boyce autos
Dirt Disciple
Well here goes the start of a journey I guess.
I first glimpsed at the clockwork when I was a young whippet at 16, having started to race cross country I was amazed at how popular they were, not to mention the more senior riders that 'tonked' me like Dan Cooke etc all rode Oranges
However my measly weekend job meant that it was just a pipe-dream, so I bought a dynatech diablo Raleigh which did a great job over the years, eventually upgrading to a beautiful S-Works hardtail.
As great as these newer bikes are, lighter/faster/stronger etc I still hankered after one of those clockworks and now with Mrs Auto's showing an interest in cycling, what an opportunity (excuse) to get her a bike - there could only be one bike for me
Having wanted a bit of a project, I bought a complete wreck of a clockwork for the princely sum of £82 off ebay, complete with not just one seized seatpost but two! The original had corroded in and stuck fast so the 'enterprising' owner simply hacksawed the top off, leaving in the lower section, thus acting like a shim in which to use a smaller diameter post - ingenious ehh! Alas this was also corroded in, and going nowhere fast.
So time to be brutal, it was taken to a local framebuilder and with less than liberal applications of the blowtorch, both offending seatposts were removed. So I'm now left with a frame badly in need of paint. Looking at pro's and con's of powder coat vs 'wet' painting and also costs as powder coat can be easily done for £50, I opted for the later, 'wet' painting. My one and only reasoning being I wanted get a fade on the top and down tubes being advised this was tricky (impossible) with powder
Having done a little research it seemed that a few of the forum members were recommending Bob Jackson in Leeds, so having exchanged a few emails back and forwards it was duly sent up there for shotblasting, painting, decals etc
I've had this back a matter of hours so still feel like christmas has come early, I'll upload some photos once I work out how to reduce the file size..
I first glimpsed at the clockwork when I was a young whippet at 16, having started to race cross country I was amazed at how popular they were, not to mention the more senior riders that 'tonked' me like Dan Cooke etc all rode Oranges
However my measly weekend job meant that it was just a pipe-dream, so I bought a dynatech diablo Raleigh which did a great job over the years, eventually upgrading to a beautiful S-Works hardtail.
As great as these newer bikes are, lighter/faster/stronger etc I still hankered after one of those clockworks and now with Mrs Auto's showing an interest in cycling, what an opportunity (excuse) to get her a bike - there could only be one bike for me
Having wanted a bit of a project, I bought a complete wreck of a clockwork for the princely sum of £82 off ebay, complete with not just one seized seatpost but two! The original had corroded in and stuck fast so the 'enterprising' owner simply hacksawed the top off, leaving in the lower section, thus acting like a shim in which to use a smaller diameter post - ingenious ehh! Alas this was also corroded in, and going nowhere fast.
So time to be brutal, it was taken to a local framebuilder and with less than liberal applications of the blowtorch, both offending seatposts were removed. So I'm now left with a frame badly in need of paint. Looking at pro's and con's of powder coat vs 'wet' painting and also costs as powder coat can be easily done for £50, I opted for the later, 'wet' painting. My one and only reasoning being I wanted get a fade on the top and down tubes being advised this was tricky (impossible) with powder
Having done a little research it seemed that a few of the forum members were recommending Bob Jackson in Leeds, so having exchanged a few emails back and forwards it was duly sent up there for shotblasting, painting, decals etc
I've had this back a matter of hours so still feel like christmas has come early, I'll upload some photos once I work out how to reduce the file size..
Will watch with interest.
