Originally Posted by
nlerner
Somehow I'm imagining a Spartacus scene about to take place:
"I am Norman Pillinger of Alciester!"
"No, I am Norman Pillinger of Alciester"!
Yeah, I was picturing Kirk Douglas in there somewhere.
The name makes a little sense now. I had originally thought that the bike was made by the same English factory that made the "Norman" brand three-speeds. Pillinger? I thought that might be something like a berserker.
Which made no sense, because the rapier would not have been used in Norman times--it didn't come along for another five or six centuries. And there would not have been any Norman berserkers, I think, unless they were there on some kind of exchange program.
I feel better now that I know that it's a bike built by a guy named Norman Pillinger, who happened to have a shop in Alciester.
"Rapier" is a cool name, especially for a track bike.