I ride a 2009 Raleigh Oakland. This is really an inexpensive bike, purchased from Cycles UK. It is a deep cherry red colour, with a nice low, step-through style frame. The bike has six speed Shimano dérailleur gears and 'V' type brakes. The ride is very smooth, and the gears are OK for riding around town, and to work as there are a lot of hills around me. The ratio is a bit low to handle longer rides comfortably though, but I seem to be managing well enough at the moment.
The basket that comes with the bike is really quite puny, so that was quickly replaced with the Basil Adie Basket, which is lovely and roomy. (My basket and panniers are made by Basil.)
The bike originally came with flat handlebars, which I replaced with Raleigh North Rounder bars, which are more sweptback and make for a more relaxed ride.
I had to add a pannier rack onto the bike as I'd go mad without one. I also added a kickstand, as the bike didn't have one. Finally, the lights on the bike are a set from Halfords.
My most recent additions were a Brooks B67s Saddle in 'Brown' and some Brooks leather handlebar grips in 'Aged'. (I added these only last week, and have not take any pictures since these have gone on, sorry!)
The cherry on the Cherry is a silver ding-dong bell from Cycle Chic which seems to surprise people whenever I use it.
All in all, my ride is well and truly 'pimped'. I feel very happy riding her as she is extremely lightweight in comparison to say, a Pashley Princess Sovereign. In the future I can see myself changing out the gears to a hub set, and maybe adding a generator hub and some headlamp style lights.
She looks much better with the Brooks bits, so I'll try and take a picture on my commute. You can also see my helmet here, which was a cheap skate helmet that I sanded down and resprayed to match the bike. There's also my briefcase, which again is a bag that I DIY'd and added pannier clips to.
I love my bike! There's no bike the same as her in the world, and this makes me smile.
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