Classic 'different' frames.

[simongt]

Whilst out this week, I had a chat with a man who was riding a 1970 Curly Hetchins bike. Envy, envy - !
It did set me thinking that the bikes that I, given the availability and cash, would have like to have owned are the ones with 'odd' frames; the curly Hetchins, Paris Galibier, Bates VS37, Thanet Silverlight and so on.
Whilst popular history tell us that these bikes were built by pioneering framebuilders who were experimenting with new ideas for stiffness, responsiveness etc., I had been told by a reliable source that it was as much to do with the ban on advertising at the time in that the makers name had to be discreet. So make a frame of unmistakeable shape and it 's instantly recognised on the race route - !
Interesting thought - !

 

[Juan Kog]

Flying Gate for me. 🤔 Maybe if Ernie is exceptionally kind to me, it’s not to late.

 

[southcoast]

I Prefer vintage bikes with short rear stays, less flex, weight and more responsive.
Always best to try before you buy.

 

[Cycleops]

As with many things I suspect that the actual experience is not up to hype.

 

[Smokin Joe]

I always fancied one of these, the kirk precision -

Unfortunately let down by being made of magnesium as carbon fibre hadn't really arrived back then, it was used for a season or two by the French TVR team.

 

[midlife]

MKM Ultimate was a bit different

 

[TheDoctor]

I've ridden the mtb Kirk and it was awful.
It felt frighteningly flexible, and I've ridden a Wobblebike, which has an actual pivot in the frame...

 

[Sharky]

My dad had a Saxon, with a split seat tube, to give a very short wheel base.

 

[Specialeyes]

I've pottered about with many interesting frames over the years...

Kirk Precision - definitely not all it's cracked (no pun intended) to be as well as being heavy and flexy. I put L-shaped cranks and some other 1980s disastrously bad/pseudo-scientific kit on mine as a sort of tribute to all that was odd about the 1980s.

Curly Hetchins - they are all they're cracked up to be - I lent one to a friend at l'Eroica and he was also blown away by the ride (and the ride).

Saxon Twin Tube (pre-Claud Butler, with the short seat tube and long twin tubes) - properly lively from the short wheelbase and great fun to ride - just impossible to fit a front derailleur to.

Bates BAR with Cantiflex tubing / Diadrant forks - another great bike, but not quite in the same league as the Hetchins. (If I had the money and the spare parts I'd put a Diadrant Bates fork on a curly Hetchins frame for liveliness at both ends)

Colnago Carbitubo - a more modern, distinctive frame and a really pretty bike. Tony Rominger's favourite bike of all time. You can only 'spot the difference' from certain angles, but by the mid 90s Colnagos had so many logos and such a distinctive colour scheme generally, that it wasn't the frame's shape advertising who the maker was!



Out of that lot the keepers have been the Curlies and the Carbitubo.

Not tried a Pedersen yet - always on the lookout!

 

[simongt]

Flying Gate for me. 🤔

Saw a new Flying Gate frame at the York rally several years back. Way out of my price league then, but the artistry of the lugwork was a joy to behold - !

 

[Smokin Joe]

Saw a new Flying Gate frame at the York rally several years back. Way out of my price league then, but the artistry of the lugwork was a joy to behold - !

I always think fancy lug work is a pile of ugly bollocks that adds nothing to a frame. Give me these any day -

 

[Hover Fly]

I always think fancy lug work is a pile of ugly bollocks that adds nothing to a frame. Give me these any day -

View attachment 614842

”Like something off a fairground” is how my father described bikes with fancy lugwork and over elaborate paint. They don’t fit in with the simplicity of a bike, apart from the technical matters of stress risers, making brazing difficult etc.

 

[sittingbull]

My dad had a Saxon, with a split seat tube, to give a very short wheel base.

One like this?

 

[Sharky]

One like this?

It was this one (have posted before on another thread). It was in 1954, so could be similar to your example.

 

[GuyBoden]

The first Safety cycles (1800's) were unusually curvy too:

I think that the new Lotus track cycle would fit into the unusual category, maybe a future classic.