The Light Blue City Bike Catalogue

The Light Blue City Bike Cataloguewww.lightbluecycles.co.uk

HistoryThe Light Blue Bicycle company began its life way back in 1895, when John Albert Townsend producedhand built bicycles for wealthy members of Cambridge University. These custom made machines wereproduced in a converted dairy in Norfolk Street, Cambridge at a rate of around six per week. The LightBlue name was taken from the University colours, but in those days all the bicycles were painted black.John made his own Track bike with a special 100-tooth chainwheel to celebrate the turn of the century in 1900. Herode that bike until he died in 1942, and this original bike remains in the posession of the family to this day, Bythe time of the Great War, production had ceased as the men were called away. Following this, the larger cyclemanufacturers began to produce more affordable models on a much greater scale and The Light Blue Bicycle wasconsigned to the back burner.However, subsequent generations of the Townsend family continued in the cycle trade, and became well established asindependent cycle retailers in Cambridge, gaining a fine reputation for providing good, reliable service at a local level.

Today

In 2004, some 90 years after the last Light Blue Bicycle was produced, the need for high quality,traditional style bicycles was recognised. The old style city bikes that gave Cambridge its timelessimage became increasingly hard to find, and so a new generation of The Light Blue Bicycle was born.Townsends Light Blue Cycle Centre, as the shop is now known, came up with the modern Light BlueBicycle. It was an instant hit with both ‘Town’ and ‘Gown’. The student population (Gown) liked theassociation of the Light Blue name with the University, whilst the local ‘Townies’ recognised theTownsend name as one associated with quality and dependability, almost instantly creating a fashionfor the ‘granny bike’ - a comfortable upright bike with a basket, simple gears and a very traditional look.The popularity of the Light Blue Bicycle was such that it soon outgrew the scope for the originalmanufacturer, so the range was redesigned and a new maker appointed. Every care has been taken toproduce a range of bicycles true to the Light Blue heritage, but with modern materials and processes toensure quality and reliability.

Town CyclesThe Next Generation of The Light Blue Bicycle.There are two models in the modern range - the Chesterton 7 speed and the Parkside 3 speed.Both bikes are available in Ladies’ and Gents’ frames, and the Ladies’ has an extra colour choice.Many modern bicycles owe their design and development to the Mountain Bike. The Mountain Bike ‘craze’ of the 90sdid push forward development of performance bicycles, but not always in a way which is beneficial for everyday cityuse... Many companies blindly adopt the latest fashion and, in doing so, fail to consider that in most cases functionshould be the master of form.Light Blue Cycles are different - they are designed and developed by people that have lived and worked with bicycles forall of their working lives. With a heritage stretching back in excess of 110 years making, selling and servicing bicyclesin what is recognised as ‘cycle city’, you might expect that the Light Blue designers know a thing or two about what reallymakes good sence on a city bicycle.The Parkside 3 speed.Developed around the almost timeless Sturmey Archer AW 3 speed internal gear hub, this clasically designed bikeprovides the reliability and low maintenance that riders over many years have come to experience from a proven internalhub gear.If you are looking for clean lines and simple reliability in your thoroughbred workhousecity bike, the Parkside is the steed to consider.

The Chesterton 7 speed.Designed around a derailleur gear system, the Chesterton provides the pedalling efficiency of a directchain drive gear system, combined with modern Shimano push button gear selection.The Chesterton is our lighter and faster bike, by virtue of its highly efficient gear system.

FeaturesThe Devil is in The DetailBoth Parkside and Chesterton bikes are packed full of quality features that you don’t usually expect to find onbikes around this price level. many of the small features will go unnoticed... until you ride and own one.Take the saddles for example - a seat is just a seat, right? Well, maybe it’s not quite as simple as that.Passport Upper ClassTravel in 1st class luxury comfortwith our top flight ‘town and around’saddle. Shaped differently forladies and gents, these full featuresaddles include:Sqidgtech gel paddingTMHigh performance synthetic foam material with memory capabilitythat disperses pressure points and greatly improves comfort on longrides... try it!Double density baseThe saddle base is made using astable, suportive semi-rigid skeletonfused with a soft, flexible kraytonmaterial beneath contact pointsthat flexes to reduce pressure onbody tissues and so enhances yourcomfort. The base design features anarea that is completely open aroundyour body’s more sensitive areas, soavoiding pressure and discomfort.Safety elastomer springsTwin elastomer rear springs separatethe saddle top from the harsh shocksand jarring that modern road surfacescan dish out, enhancing rider comfort.Importantly, elastomer springs have noplaces for little fingers to get caught- unlike the old fashioned coil springswhich can prove to be hazardous tochildren’s fingers...Kevlar anti-scuff panelsYou know how it is, you just leanedthe bike against the wall for amoment, and that’s it - anothersaddle wrecked... bot not any more:Passport Upper Class saddles featuretough, durable, scuff-resistantKevlar material panels that willshrug off connection with theroughest surfaces.

Passport Upper Class Ergo GripsTravel in 1st class luxury comfort with our top flight ‘town andaround’ grips.Remember: handlebar grips and saddle are two of your maincontact points on a bicycle. Comfort and control are importantfactors towards enjoying cycling, and having the right grips is akey part to obtaining comfort and control on your bicycle.Features:Ergonomically shaped to better support the human hand.Double density materials: two different-density Krayton rubbertype materials to optimise control and comfort. Base layer isshock absorbing and stable TBR and the plalm area fill is soft,comfortable gel.

FeaturesStainless spokesDurable, rust-free spokes that will provideyears of trouble-free reliability and good looksRubber brake lever insertsNutted wheel mountingsDoublewall rimsNon-slip and comfort enhancing,on the day when the temperature isfreezing and you’ve left your glovesin the office, you’ll appreciatethe feel of these brake levers. Ofcourse, even in warm conditions,the Krayton rubber wins fans overcold metal aluminium brake levers.The current fashion for ‘quickrelease’ wheels is great, especiallyfor thieves. So, unless you are racingagainst the clock, why bother havingquick release wheels? Front nuttedaxles are also a handy fixing pointfor classic basket supports, which areoh so popular in ‘Cycle City’.Strong, heat-treated aluminiumwith stainless steel spoke eyelets.Conventional rims are a U-shapedsection - however, the Halo branddouble wall rims specified onall Light Blue bikes have a boxsection shape that is inherentlymuch stronger.Quality alloy propstandLightweight alloy pedalsAnti-puncture tyresThere’s nothing worse than a poorqualitypropstand that doesn’t work,or continually slips around on theframe. The Light Blue weldedlocation plate prevents stand slippage,and the top plate prevents leveragefrom breaking the the welded plateoff the frame.Strong, durable and with rubber gripsurfaces that will suit most types offootwear. PLUS safety reflectorsfor riding in the dark. Why wouldwe want to offer anything less asstandard?An additional strip of toughbut supple and lightweightplastic is incorporated into thetyre construction itself. Thisfeature adds a degree of punctureresistance to the tyre, so reducingwhat is a common ‘problem’ onany bicycle by up to 80%.

FeaturesPowerful V-brakesDog Leg rear carrierHeight adjustable stemWith reliable alloy spring tensionadjusters. This is one feature that youwill not appreciate initially, but yearsof workshop experience have taughtus that saving a few pence by fittingplastic adjusters will go unnoticed...until the elements do their thing andthe plastic fractures. Hence, LightBlue brakes feature reliable and longlasting aluminium adjusters.Durable, lightweight alloy rearcarrier with pannier bag side-supportdog leg stays and useful top springclip. So many rear carriers are usedwith panniers bags, it’s a surprise to usthat not all rear carriers incorporate asimple dog leg that stops pannier bagsfrom swinging into the rear wheel. Ofcourse, function over form plays it’spart, and Light Blue bikes featurealuminium rear carriers with dog legpannier side-supports as standard.A throw back to times when productswere designed for a good reason. TheLight Blue Parkside and Chestertonboth feature a classic “Quill” typehandle bar stem. This simpledesign allows an effective telescopicadjustment of the handle bar heightposition, (something which thelatter day Mountain Bike developed“Aheadset” system products lack theability to offer.)

Light, TIG welded framesThe purposefully low bottom bracket heights provide a comfort-enhancing riding positioncombined with superior biomechanical efficiency over many of the ‘modern’ frame designsthat have off-road ground clearance.