Re: [CR]1960 Flying Scot for sale

(Example: Component Manufacturers:Campagnolo)

From: "flying_scot" <flying_scot@btopenworld.com>
To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
References: <20031125.065544.28675.991349@webmail10.lax.untd.com>
Subject: Re: [CR]1960 Flying Scot for sale
Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 17:55:06 -0000


Lovely machine Bill. This colour seems to have been all the rage in 1959/60. Courtesy of Bruce Robbins I've a track Scot with a similar paint scheme from 1959 with the same colour arrangement but in my case bright red and deep flamboyant red. If I'm not mistaken it looks like yours is a mix of flamboyant blue and metallic blue. To me these are true to the period finishes that most folks wouldn't consider putting on the same frame for a "period correct" restoration , yet the results would be excellent. What interests me are the two (barely) visible transfers / decals on the rear of the seat tube - one I assumed was a reynolds tube transfer, but the other ?

Judging by the amount of Flying Scots that turn up in the USA from this period that were not taken over by ex-pat Scot's, it would appear that quite a few were brought over for customers by the likes of Oscar Juner (American Cyclery) ? in San Francisco and Mike Walden in Michigan. Last year on the list I wrote ;

"I've heard from a countryman in the US who has one maybe two Flying Scot's that were allegedly part of an order for six for use by the U.S.A. Cycling team at the Olympics in 1960.... Can anyone do anything to help me verify this ? does anyone have any contemporary articles or photographs of the actual bikes used. They were used by some of the British team at this and other Olympics but it's the first I've heard of a USA team involvement"

At the time I didn't get anwhere with this query, but perhaps with the influx of new and knowledgeable members to the list there may be an answer now ?

In response to Brians question about "Scottish" and "English" bikes. For once ? there was no competition between the countries. In England the competition was between the big mass production players, and between the small to medium lightweight concerns. Although many of the English marques were sold in Scotland, in the 'lightweight' division, Rattrays the producers of the Flying Scot had the home market sewn-up for near on 30 years after WWII, as there were no other builders of comparable size, just a few one-man and a couple of frames concerns. Flying Scots were sold over the border in the North of England, though few ever seem to have reached much further south, and it is likely that more were built for export out of the UK to the likes of the USA, Canada, Japan and Australia / NZ than were used in England. So much so, that until recent years Hilary hadn't heard of them before (despite around 15,000 having been produced over 60 years)

Bob Reid
Stonehaven
Scotland