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Re: Now you might think that sticking two bits of steerer tube together might be a bit of a risky undertaking, but it's perfectly feasible if you do the job properly. Many years ago I designed and built a competition car, welding up the chassis and suspension myself. That didn't break, so I...

Re: The revitalised Concorde Aquila rode pretty darned well, reminding me of my Ciocc Designer 84 that I once owned some years ago, and always regretted selling. No surprises about the similarity as they are effectively the same frame. But something had to be done about the gappy front end...

Re: I was fairly pleased with the way it came out, so looked out for some bits and pieces to hang off it. With plenty of period-correct machines in my little collection, I decided that this one would be built up with more modern stuff, and in particular with gears that actually work properly...

Re: The frame lay around for many months, but one day I came across a pair of Woodrup front forks that looked as if they might fit. Well, sort of. And that was the catalyst to get myself motivated andto bring this project to life. So I got sanding and painting, and this is how it came out:

It all began when I came across a rather sad-looking Concorde Aquila frame at a cycle jumble at Ripley last year. It looked like it had seen a lot of life and come away from it second best, judging from the sorry state it was in. It had lost its forks (they went to the chromers and never came...

I changed the bearing cups on a 1970s Record hub without using special tools. It was a good few years back so can't recall exactly what I used, but I believe I simply used a length of brass or steel rod as a drift, put it in place down the centre of the hub, and whacked it carefully all around...

Re: Litespeed Atlas F&F - 58cm C-T Lovely frameset, but a tad too small for me, so I've has to pass on this one. A bargain for whoever buys it though!

Re: Litespeed Atlas F&F - 58cm C-T Very tempted. PM sent...

Just clean up the hole in the chainstay and get someone with the knowhow to braze (or better still, silver solder) a neat little patch over it, then clean up the edges and cover with primer. That will put back the strength, and as it's on the inside, it won't even be visible. But first, I...

Re: 1980's vintage Concorde Columbus chrome fork Interested in these for my Concord Aquila, which somehow lost its forks when they went for rechroming. But would have to get the steerer cut and extended to fit my frame. PM sent.

This may be a one-off fault but my brother has an Orbit Gold Medal that he bought new in the late '80s, but it has recently had to be scrapped due to a complete fracture of the down tube. A metallurgy specialist that we know (oxford University materials technology dept) suspected too high...

Ah, I thought EUUT would be similar to Tru-wel. TI added its name to the Reynolds branding in the 70s, but Tube Investments owned Reynolds long before that. Since 1928 in fact. Tube Investments came about as a merger between Accles and Pollock and two other seamless tube manufacturers in 1919...

Well, it looks like it must be 1961 (thanks Terry and Mike). Just shone a torch down the seat tube and had a feel around the bottom bracket (ooh err missus!) and it would seem to be seamless tubing, and quite 'pingy', so quite likely plain gauge 531. Tru-wel is ERW (seamed) and EUUT is likely...

Thanks for the advice. Much appreciated. An interim early 60s model does seem very plausible. You would have thought it would bid easy to research a fairly major marque like Sun, and yet there is very little info available. Even the V-CC library only has a 1958 and 1967 catalogue, but nothing...

Early '60s would seem to fit, and Carlton certainly used similar Nervex lugs in that era. Head badge is Sun Birmingham. I did a bit of searching for similar Sun frames on the internet and came across one with the same head lugs and bearing the name Crespera on the top tube, although the owner...

Re: Here are some pictures. The lug design I would associate with the early 60s, but may well have been in use well before that. Having stripped off the paint, it looks to be a fairly well built frame, heavier tubes than double butted but certainly not gas pipe. I got this as a job lot with...

Re: Sun frame numbers. That list is really useful. Thanks. I think the centre letter is the one I need for the date, which makes it 1952/3. The lugs are actually Nervex Legere mod48, a type commonly used by lightweight makers for low and mid-priced models.

I have an old Sun frameset and would like to know the age and possibly the model, if anyone can help. The frame number is on the left side rear dropout and is BTV4807. The B is a smaller size than the TV. It looks 1950s or maybe 1960s, it bears a head badge with Sun Birmingham, and the lugs...

Re: Nervex Pro lugs (they're not Nervex Legere) and double fluted seat stay caps show it's a decent quality frame but these features were common to dozens of different marques in the 1950s and early 60s, and carried on right into the 80s on some frames. See my piece on Nervex lugs on the...

It's probably a Holdsworth-built Claud Butler from the mid-60s to early 70s with later braze-ons for the brake cables. Perhaps an Olympic Road frame, which appears to have these lugs. Other CB models may also have a similar lug style but the pictures in the catalogues are too indistinct to say...