The Recession, when more Bicycles were sold than Cars....!

[sinnerman]

Re:

A nice little story, that I wasn't aware of until this build.

The Grandson of the Owner of Saracen Cycles bitd, was so inspired by the Crane Brothers achieving the enormous feet of scaling Mount Kilimanjaro on there Saracen Mountain bikes as a young boy, he grew up determined and inspired by them, hes travelled and designed, the upshot was the Birth of "Stanforth" Bikes. All of which are handbuilt by Lee Cooper.

 

[sinnerman]

Alex Hatfield Designs, also commissioned Lee Cooper to fabricate designs for him, achieving accolades like Winner of Best Utility bike of the Show, "Bespoke" Bristol.

 

[KermitGKona88]

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In all honesty I can see why you admire this man so much he has created many many really beautiful frames

 

[sinnerman]

Re: Re:

In all honesty I can see why you admire this man so much he has created many many really beautiful frames

In truth, I cant honestly tell you why I kept the Sirius Frame, in the late 90s, I hit a big bump in the road, and things being as they were I nearly gave it away, or let it go for £25 quid. I cant tell you why I didn't, I think because it was fillet brazed and unused, and came from a guy that simply never got around to building it himself before closing the shop and retiring made me think twice. It didn't really owe me anything given it came as part of a package of stock being disposed off because of the shops closure, and I was always a sucker for a nice steel frame.

My regret was I never rang him at the time and had a conversation about it. The market being what it was in the Late 90s, the concentration was on Full suspension, Downhill Racing etc. What a fool I was.

But Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and when I started asking around, getting to the bottom of it, made it all worth while.

What I like about Lee Cooper, apart form his obvious talent, he's a really nice guy, down to earth, helpful and passionate, and against all the odds, he's still doing it.

 

[KermitGKona88]

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I know there are many people out there that don't understand why we save these 'old relics' but they are engineered works of art, and need saving. So that when all the carbon terrors have snapped or cracked, we can sit laughing and still ride our outdated steel bikes. I for one am glad you didn't get rid of it and have created something truly magnificent.

 

[sinnerman]

Re: Re:

I know there are many people out there that don't understand why we save these 'old relics' but they are engineered works of art, and need saving. So that when all the carbon terrors have snapped or cracked, we can sit laughing and still ride our outdated steel bikes. I for one am glad you didn't get rid of it and have created something truly magnificent.

Cheers but i had little to do with it, other than assemble it in the end...

It did tickle me posting the picture of the retired Master Jedi, holding his Lee Cooper on the previous page though.

 

[KermitGKona88]

Re: Re:

I know there are many people out there that don't understand why we save these 'old relics' but they are engineered works of art, and need saving. So that when all the carbon terrors have snapped or cracked, we can sit laughing and still ride our outdated steel bikes. I for one am glad you didn't get rid of it and have created something truly magnificent.

Cheers but i had little to do with it, other than assemble it in the end...

It did tickle me posting the picture of the retired Master Jedi, holding his Lee Cooper on the previous page though.

I hadn't even realized who that was until now

 

[sinnerman]

Re: Re:

I know there are many people out there that don't understand why we save these 'old relics' but they are engineered works of art, and need saving. So that when all the carbon terrors have snapped or cracked, we can sit laughing and still ride our outdated steel bikes. I for one am glad you didn't get rid of it and have created something truly magnificent.

Cheers but i had little to do with it, other than assemble it in the end...

It did tickle me posting the picture of the retired Master Jedi, holding his Lee Cooper on the previous page though.

I hadn't even realized who that was until now

Its my fault, ive always been a bit of a Star Wars Fan....

 

[KermitGKona88]

Re: Re:

I know there are many people out there that don't understand why we save these 'old relics' but they are engineered works of art, and need saving. So that when all the carbon terrors have snapped or cracked, we can sit laughing and still ride our outdated steel bikes. I for one am glad you didn't get rid of it and have created something truly magnificent.

Cheers but i had little to do with it, other than assemble it in the end...

It did tickle me posting the picture of the retired Master Jedi, holding his Lee Cooper on the previous page though.

No worries I love Star Wars too, I even found a poster of the man himself in my shed the other day as Obi Wan

 

[sinnerman]

Re: Re:

I know there are many people out there that don't understand why we save these 'old relics' but they are engineered works of art, and need saving. So that when all the carbon terrors have snapped or cracked, we can sit laughing and still ride our outdated steel bikes. I for one am glad you didn't get rid of it and have created something truly magnificent.

Cheers but i had little to do with it, other than assemble it in the end...

It did tickle me posting the picture of the retired Master Jedi, holding his Lee Cooper on the previous page though.

No worries I love Star Wars too, I even found a poster of the man himself in my shed the other day as Obi Wan

May the Force be with you...!