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Georgena Terry Gambit road bike
#1
Saw this bicycle for sale in a nearby town and just had to buy it. Pretty cool vintage bike. Designed for women by a woman. What I think is a very special woman, Georgena Terry. Great story, check it out sometime. This is a very small specimen, I am guessing for a young girl or small woman. I cannot wait to refurbish her and find a good home for her.
Notice the 700c rear wheel and the 24in front wheel.

[Image: terrygambit.jpg]
[Image: terry5.jpg]
There are two kinds of people in the world, "Those who help themselves to people, and those who help people!"
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#2
(08-10-2019, 08:12 PM)Painkiller Wrote:  Saw this bicycle for sale in a nearby town and just had to buy it. Pretty cool vintage bike. Designed for women by a woman. What I think is a very special woman, Georgena Terry. Great story, check it out sometime. This is a very small specimen, I am guessing for a young girl or small woman. I cannot wait to refurbish her and find a good home for her.
Notice the 700c rear wheel and the 24in front wheel.

Beauty! Reminds me of the 90s (?) time trial bikes that sometimes used to have smaller front wheels, have seen that in many photos. The smaller front wheel here probably has to do with the cyclist's height and the riding position, right?
Merida Scultura 5000 (2015)
Merida Big Nine 400 (2019)
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#3
The smaller front wheel design has been used on other brands in the past. I think my Terry Gambit is an 86' model.
Even the larger framed bike utilize the smaller front wheel. On the larger framed bike you will notice rather long head tubes in do to the smaller wheels. I will be able to still find a matched set F/R tires, I replaced the fluted seat post with another NOS fluted seat post to better suit a slimmer seat , which will be a Sella Italia with perfed leather to match the original perfed bartape that I will restore.
There are two kinds of people in the world, "Those who help themselves to people, and those who help people!"
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#4
(08-11-2019, 11:57 AM)Painkiller Wrote:  The smaller front wheel design has been used on other brands in the past. I think my Terry Gambit is an 86' model.
Even the larger framed bike utilize the smaller front wheel. On the larger framed bike you will notice rather long head tubes in do to the smaller wheels. I will be able to still find a matched set F/R tires, I replaced the fluted seat post with another NOS fluted seat post to better suit a slimmer seat , which will be a Sella Italia with perfed leather to match the original perfed bartape that I will restore.

Sounds great, I'll be waiting for the photos with updates (focus on the little details eg. restored bartape)!
Merida Scultura 5000 (2015)
Merida Big Nine 400 (2019)
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#5
(08-10-2019, 08:12 PM)Painkiller Wrote:  Saw this bicycle for sale in a nearby town and just had to buy it. Pretty cool vintage bike. Designed for women by a woman. What I think is a very special woman, Georgena Terry. Great story, check it out sometime. This is a very small specimen, I am guessing for a young girl or small woman. I cannot wait to refurbish her and find a good home for her.
Notice the 700c rear wheel and the 24in front wheel.

hello Painkiller, any updates on Georgena Terry refurbish work? asking for my wife hehe
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#6
Hey Papa, no updates as yet. got busy this summer and had to back burner for a moment. Funny though i was just looking her over yesterday telling my self to get back on it. I have the brake bits apart to clean and polish and i think I found a matching set of 24in/700c pair of tires for her that I must order. It will be one of my winter projects. I also would like to shoot a short video of the bicycle. I may hang on to it for awhile as it seems my grand daughter really likes it. I did not show it to her but she saw it in the basement one visit and was taken to it right away. I will post more soon. Thanks for asking!
There are two kinds of people in the world, "Those who help themselves to people, and those who help people!"
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#7
that sure sounds exciting, winter is great for the bike projects if you have a proper room or garage! and i get the busy part, it's gonna be hard for me to find time for bikes in the upcoming months. i remember my childhood bicycle excitement when I first saw it in my grandpa's shed, being fixed up in the early spring. waited patiently for few weeks to jump onto it, was worth the wait. got a long scar on my left tigh that summer ... from the bike, also worth it.
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#8
(08-10-2019, 08:12 PM)Painkiller Wrote:  Saw this bicycle for sale in a nearby town and just had to buy it. Pretty cool vintage bike. Designed for women by a woman. What I think is a very special woman, Georgena Terry. Great story, check it out sometime. This is a very small specimen, I am guessing for a young girl or small woman. I cannot wait to refurbish her and find a good home for her.
Notice the 700c rear wheel and the 24in front wheel.

[Image: terrygambit.jpg]
[Image: terry5.jpg]

I just curious as to the build progress. I could not access your photos. I thought those front rims were 26"/650, maybe used for various frame sizes?
Although, now that I can reference your images it looks 24", maybe it replaced a 26" original set up? That 24" rim on my TT bike frame makes for a "squirley" ride and feel, but the frame geometry has something to do with it also. Building my next TT frame with 26", which l believe it was designed for; but I think will give it better handling.
I think the Terry frames were designed with small front wheels in reference to the female body posture and average size. I don't know if they were used as TT bikes (if legal) .
Those are cool looking bikes!
I need some 24" wheels to build up a 50's junior race frame.
Take care,
Jesper

"I am become Death, the destroyer of bicycles." NJS
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#9
No new progress on the Gambit, still stored in the basement.Not ever enough hours in a day! I do need to order tires, I have a new seat and post. I will post back when i get her done. It seems that some of my images on certain posts have vanished, do not know what the deal is on that.
There are two kinds of people in the world, "Those who help themselves to people, and those who help people!"
  Reply
#10
(07-18-2020, 03:28 PM)Painkiller Wrote:  No new progress on the Gambit, still stored in the basement.Not ever enough hours in a day! I do need to order tires, I have a new seat and post. I will post back when i get her done. It seems that some of my images on certain posts have vanished, do not know what the deal is on that.

I recently had my gambit stolen and have been desperately trying to get it replaced. This looks like the exact same size. Are you willing to sell the bike as is? I've ordered a couple of Terry Symmetry bikes on ebay and they have been a little too big. I'm almost 4'9 and it's been a struggle finding a new bike. I would love to buy this bike from you if possible. Thank you so much!
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#11
(09-26-2020, 06:16 PM)HBLadd Wrote:  
(07-18-2020, 03:28 PM)Painkiller Wrote:  No new progress on the Gambit, still stored in the basement.Not ever enough hours in a day! I do need to order tires, I have a new seat and post. I will post back when i get her done. It seems that some of my images on certain posts have vanished, do not know what the deal is on that.

I recently had my gambit stolen and have been desperately trying to get it replaced. This looks like the exact same size. Are you willing to sell the bike as is? I've ordered a couple of Terry Symmetry bikes on ebay and they have been a little too big. I'm almost 4'9 and it's been a struggle finding a new bike. I would love to buy this bike from you if possible. Thank you so much!
How can I say no? Sounds like you are going to have another Terry in the stable!
There are two kinds of people in the world, "Those who help themselves to people, and those who help people!"
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#12
@Painkiller @HBLadd
did you strike a deal? Smile
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#13
Yes I did, She was the perfect person for the bicycle. I never was in a hurry to refurb it and knowing when it was complete it would be hard to find the right person for the bike. Since she found me I knew it was the right time. I saved her money and she saved me time and money and I needed to thin the herd. Win win as they say. I liked her style, she knows what she wants and will do anything she can to get it. I cannot wait to see where it goes from here. So this probably concludes my part in the saving of the Georgena Terry Gambit.
There are two kinds of people in the world, "Those who help themselves to people, and those who help people!"
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#14
that's so nice!!
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#15
(10-10-2020, 09:29 AM)Painkiller Wrote:  Yes I did, She was the perfect person for the bicycle. I never was in a hurry to refurb it and knowing when it was complete it would be hard to find the right person for the bike. Since she found me I knew it was the right time. I saved her money and she saved me time and money and I needed to thin the herd. Win win as they say. I liked her style, she knows what she wants and will do anything she can to get it. I cannot wait to see where it goes from here. So this probably concludes my part in the saving of the Georgena Terry Gambit.

Cool beans! I think people wonder why I give away, or sell bikes at a fairly low price: they haven't seen my garage and storage! I need the room also (to fill with other bikes)! Glad that bike found the right rider! I always look for the older Terrys for the front wheels to put on my "lo-pro" frames, old junior race frames, or just to "weird-out" a regular race frame into a kind of modified track/TT/road with single front ring and 5-6 spd wide ratio rear, single brake on rear only (no need to worry about front caliper reach, and lighter total weight w/o front brake, front derailleur, and small ring).
Take care,
Jesper

"I am become Death, the destroyer of bicycles." NJS
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