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

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