Accles & Pollock Kromo S.A.Q.

[simongt]

Whilst pondering my 'The Complete Cyclist'' by R.J.Way ( publ. 1951 ), I came across the reference to the above tubing which Way compared equally with Reynolds 531. I've never heard of it before, but Dr. Google tells us that the A & P Kromo tubing was air hardened as opposed to the 531 which was manganese based and tended to weaken when brazed.
The Kromo was used by Rattrays for their Flying Scot model and by Thanet for their Silverlight.
anyone had experience of bikes built with the A & P Kromo SAQ - ?

 

[tyred]

I've ridden a few belonging to friends and I suspect my Elswick sports roadster may be made from it (or something else a few steps up from a typical roadster frame). It would have been the tubing of choice in the 1930s for lightweights I think; before Reynolds 531 started to become more popular.

Bikes made from A&P ride very nicely in my experience. Whether or not it's better than 531 I cannot say and such a thing is subjective anyway. If you do have an old bike with A&P tubing, you know it was a pretty high-end machine in it's time and it will be smooth and responsive.

 

[Hover Fly]

My father who had a Hobbs A&P in the 50s followed by a Gillott 531 in the 60s swore he’d couldn’t tell the difference. Even in those days there was ‘531’ and ‘531’ (Slightly thinner in the tube centre) for certain frame builders long before there was a transfer for special lightweight or Proffesional.