Pleasantly surprised Kiwi!
 

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c66672eeff.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ddab4adf86.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ae931c2bfc.jpg

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...eb29b81ef5.jpg

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...29144f5e1e.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...9e1f61c66b.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...557dd1635c.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...62c5601b69.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2b6f24981d.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c5ff9ce574.jpg
Had a call from a friend of mine " Do you want a couple of bike frames and some wheels?"
I said "lets have a look at them first ".
So I trundle off to have a nosey at them .
One frame is a Giant carbon /alloy job (CFR?) from the 90s . In good condition but not really my thing .

The other frame is a Sigma by Worldrider from the late 1980s going by the parts .
I remember Worldrider bicycles from the 1980s and my memory of them is not complimentary at all !
Back then the ones i saw were tanks with cheap and cheerful components .

The Sigma is a completely different beast to previous I have seen .
Quite a tight geometry and some nice detail on the frame . Heart shaped cutouts on the lugs etc .
Has a columbus tubing decal on the seat tube which looks legitimate .

Anyway I threw some appropiate bits on it and took it for a quick blast up and down my favourite test hill .
Wow ! -wow-wow ! Climbed really really well and went round corners like it was on rails .

Will keep my eye out for more of these .
Well underated I believe and NZ made . Would love to know who built the frames.

Just thought I would share :)

Just goes to show you that not all the good bike builders reside in Italy.

Nice Frame. Ticks all the boxes too.

Pretty nice, thanks for sharing.

Jim Holly of cycles Griffon - the Santa Monica one- later there was another brand of the same name, moved to NZ. I think Christchurch.
wonder if he took frame building equipment with. Nice bikes.

This one is 1988+. Serial number? In addition to the geometry, one of the reasons for the mentioned traits is the Aelle tubeset. Normally, around this size. most manufacturers transition form Columbus SL to SP, due to the extra weigh and strength of taller riders. Aelle, while a bit heavier than SP (~150g), makes for an even stiffer frame which responds even better to pedal input and rides like it is on rails when pushed hard in corners (provided you don't exceed the tyres' limits).

Sweeeet!

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speaking of your mounts...

have you been giving the Carlton much exercise since you completed it?

how has it worked out for you as a rider?

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...d-me-home.html


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Thanks for that thought. :) Much appreciated. Threads like these are what make BF C&V such a worthwhile place to visit often.

Nice bike, BTW.

Hi T-Mar . Yes sounds right . From memory the seatpost had an 87 date on it ?
Did about 20km on it it this morning and it whizzed along really happily . Tracks nicely riding no hands too !
Stiffer than the rest of my mainly 531 and Vitus stable .

Serial below . It measures 58cm C-to C


https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...25c85d7682.jpg

hi there . To be honest it only gets out on the road very infrequently .
I really enjoy it when I do take it for a blast .
It does need some bits sorted out though . Mainly brakes .
has some really nice memories attached to it also .

hmm ok . It is a possibility ? Will see what i can dig up

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Thanks very much! :thumb:

Did you ever learn any more regarding the snap-in brake cable guides?

Would guess they must have been discussed on the Brit forums at some point...


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hi ,

No never did find any answers .
It is on my "to do" list one day :)

photo is tantalising
 

Hi found a couple of old photographs that seem to confirm the lack of top tube cable clamps .
Willl keep digging .


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...07305fd0fd.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fb996ec4f3.jpg

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Thank you! :thumb:

In viewing the images am struck by just how long and shallow is the rider's mount as compared with how short and steep things got to just a few years later by the mid-1970's.


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Hi , the frame I have is very slender . the rear stays appear a lot lighter than any of my other machines .
I should weigh it at some stage properly .
I love the attached photo too.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4c3160e5b5.jpg
Team BMB Carlton

Guy 3rd from the right is literally the only person in the picture not smiling. He's looking at the camera as if he's watching the cameraman shag his wife or something. One of a few odd things in this strange photo!

yep he really makes the photo ! If only we knew what was going on behind the facades ?

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gent holding cycle appears positively deranged...

...perhaps a mental patient on a day pass from "the home"...

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Guy on the far left with his hand on the saddle is saying, "I'll be cool too if I put my hand on the bike when the photo snaps!".

Some would say most cyclists are somewhat deranged !
Especially the odd bods with sheds full of bikes and bke related ephemera!
hee hee

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...9beac91bbc.jpg

huh I just realised the unsmiling chap is Peter Chisman . He is the rider pictured in the two pictures a little further back in the thread .
Also he only raced for team BMB for one year (1967) so maybe he was on the way out ? Who knows ? .
All very interesting

Sigma a great bike in their time.
 

Original Sigmas came out in either pale blue or pink. I had a light blue one...what a cracking entry level racing machine they were. A really nice geometry, great for climbing.

David Stott rode a pink variety for many years in Dunedin with great success.

I ended up taking all the paint of mine and painting it matt black (probably sacrilege) to match the Alan I also had by then. It was last seen been sold by someone who had been leant it by a friend of mine never to be seen again.