Dear All,
I have been reading this thread (and of course many others) with interest particularly so as there seems to be scant information on the web about genuine CBs (pre-Holdsworth I mean) particularly when you consider that the marque is arguably the UK's pre-eminent vintage lightweight marque.
Few years back I bought a 'job lot' from a seller in Luton in the form of an unknown trike outfit consisting a clearly ancient, but v.lightweight lugless frame finished in primer, rust and patches of nasty brushed paintwork (you know the sort of thing) - and a complete Holdsworth conversion kit to suit.
The seller had no idea what the history was - or make of the frame, was but it seemed to have started life as a track iron and had a the chainstays shortened to fit the conversion hardware - whilst retaining the track ends. The lugless work is very fine and clean and is clearly the work of an expert fabricator. Someone later said that they thought it might have been the work of a builder during WWII when lugs and other materials were difficult to come by??
Long story short - I had the whole thing brazed-up into a pukka trike frame for me by Lynton Threadgold in Manchester (nice job too) using a pair of 531 seat stays a friend in my cycling club donated. It was then powder coated in Post Office Red - and thus for the lack of any other branding - it became a "Lynton Threadgold" out of deference to its late 1990s 'builder'...
It has since been ridden in several Trike Association National Championships with varying degrees of success - but that's neither here nor there... (my usual poo performances usually dominate!)
Anyway - recently I saw e-bay listing from a fellow in Lincolnshire selling a pre-war CB (kick myself now for not going the extra £10!) on which the frame looked spookily like the one I own - and I got to thinking...
My question is the obvious one - can anyone (Mick?) ID the frame as a CB (or otherwise) if I can make out the frame number on the bottom bracket? - it's there, and just barely readable.
If so, I'm sure that Lynton wouldn't now object to a 'joint billing' on the down-tube!
One small final point - I assumed that either a 26.8 or 27.2 mm seatpin would fit. Wrong, when I came to the final build-up I had to go and find a 27.0 - which struck me as v.odd indeed. The inside of the seat-tube is clean and well lubricated - and undamaged etc.,
Any help / advice is mmost welcome.
Ian Briggs - Luton, England.