Drosi Bikes isn’t like your average bike shop, for a few reasons, but a major one being that we don’t sell any new bikes. Those ever-so-temptingly-shiny steeds that adorn many a bike shop window, with their latest trend parts and accessories, never grace our workshop.
As a climate conscious organisation we instead focus on the pre-loved and the dishevelled, those bikes that are considered too old or too broken to be rideable, and are donated to us by the wonderful Llangollen (and beyond!) community.
In our minds, no bike should be consigned to landfill until it is truly unusable. For commuting, leisure and general getting-around, a cheap ‘old’ bike can perform excellently without the fear of thieves, expensive parts and stiff servicing charges. However, you can probably imagine the total ship wrecks that we often get off loaded with. The kind of bikes that your now-adult children abandoned against the garden fence a decade earlier, to be overgrown by brambles and other forgotten gardening tools, only to be rediscovered during a particularly enthusiastic clear out years later.
The rust, the seized bearings, the un-moving seat-posts…
It’s this time of year when the workshop is a little quieter (bit grim for riding eh?) that we tackle the strangest and most poorly donations haunting the Drosi Bikes loft. Many are total rubbish, but there are always a few real special steeds, perhaps not in monetary value but in their ‘uniqueness’.
For instance, check out this Giant CFR retro road bike from the early days of carbon tubing (circa 1997). In the late 90s this was an absolute top of the line racer; present at the start line of the Tour de France and being ridden by legends of the sport like Jens Voigt. With carbon tubes bonded into aluminium lugs, it blends traditional frame shape with (at the time) exotic materials. It’s a great ride, with its Campagnolo drivechain and Mavic GP4 wheels on lovely chrome Campag hubs (again the premium option in the 90s).
Or how about this Raleigh Wayfarer from the 70s, a true classic from the British 3-speed era. These things were built for the masses and hark back to a time when the humble bicycle was the stalwart mode of transport. Steel framed and hub geared, they were reliable and easy to fix in a way that virtually no new bikes are today. So much so that if you do happen upon one (or something similar) in the back of your grandads shed, chances are it will still be perfectly ridable, although perhaps with some perishing tyres. This one of ours could do with a little refurbishment, but having just ridden it around the block I can confirm that the ride is just perfect (tweed jacket required).
Finally, and taking a completely different turn, here we have a rather nice Giant Defy road bike. Aggressive and quick, this bike was built from the ground up entirely out of the Drosi spares bin, which shows just how many parts we have accumulated over the last few years. It’s sensible too, with a sub-compact chainset (48-32) and a 32 cassette allowing for plenty of adventurous hilly riding without breaking your knees. It’s used, yes, but it’s also under £200. At this price point it is ten-times better than any new bike, and in my opinion exceeds the spec of the majority of ‘entry level’ road bikes that you can buy off the peg within the £500-£800 range. New bikes are not necessarily better, they are just new.
As it happens, all three of these bikes are currently on eBay, as well as a host more online and in the workshop. Do you fancy cutting your carbon footprint this year by starting with a quirky used bike? Or have you got a project on the go yourself? Our parts bins are overflowing!
Written by Scott Gurnett, 2025