Visit to Scottish Cycle Museum, Drumlanrig Castle

I posted earlier on 11^th July about a track bike which I saw at the Scottish Cycle Museum in the Stableyard at Drumlanrig Castle. I spent a few enjoyable hours looking at the bikes. I have to confess that I have no real interest in early machines such as Hobbyhorses or Ordinaries. I accept that some people do have an interest and I acknowledge that without them, we wouldn't have the machines we use today. I suppose my interest in bicycles and cycling was shaped by the people I knew growing up, some of whom who had cycled from the first decade of the 20^th century. I was more interested in hearing how the custom built lightweight bicycle had developed following the Great War. 

This was the machine that I could relate to, from my own experience of cycling. It was interesting, as a teenager, hearing tales of marques of machines and how folk cycled in the 1920s and 1930s. 

Having grown up in a cycling family, I was well versed in my parents experience of cycling after WW2. So my interest in cycling only goes back around 90 years.

I was very interested to see the examples of bicycles made by some of the Scottish framebuilders. Flying Scot are well known, but there were others builders, not only in Glasgow, but outside the central corridor.

I was particularly interested in the bottom bracket detail on the Lindsay of Dundee Scottish made bike, as the same detail was also found on some of the Leach Marathon frames, built by Bill Leach, a London builder. 

I really enjoyed the display of Scottish made machines and I would loved to have tried one or two, just to see how they rode. 

Another bicycle which caught my eye was a pre WW2 Granby. I was able to see it had the frame number stamped into the underside of the fork crown and had the Granby designed rear dropouts. 

More recent developments weren't ignored and there were two cast magnesium Kirk Precision frames there, a complete road bike and the MTB version – frame only. 

Mark Beaumont's Koga Miyata bike that he rode around the world to break the record on was also on display. 

If you are ever in or near Thornhill, the cycle museum at Drumlanrig Castle is well worth a visit.