Bike fanatic builds up Raleigh fine collection

The 61-year-old grandfather’s love affair with two-wheeled transport began as a boy and five decades later he has amassed an incredible collection of two wheeled transport dating back to 1868.

Until a few years ago, more than 40 of them adorned the walls of Skopos Motor Museum in Batley but it closed and they are now in deep storage.

A number of his collection are still kept at his Leeds home but they have been taken apart and are only reassembled when required.

Mr Reed said: “It’s something that takes time to do but for me it’s about the only way we can accommodate them. It would be nice to find a semi-permanent place for them to be – it worked well at the last place.”

He got his first bike – a Raleigh Explorer – when he was 12 and still has it. At 14 he acquired a 1926 Rudge-Whitworth woman’s bike that had belonged to his aunt.

He said: “There’s plenty of social history that goes with the bicycle. It’s such a simple invention and basically the design hasn’t changed since the 1880s.”

His vast array of cycles includes an 1886 High Wheeler – better known as the Penny Farthing – once the fastest thing on Victorian roads.

The seat on the High Wheeler is around 56 in (142cm) above the ground. Graham said: “You fall off once and don’t want to fall off a second time.”

Wife Jackie is also a collector, with a stash of 600 items of old clothing, from crinolines to corsets, along with about 12 antique prams.