As a schoolboy rider I joined the late Nev Cranes Sleaford Wheelers, riding a pre-owned 5 speed Viking with then state of the art benelux gears & centre pull brakes this bike was my pride & joy . Then I got to ride a Claud Butler on loan for one time trial only and fell in love with it. I always aspired to owning and riding a new Claud Butler. Alas this did not happen for another 42 years, but now I am back in the saddle on my dream bike a brand new (my first new bike ever) Claud Butler Rubaix. I was longing for a Rubaix for some time and as a complete suprise my wife bought me one for Xmas. I am now back in training and weather permitting, (because this bike does not go out in the rain and lives indoors) am preparing for my first time trial in over 40 years. I will let you know how I get on.
Customer Stories
Stories
I bought my Claud Butler Rock as a Christmas present to myself in 2003! - At the time it was voted best buy under £500 in one of the Mountain Bike magazines (can’t remember which one) - anyway - I have to say I have punished this bike! - It’s done London to Brighton on a nuber of occasions, London to Paris in 2010, a serious amount of miles in various forests off-road, including a trip to Valencia for three days in the actual mountains. I’ve been through 2 saddles, three bottom brackets, a few chains - I can’t remember how many times I’ve changed the pedals. I upgraded to mechanical disks a few years ago as well. It’s still going strong and I absolutely love it. I look at other bikes occasionally but I’m so comfortable with my bike that I can’t imagine changing it now and if I ever did, I’d definitely be buying another Claud Butler.
After years of listening to my mate John rave about his Claud Butler, I finally bought one second hand, it turns out it’s a Claud Butler Roubaix built after 2000, it looks brand new and has been well looked after and for me it’s extremely fast (I’ve been commuting on a hybrid for the past year) so I’ve had my “yellow peril” for just over three weeks now and I can see why John raves about his, it’s smooth and fast and looks good on the road…
So why did I buy it when I’ve got a perfectly good hybrid (made by another manufacturer)? I’m doing a charity fundraising ride later on this year to raise funds for the charity I work for SAMH (Scottish Association for Mental Health) and to raise awareness of mental health issues. I needed a road bike as I’m doing 100 miles a day for ten days and have called the event 1000 Miles for Mental Health. I looked around for a while then the Claud Butler came up for sale and I’m pleased to say I snapped it up for a bargain ;O)
If anyone feels like sponsoring me or keeping up with my progress feel free to visit my blog site http://www.1000milesformentalhealth.blogspot.com
I found out the bike was a Roubaix when I contacted Falcon as I didn’t know what model it was, Vicki @Falcon was extremely helpful and not only did I find out what model it was but Claud Butler UK became my newest sponsor, what a bonus and what a friendly company, I look forward to riding around Scotland on a UK built bike, am even looking forward to the hilly parts…. ;O)
Cheers
Kev
This is more like a testimonial, but I still want to share it. This March (2012), I was riding my Claud Butler Urban 100. It was evening, so I had my lights on as I rode across a junction. With no warning, a VW Golf raced through without stopping, right in front of me. Without time to think, I applied the brakes - and brought the bike up short inches away. The car sped on - the driver didn’t even stop. Momentum pitched me off the bike and I later found I had broken my right arm.
However, the excellent bike and its brakes saved me from far more serious - possibly fatal - injury. I have always enjoyed the Claud Butler; but I am now an evangelist. And the scrapes on the handlebars will always serve to remind me how lucky I was to ride such a well-engineered machine.