British Bikes

[srw]

Brompton....

 

[Pale Rider]

...Mercian...

Last one of those I saw was a newish one that fell apart on London Edinburgh London.

Crossbar parted company with the headtube, if I recall correctly.

Dreadfully poor welding by somebody.

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

Brompton....

Well made bikes, with a clever fold but I could never bring myself to having one of them.

 

[shouldbeinbed]

Quite right. Horrid things.

I thought that and they were all hipster hype until necessity made the choice for me. Even a very much standard one such as mine is surprisingly not horrid.

 

[Richard Craddock]

I notice Craddock says "made to measure in England". But manufactured in England?

Hi Cycleops. Yes I manufacture all my frames at my workshop in England.
Thanks

 

[Richard Craddock]

In my opinion.

Spesh make some of the most advanced carbon bikes.

Why buy something else that is made of a material that is best designed in a lab ?

Buy British is a custom Ti or steel bike.

Hi fossyant. Spesh don't actually 'make' any carbon bikes. It's all outsourced. What do you imagine they have in their lab?
The next frame on my build list is for a former spesh rider. Welcome aboard!
Thanks

 

[Cycleops]

Hi Cycleops. Yes I manufacture all my frames at my workshop in England.
Thanks

That's good to know. Perhaps you could post a few pics of your work. Many on here will be interested I am sure. You will not be able to post them directly because you are a new member so best to use a link.

 

[Richard Craddock]

That's good to know. Perhaps you could post a few pics of your work. Many on here will be interested I am sure. You will not be able to post them directly because you are a new member so best to use a link.

Great, have a look at these:
http://www.bespoked.cc/framebuilderofth.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/craddockcycles/
Cheers!

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

Richard can you advise of your composite background and if you buy preformed tubes or everything is made from sheet.
It looks as if you vacumn bag the frames, would this be correct?

 

[Fab Foodie]

Woah .... A voice of knowledge from the real world ..... Welcome Mr Craddock!

 

[biggs682]

welcome aboard @Richard Craddock please show us some of your craftmanship

 

[Richard Craddock]

welcome aboard @Richard Craddock please show us some of your craftmanship

Hi biggs682. Happy to oblige. Please take a look at my flickr site for some process shots http://www.flickr.com/photos/craddockcycles/

 

[Pale Rider]

welcome aboard @Richard Craddock please show us some of your craftmanship

Yes, please do.

Having a nice shiny trumpet is no good unless you give it a blow occasionally.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Yes, please do.

Having a nice shiny trumpet is no good unless you give it a blow occasionally.

Cue Fnaar ....

 

[Richard Craddock]

Richard can you advise of your composite background and if you buy preformed tubes or everything is made from sheet.
It looks as if you vacumn bag the frames, would this be correct?

Sounds like a job interview. Well, I've worked for several brands and manufacturers in the bike world over the years.
I have my tubes made to my specification by a UK company that makes for F1, aerospace and marine. I give them fibre type, areal weight, resin type, number of layers. sequence and direction of each lamina, plus diameter. They make the tubes exactly as I want them.
Then I cut the tubes, put them in a fixture, and wrap the joints with pre-preg (this is stored in a freezer). Cure takes place in a vacuum bag in a very precise oven in my workshop.