Trust you guys, to pick a fight when I'm away from the computer.......
>
> OK, at my apartment complex is a Flying Scot and it's an absolute
> department store bike. What's the story with these? It seems like a
> strange name to licence out to POS bikes?
> enjoy,
> Brandon"monkeyman"Ives
(Brandon) Despite your rather poor quality pictures from what I can see that is not a Flying Scot. If you knew even the remotest bit about the company or chose to take the time to look at the marque, or even my Website you would be very suspicious as well. Give me the frame number (and the location of them) and some decent photographs of the lugs, frame ends, BB shell and head tube badge I'll let you know.
Now for a very brief :-) history lesson ;
At no time were Flying Scot's ever built under licence - The original company ran solely with the name until around 1983 and from this time the trade mark "The Flying Scot" was purchased by a local Cycle shop owner - who on a rare occassion has them built to order by Dave Yates at M.Steel's.
At it's peak David Rattray's (small) company produced Flying Scot frames and cycles from 1928 to about 1983 (war years excluded) at a maximum rate of 1000 units a year - one year only (though I've never seen any with a frame number above 700) and 5-600 a year seem a bit more realistic.
The companies products were so succesful (club, touring, road, track) for it's size that there was no need to (a) advertise globally or in fact in anything other than local cycling publications (b) Bother attending the annual cycling show in London. If you didn't know what a Flying Scot was (and I don't mean a "bicycle") you were certainly not a club cyclist. Quality and reputation alone sold these bikes in volumes that there small factory (the back shop) could cope with
ALL frames were made from Reynolds H.M. / 531 or K.R.O.M.O. (briefly for a few years after WWII) and ALL used quality lugs. almost every lug style available from a variety of manufacturers during the production years was offered as an option and appears on a frame somewhere - remember these were almost all custom made.
Many Flying Scot's were exported abroad, including many to the U.S and Canada - a lot of these were bought "blind" by letter - again sold on quality and reputation alone.
As Flying Scot's were never cheap, from time to time you do come across fakes - These were not fakes in that they were intended to be sold as such, just some folks thought if they badged up their cheap bike, everyone would think they had one - such was the attraction of the name. There was a short spell before the companies demise, when Steyr-Puch (who took a 49% share in the company in the 70's and whose manager kindly burnt all the frame records one day) were "alleged" to be pushing out any old junk with the Flying Scot badge on it to get money in - This is unsubstantiated, but considering they had difficulty selling there own crap bikes, not beyond the realms of possibility. I am interested Brandon - to know If that bike is one of the SDP products as I've never seen one.
If you think this is all B.S. the 12th International Cycling History Conference is scheduled to be held 26-28 September 2001 in Sanremo, Italy - And one of the proposed papers to be presented is on David Rattray's company - not bad for a KRAZEE-KUTS MART bike ?
I'll make two offers ;
(a) If your ever end up touring Scotland and your in the North-East of Scotland, call in to the shop. I'd gladly allow you a spin on one for "nominal" refundable deposit as security.
(b) I'll back Bruce up in his offer to Brian of a frame when the next one comes up. I must admit that a non-Scot evaluation of the build quality would be of great value if a little naval gazing.............you know watching ships.....
Well, thanks for winding me up..............
Bob Reid
Stonehaven
Scotland.