Richard Ballantine RIP

Richard Ballantine gave much enthusiastic encouragement to the Bristol pressure group Cyclebag that started on 7 7 77. We met and ate together in 1978 at Cranks in Soho London. Cyclebag became Sustrans. Thank you, Richard.

George Platts (Cyclebag / Sustrans) Bristol UK.

I would have loved to engage with him. Particularly on 'assertive' cycling. Is it wise to be assertive just by using your frail unprotected body against large heavy essential machines on the move & operated by complete strangers of widely varying ability & mental processes? A reliance on law & rights alone? 'Fine' says St Peter as you pass his Pearly Gates, 'come in you're welcome you were in the right' or possibly as you and your family cope with your paraplegic state. Does applying your rights or jailing drivers make you and your family feel so much better?

A cyclist's hero I'm sorry I didn't know him. R.I.P.

Yes, the combination of manual and manifesto in Richard's Bicycle Book was unusual and original. The cover pic of the first paperback edition, of him spannering an Evans 531 bike, was mighty influential -- 'iconic' I think people say now. One disagreed profoundly with his opinions on gearing, but found the advice on maintenance invaluable. The grubby pages of my first edition testify to this. Examples were specific to the period -- how could they have been otherwise? -- but were the texts that founded a lifetime of bike building. I recorded all of last century's bike builds on the flyleaf and remember each one. The greatest surprise of all was when I collected my new Condor Pendio from the store, then on the east side of Gray's Inn Road, in June 1991. Richard was there, and swooped down to examine the bike and endorse Monty Young's opinion that it was "quite a nice little bike". I still have that bike, tho it is much changed now, and no longer first choice. Richard Ballantine -- thank you.

Have the book still. Along with Sheldon Brown in the US Richard did so much to celebrate and market cycling - and beards. Both very fashionable again.

Thanks Richard.

I always thought he was an American?

I have lost touch with Richard and often wonder what had happened to him. I have several editions of Richard's Bicycle Book which illuminated cycling to many in the dark ages of thirty or so years ago.

I recall in the early 1980's challenging Richard about his advice on frame sizes which I argued produced too large a frame for the rider. His response was to invite me to write an article for Bicycle which he then owned and edited. He published the full article with no editing and paid me the NUJ rate. A real gentleman.

Incidentally.time has proven me right with today's riders using very small frames indeed.

RIP Richard, greatly missed. If it wasn't for him I wouldn't know how to adjust my brakes without help. (I also wouldn't know how to kill a dog...)

A true cycling classic ...happy memories of stripping down and rebuilding my Freddie Grubb. In later editions I think the popular 'Dog' section had to be cut open to avoid offending more sensitive souls but essential reading for a teenage boy! RIP Richard!

RIP. I've never read the book, so for pity's sake will someone tell me what it is he wrote about damn dogs?! These comments are driving me nuts!

Richard taught me everything I know with his wonderful Bike Book. RIP

I can't overemphasize the influence his book had on my life; reading it as a teenager it really did help me to understand and grow to love cycling, all cycling. The book (he wrote others but it's The Book), greasy and dogeared is still somewhere in the garage with my tools. He taught me basic bike mechanics, riding technique that nearly killed me, and yes, how to kill a dog .

RIP

Lovely to see the impact RBB had on so many others, his conviction and enthusiasm helped make cycling my hobby for the first twenty years after reading it and my career for the last.

For me the single most important book I've read in shaping me and far and away the most read of all the books on my shelves.

Thank you Richard, RIP

Everyone remembers the bit about dealing with dogs.

Top man who did an incredible service to cycling.

I'm going to go and re-read that section now.

I remember debating helmets with him at the London Cycling Campaign thirty years ago!

But now is not the time to bring up differences.

He was keen on what we now call assertive cycling or vehicular cycling, and what he called "traffic jamming", although later referred to segregated cycle tracks in Stevenage and in other countries. I also worked for him on Bicycle Buyers Bible.I used to bump into him around Regents Park (he lived just off Primrose Hill).

The bottom line is that he helped LOADS of people to ride bikes.

RIP Richard, see you up the road,

Robert Davis

Like many others, my bicycle tinkering was fuelled and enabled by a copy of the bicycle book. I remember trying to apply the exploded diagrams of bike parts that probably hadn't changed since the 1950s to my new fangled BMX with mixed results.

RIP

Very sad news, got my copy in 1985 & still have it. inspirational book!
RIP

A real shame.

His name evokes early cycling memories of my dad quoting him while doing various bike maintainence.

How very sad.

I've still got and refer to my copy of Richard's Bicycle Book. It was this which really got me interested in cycle mechanics in the 80s and ultimately to a degree in Mechanical Engineering.

I always coveted that green Evans tourer on the cover of RBB too.

RIP Richard.

This is sad news. Richard's bicycle book got me into serious Cycling in the 70s. Despite being a dog lover myself.

I met him at a Bristol Bike Show in, I think, 1981 when I had a stand there (with partners, bike shop). We discussed the Bob Jackson mountain bike I had on display, whether mountain bikes would take off (ha ha), and how suitable cantilever brakes would be on all types of bike. He was incredibly knowledgeable, and very critical of anything anti-cycling. I got the impression he did not suffer fools gladly.

A huge influence in cycling. He'll be remembered by many for the rest of their lives.

i appropriated my father's copy of Richard's Bicycle Book when i was a teenager getting involved with bicycles and read it from cover to cover several times, there are still sentences that stick in my brain about ankling and cadence

from there it became grubbier and grubbier as it was used as a resource for my early spannerings of home mechanicing, i still remember that strange mix of fear and then pride when heading out to test my first attempt at brake fettling

the book is still up there on the shelf

thank you Richard

Very sad to hear this. He was the man who made me realise that you could turn cycling passion into a lifestyle and a career. He was one of the people who got me writing about bikes with Bicycle Action magazine, at the time owned by Muddy Fox. I read his original book cover to cover several times. He was a true inspiration. Still is.

I still remember how matter of fact he was about dealing with a dog...

Not had to shove my arm down a dog's throat yet thankfully.

Inspiring read back in the '70's

Remember having some of his books from the library in my school days when trying to fix my bike.

Sad news.

Such sad news.

I recall getting a copy of Richard's Bicycle Book as a kid in the 80's and that really got me into cycling.

It is a cracking read - I've still got it. You are right, you can really feel his enthusiasm for bikes as you readthe book. It's full of ideas and many as you rightly point out were ahead of thier time.

He did however, have a strange obsession with Stevanage