Batch prepping 5 Cape Wrath frames

[legrandefromage]

well according to the great well known fact site of 'its written in wikipedia so it must be true' it says 1995 which would seem about right

British brands just werent sexy enough, Saracen made a good effort and Orange made it all the way through and Pace to a limited extent.

But they werent encumbered by a the 'traditional' tag, decades of old road bikes and 'old' men in tweed and oily 3 speeds

Claud Butler did well for what they were but Falcon, Emmelle and Townsend names on the downtube always had a strong whiff of low quality by the late 1980's into the early 90's

 

[was8v]

..... yet the brands that actually got people interested in riding.... get derided and kicked to one side.

Yes absolutely, my dad got me an Al Carter Professional circa '91 that got me hooked. Yes these were by Townsend and made in the same factory as Gary Fishers (some very similar detailing) but made out of lead seemingly.

Except Al Carter, Al Carter can just go away,

Oh.

 

[Peachy!]

I don’t know owt about the Townsend/Carter stuff, but certainly the Clauds were built at Falcons factory in Brigg from late ‘87 till end of ‘96... I think from ‘97 it was “packed in England” rather than Made...

Didn’t Longun mention something about knowing a dude from the Brigg graphic dept back in these days? He certainly would have been busy with a new role out each year!

 

[The History Man]

Tell them the (hi)story.

About my GP?

Ok... so, my GrandPa William Hobbs was either a nephew or I think maybe a 2nd cousin to Albert & Joe Hobbs of “Hobbs of Barbican” https://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/c ... -barbican/ & like many of the extended family he worked there as an apprentice. Being family and “learning” a trade he worked for next to nothing and walked the seven miles to the Barbican from Tottenham each day. That was until he was given a nearly brand new Claud Butler frame from his father in law. William built that frame up as a single speed from 2nd hand parts begged and borrowed or repaired and proudly rode that bike to work. That was until he was caught talking to some waiting customers about his Claud by Albert who promptly sacked him! (Ha had a hatred for Claud Butler who was a considered a bit of a show off and also “borrowed” other people’s ideas such as Bi-laminated lugs).
William then joined the army as a mechanic in the Tank Corps but unfortunately sometime in 1938 got killed by a reversing tank!
My Dad never forgave Albert and he declared a Hobbs of Barbican would never be owned by us ever again.. from that day onwards it would always be Clauds

That’s a reason good enough to satisfy any curiosity.

 

[Peachy!]

Right then, so the graphic production inc P&P from Gil worked out at an average of £20 each, so the final butchers bill for each frame = £62 a saving of £38 from my estimated £100.

All five have been used to catalogue various detail differences on my “Cape Wrath Timeline” thread viewtopic.php?f=6&t=411385
and now are are all wrapped up nice and snug in the loft ready for a rainy build day...

 

[legrandefromage]

flat bar gravel e-bikes?

 

[Peachy!]

flat bar gravel e-bikes?

You looney... :facepalm:

 

[The History Man]

I know where there’s a bit of extra brake cable if you need to hold them together.