John wrote with respect to his friend who asked Quinn to build according to his own exacting build specs:
"a friend had a frame built by the Harry Quinn shop in 1975.He carefully specified Campag vertical ends, BB drop and chainstay length. He wanted "no daylight" between the tire and the seat tube, Quinn did ask if he was sure about his dimensions. Then built the frame. Tire roundness was not take in to account it seems."
I too, once made the error of not taking into account tire/wheel roundness and frame flex and paid dearly for my stupidity! In my case, it didn't involve a custom build, but rather a repair to an antique Rudge Ordinary. After the repair I spun the wheel without any difficulties and then proceeded to take the bike for a ride. After less than one kilometer, with settling in and flex of the components, the wheel was no longer able to spin freely, resulting in me being thrown over the handlebars. The final cost of my stupididty was two broken elbows as well as a fractured vertebrae. To this day, I never miss an opportunity to remind people of the need to have tire clearance.
Steven Maasland
Moorestown, NJ