For over sixty years, David Rattray & Co. of Glasgow produced what was to many, the last word in bicycles.

Using my own machines and the photo's and memories of past and present owners, I hope to show just what made these bikes so special to many cyclists in Scotland and beyond and perhaps best summed up in this short passage courtesy of Archie Thomson ;

"I have fond memories of Rattrays at Murray Street in the 50's and 60's. It was the most complete bike shop you could ever ask for. On the ground floor was the main retail area with a large counter backed by a wall of shelves and little drawers which contained every conceivable thing you could want for a bike. The brown coated staff knew all the answers, and were all keen Flying Scot riders to a man. To the side was the door to the workshop, nobody was allowed in there, forbidden territory, but occasionally a dungareed individual in a cloth cap would emerge with a sparkling completed frameset and take it upstairs to hang with dozens of others, ready for its new owner. You were allowed up there, a veritable Aladdin's cave. In those days as well as racing, they were widely used for commuting, and touring, a familiar sight in the beautiful Scottish countryside, a role now sadly consigned to the motor car....sweet dreams are made of this!