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Cycle Shop On The 'flat' Hockley Birmingham

LNewey

Brummie babby
Does anyone know of the name or have photos of the shop that sold bicycles on the Flat Hockley, 1940s 1950s?
 
hi newey ;
if i recall rightly it was on ickneild street close to the flat i booooought a few punture out fits from there
and my mate ouht some hadle bars from there on the way home from school and there was a wide opening next to it
i think there was a little work unit up there at the time i know there was another shop or two just by it then there was the church and
there was the cake shop ; so i do not think it could be classed as the flat but from the very corner along it is the flat ;
but i hope some one will have one for you as i would also love dearly love to see it ; best wishes Astonian;;
 
HI Carolina
i do not actualy recall a bike shop along the flat its self i,m afraid but there again what year oare speaking off
and it all depends just where you are starting your trm of the flat
and also the shop only had about four bikes in the window and inside the shop was sparce and cold with just a counter and not may parts
the flat is the straight section of lodge rd its self for me theflat is lodge rd its self ;
and that is starting at the pelican crossing and the furtiture shop called pooles big furtiture shop
there was another two shop which i just cannot recall at the mon=ment then there was the spiritual church where my relies used to attend
and my father worked at charles harris all is life just alonmg from thhe shops on the flat my cousins lived in ford street and i would walk along there often
i would go to school and walk along there for many days a week ;
the shop was on the bend of the corner as you approached the flat ; thats a techinal point to me as you take the slight turn from walking down or along from ickneild stree as it rolls around the corner
i can only presume charlie would have paid cash because in my day the shop was of a early start up and in those days they was the racing type bikes he had in the window and one on the shop floor and a stannard bike which would have cost a little cheaper ;
best wishes Astonian;;
 
Thank you all, it was my Dad who bought a bike 'on credit' from the bike store on 'the flat' (only two years after his own dad returned from being a prisoner of war in WWII). My Dad was only 14 years old at the time (1947 ish) and found work in the Jewellery quarter after school in order to pay for it, at £1 a week for 18 weeks....a good work ethic, don't you think? Would love to know for sure which shop it was.....
 
Hi all,as a young lad 13yrs old, i worked part time for Burleys the butcher on the Flat,this shop was the one nearest Ford St, and i well remember the bike shop which was almost opposite Burleys, the guy who ran the shop Sid Lawson, was a real character, and you dont see people like that anymore, he would put a piece of sausage in his flyhole and cover it up with his white cowgown, and when he thought the queue of women wasnt paying attention he would open his overall, i was never quite sure whether the screams from the ladies was pleasure or fright, Happy days, Regards Eddyjay.
 
Hi Carolina, great photo, I remember the shop very well, I must have been about aged 7 when the chain started to slip on my 3-wheeler, took it to the shop - the owner adjusted it for me, No charge.
Just remembered, my mom purchased the bike new from the bike shop on Icknield St, the one you have identified as Centric, I used to stop and look longingly in the window on my way to and from Ellen St School (I was only there a short time).
Regards,
Peg.
 
Hi Folks, Go-cart construction when aged 7 and with a budget of zero was quite a challenge (and sometimes with consequences (See my posting The 1956 Heaton St Go-Cart Crash on the Heaton St Thread) luckily they were low - tech and parts were re-cycled (mainly wheels and steering bolt) but sometimes purchases were unavoidable - enter stage left: Sport & Play Cycles. (Sorry, lapsed into thespian mode then - didn't get the BBC TV Part whilst at Harry Lucas School, never recovered from the disappointment(?!) - check out the Harry Lucas School thread.)
Regards,
Peg.
Jim sponsored.jpg
 
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I would love to see a photo of this shop I did a lot of business there and Billy built the frame and forks that I raced on for years
 

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Is this the shop you are looking for Rob?

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Wow - yes! A friend of mine after he returned to Birmingham after the War, having been an evacuee in the countryside yearned to get mobile and be able to cycle out to the fields again from Kingstanding - eventually after much saving, he had a bicycle especially made at Centric to his specification, sports stainless-steel spokes, 3-speed derailleur gears, Brooks saddle, etc.! He'll be so pleased to see this photograph Phil, thank you -
 
Ah! yes, Derailleur gears were the cats whiskers in my youth. Most, I remember, could not get to grips with the French name and it was usually pronounced 'dewrailier' or something along those lines.
 
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