Happy to help...I'm in Leek, N. Staffordshire 
As others have said, I do a lot of repairs and reproductions for retro riders/collectors in both steel and aluminium (and occasional Ti). It's not my main business, so other properly paid work often gets in the way, but I try to keep you lot serviced.
Pretty straightforward putting a 'towel rail' into the Kona. Main thing is to avoid distortion of the seat tube (Use heat expanding heat sink) and to consider the butt at the front. It can be TIG welded to match the rest of the frame, or fillet brazed.
Reynolds, Columbus or Dedaccial tubing would all suit. No particular structural or metallurgical reason to use 853 there, it's all compatible steel and capable of doing the job, but I can of course oblige if you want to keep it all the same alloy.
There's actually no such thing as a 'Registered Reynolds Builder'
...
Like all bike tubing companies, they (or their agents) will happily sell their products to anybody who wants to buy it...even tube alloys that are very picky and a pig to work with such as the currently discontinued 953.
There are a few of us older builders around who do have the Reynolds 753 Master Framebuilder certificate from the 80s and early 90s, which was the closest that any tube manufacturer came to a test of competence for customers. Even then, I don't know of anyone failing the test, or Reynolds ever refusing to sell 753 to builders who hadn't passed the test. It was mainly a very good marketing idea for both Reynolds and the builders.
All the best,
As others have said, I do a lot of repairs and reproductions for retro riders/collectors in both steel and aluminium (and occasional Ti). It's not my main business, so other properly paid work often gets in the way, but I try to keep you lot serviced.
Pretty straightforward putting a 'towel rail' into the Kona. Main thing is to avoid distortion of the seat tube (Use heat expanding heat sink) and to consider the butt at the front. It can be TIG welded to match the rest of the frame, or fillet brazed.
Reynolds, Columbus or Dedaccial tubing would all suit. No particular structural or metallurgical reason to use 853 there, it's all compatible steel and capable of doing the job, but I can of course oblige if you want to keep it all the same alloy.
There's actually no such thing as a 'Registered Reynolds Builder'
...Like all bike tubing companies, they (or their agents) will happily sell their products to anybody who wants to buy it...even tube alloys that are very picky and a pig to work with such as the currently discontinued 953.
There are a few of us older builders around who do have the Reynolds 753 Master Framebuilder certificate from the 80s and early 90s, which was the closest that any tube manufacturer came to a test of competence for customers. Even then, I don't know of anyone failing the test, or Reynolds ever refusing to sell 753 to builders who hadn't passed the test. It was mainly a very good marketing idea for both Reynolds and the builders.
All the best,
, and then putting it all away again.
