, broke my heart but after visiting Antig engineering in St James Street they kindly fixed it up again, for £125 !, I still have the receipt.
I rode it to school once for a show and tell, I researched the whole history of Cotton, I even met and interviewed Mr Onions himself, I got an A+ and a caning for breaking the rules !
Life moved on, the bike got stored, not ideally so.
Now I'm in my fifties, I've moved country several times, always with the Cotton in tow. A lot of bikes have been and gone but not my Cotton.
My son is now 21, I signed over my Armstrong mt500 to him for his birthday, he was chuffed to bits but ... He wants my Cotton !
So it's out of storage and back in Gloucester being rebuilt by a Friend of my Dad's, after all, In a way, this is all his fault !
Dad's Friend has already rebuilt one Cotton and a lot more British machinery besides so I know it's In excellent hands.
All I have to do is find the parts he needs as he needs them, sounds easy doesnt it !
Well, as you all probably know, it isn't !.
And so I've belatedly joined the club because I need help, advice and, well, I should have joined years ago when both myself and my bike still lived in Gloucester then I could of participated more.
So that's the brief history of my 74 cavalier from 82 onwards.
So may I ask your help ?
My backwheel is in need of replacing, an 18 X 400. I cannot find a replacement on any website as apparently it is specific to the hub.
I cannot imagine with the delicate state of the company in 72 that Cotton produced thier own back wheel rims, far too expensive. So does any one know where I can find a replacement or, if not, what wheel they used so I can try and find one as there are no markings on the rim whatsoever. I could always have it respoked and rechromed, has any one had to do this ?
Thank you all in advance for any and all replies.
Kind regards,
Corto.