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TECH NEWS

Glasgow bike shop acquires Robert Millar’s 1984 King of the Mountains bike

Billy Bilsland Cycles acquire Peugeot bicycle Millar rode in the 1984 Tour de France

Glasgow bike shop Billy Bilsland Cycles have acquired the bicycle that Robert Millar rode in the 1984 edition of the Tour de France, in which he won the King of the Mountains jersey and finished fourth overall.

Not seen for 30 year after it was sold to a private collector, the bike shop intend to put it on display, alongside Millar’s King of the Mountains Polka Dot jersey, a gift from Millar to Billy Bilsland, himself a professional cyclist on both Peugeot and Raleigh cycling teams.

“It’s fantastic to have the actual bike that Millar rode to victory here in the shop beside the famous and unique jersey of 1984,” said owner Neil Bilsland. “This is a significant piece of cycling history that we are delighted to share, not just in terms of its importance to cycling but also the friendship my father and Robert established in their early cycling careers.”

The PY-10FC bike was manufactured by Peugeot, but the development was headed up first by French firm Vitus, who worked with an aerospace company to develop the unique frame. It combined aluminium lugs with carbon fibre main tubes and a Duralinox (a magnesium alloy) Vitus 979 rear triangle, head tube and fork. It was groundbreaking stuff, and virtually put an an end to the dominance of steel frames. Increased stiffness and decreased weight were the main advantages, it was in the region of 2lbs lighter than the very best steel bike of the day.

The bike will be on display at Billy Bilsland Cycles. The shop owners say that hundreds of cycling fans visit every year, from as far afield as New Zealand and America, to see Millar’s iconic jersey. With the addition of the actual bike he rode in the race, fans will have a good reason to head to Glasgow. Visit their website to find out where they are www.billybilslandcycles.co.uk

David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes

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10 comments

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Bhachgen | 10 years ago
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WANT! Shame to just have it on display. I'd be out riding it. Maybe not anywhere too hilly though...

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dave atkinson | 10 years ago
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millar had it much lower than that. look at pics from the race.

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Lungsofa74yearold | 10 years ago
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Re the distinctly non-slammed stem - just goes to show how recent this notion is - it didn't seem to slow Millar down in the slightest. Cynic in me can't help thinking there's an element of fashion about this... That gearing is insane though  4

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TomvanHalen replied to Lungsofa74yearold | 10 years ago
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Look at the marking around the quill portion. Methinks it wasn't actually ridden that high...

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caaad10 | 10 years ago
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Superb, takes me back..... and I love the way it looks like something you'd find at a car boot sale for £20!!

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Ian531 | 10 years ago
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What a great slice of cycling history!  41 Drilled out brake levers, nice touch!

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andybnk | 10 years ago
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Amazing piece of history, and a great shop! Lovely guys and very knowledgable, just bought a bike there myself! Am going to have to pop back to Glasgow to see that too, Millar was my hero when I was a kid! Brilliant that its on display with the family link as well!

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Flying Scot | 10 years ago
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Man size 'wee' chain ring there.

Proper a Cycling legend, done it the hard way, no National support in those days.

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jonb | 10 years ago
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They will lower the stem though, won't they? Please?

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Gennysis | 10 years ago
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Cool bit of Scottish cycling history. Even without the bike and jersey this is a bike shop worth visiting: always welcoming, approachable & knowledgeable & do a grand job servicing my bike!

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