Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

Trandem bicycle from hit TV show The Goodies up for auction

Third version of three-seater used in final series will go under the hammer next month

A three-seat ‘trandem’ bicycle used in the final series of the TV show The Goodies is to go under the hammer at auction next month.

The blue bike was used in the final series of the show starring Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie, which appeared on ITV in 1982.

The trio’s hit TV series originally appeared on BBC2 for a decade, first airing in 1970, but it was axed in 1980 due to the broadcaster’s light entertainment budget for that year being swallowed up by The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

The trandem that will be featured at an Entertainment & Memorabilia sale held on 4 October at Eubank’s Auctions is the third version of the bicycle that appeared in the show and is expected to go for between £1,000 and £1,500.

Known as the LWT Trandem – the final series of the show was produced by London Weekend Television – it has been auctioned before, both in sale rooms and online.

It was originally made for a 1980 TV commercial for the Kleenex Super 3 range featuring The Goodies and then used in the TV series.

Bought by a private collector at auction at Sotheby’s in 1987, it was sold on eBay in 2003 and again the following year, when it was purchased by a three-member comedy troupe, The Trap.

The bike, now painted red, was loaned to ITV chat show Richard & Judy when The Goodies appeared on it in 2005 and again in a BBC2 Return of the Goodies one-off show aired in December that year.

According to The Goodies Illustrated Guide website, Dan Marsh, a member of The Trap, said:: “We insisted that [the production company] use a removable paint and that it be returned to us in its original state which indeed it was. It is now back to tip-top condition (after we bought it, it needed a fair bit of work to make it roadworthy)."

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

Add new comment

12 comments

Avatar
Nick Gough | 6 years ago
0 likes

I know the Goodies called it the Trandem but shouldn't we be calling it a triplet, as at http://www.triplethire.com?

Avatar
ClubSmed replied to Nick Gough | 6 years ago
0 likes

Nick Gough wrote:

I know the Goodies called it the Trandem but shouldn't we be calling it a triplet, as at http://www.triplethire.com?

As the original one that the Goodies had was actually a Tandem with an extra seat welded on to it (only two sets of pedels) I assume that the following bicycles (that were actually triplets) were just refered to a tandems for continuity/ease purposes.

Avatar
iandusud | 6 years ago
1 like

I believe that tandem was built by Tom Quick of TJQ Cycles in Forest Hill. I knew Tom quite well as he used to frame repairs and resprays for me when I had a bike shop nearby. 

Avatar
hawkinspeter | 6 years ago
1 like

Just found the Trandem ID guide:

http://goodies.getlivesite.com/trandem_ID_guide

Avatar
BehindTheBikesheds replied to hawkinspeter | 6 years ago
0 likes

hawkinspeter wrote:

Just found the Trandem ID guide:

http://goodies.getlivesite.com/trandem_ID_guide

There seems to be no info regarding the 2nd bike, I wonder if it was destroyed like so much BBC stuff was BITD?

Avatar
FluffyKittenofT... replied to BehindTheBikesheds | 6 years ago
0 likes

BehindTheBikesheds wrote:

hawkinspeter wrote:

Just found the Trandem ID guide:

http://goodies.getlivesite.com/trandem_ID_guide

There seems to be no info regarding the 2nd bike, I wonder if it was destroyed like so much BBC stuff was BITD?

 

Well, it does say:

Several years after The Goodies finished production at the BBC the trandem was sold in a BBC props auction to Rory Spowers' brother. Rory and several friends decided to ride it across Africa to raise money for charity

 

So presumably either they still have it, or maybe they left it somewhere in Africa?

Avatar
don simon fbpe | 6 years ago
2 likes

Got to love the pre-Health & safety welding a seat on to the back of a tandem, out of the box, blue sky thinking that allowed that contraption to ever see the light of day.

Bill Oddie didn't die, kids.

Avatar
Yorkshire wallet | 6 years ago
0 likes

God knows what a 'trandem' could also possibly be in todays diverse society.

Avatar
BehindTheBikesheds | 6 years ago
3 likes

The original trandem was a shocker, it placed Bill Oddie over the back of the rear wheel and was dangerous a furk, the second one pictured above was the best with the lovely curved top tubes.

Think it'll go for more than the £1500 but good luck to whoever gets it, I'll be well jelous as a massive 'goodie' fan.

Avatar
hawkinspeter replied to BehindTheBikesheds | 6 years ago
3 likes

BehindTheBikesheds wrote:

The original trandem was a shocker, it placed Bill Oddie over the back of the rear wheel and was dangerous a furk, the second one pictured above was the best with the lovely curved top tubes.

Think it'll go for more than the £1500 but good luck to whoever gets it, I'll be well jelous as a massive 'goodie' fan.

Looks to me like Bill doesn't even have a set of pedals for that version.

Here's another pic of them, just because.

 

Avatar
hawkinspeter | 6 years ago
4 likes
Avatar
don simon fbpe | 6 years ago
2 likes

Goody, goody, yum yum!

Latest Comments