Re: [CR]STRATOS "Modern" bike

> Just back from another long break in France during which I came across s
> ome more stunning but very little known French bikes...and on my first
> visi
> t back to the CR site what do I find but Tod's equally rare and stunning
> St
> ratos bike.
>
> Your bike takes me a long way back, Tod, way back to the 50s when, on a
> good day when I needed to get in some hilly training miles, I would ride
> ov
> er the western Pennine hills - the northern back-bone of the the UK -
> leavi
> ng behind me as I went the White Rose County of Yorkshire, to enter the
> Red
> Rose County of Lancashire. And that ride was no mean feat either in cyclin
> g terms or sociological ones either. Your history lessons about the War of
> the Roses will have told of the tensions between the neighbouring cla
> ns..and they still exist to some extent even these days.
>
> Anyway back to bikes...Harry Skidmore's bikeshop was on the north side o
> f Union Street in Oldham..at No38, I think. His shop was what we called a
> "
> ..."gen" shop, as it had all the best gear in it..and great atmosphere..a
> c
> lubman's shop. He even sold Jack Hateley frames made in Wolverhampton.
> Thes
> e days Oldham, formerly a hardworking mill and textile town, now a suburb
> o
> f Greater Manchester, is better known for its race riots between the local
> Lancastrians and the large Asian community.
>
> Tod's bike is just about as original as you could get a bike dating from
> the late 40s/early 50s..and it is almost a cycling museum in itself. It re
> ally should be sent back to Oldham and displayed in the collection
> of,Gordo
> n Blaikie, an acquaintance of mine, who is diligently chronicling the
> histo
> ry of the cycle industry in the Manchester area. To date he has amassed a
> w
> ealth of information that already fills a shelf-ful of lever-arch files.He
> has managed to root out many of the old timers who built frames for both
> th
> e large manufacturers such as the CWS as well as individual builders such
> a
> s Johnny Berry.
>
> About two days before set off on my latest jaunt to Franc
> e, at the start of October, I spent some time reminiscing with Gordon
> about
> the "good old days". Gordon, a Mancunian born and bred..and a lifetime spe
> nt in the city, is a mine of detailed information...and he knows that I
> hav
> e have the only known set of "Stenton Glider" transfers in existence and
> he
> is determined to get his hands on them sooner or later. Harry Skidmore's s
> hop came into our conversation..as we both knew it well..visited it
> regular
> ly..BUT neither of us have ever heard of a STRATOS frame originating from
> i
> t..or from anywhere else for that matter.
>
>
>
> However..I brought up the subject of STRATA accessories..a range of loca
> lly made products that were widely used in the 50s. Obviously Gordon knew
> o
> f the products but has never seen a catalogue..and I happen to have two
> dif
> ferent editions..copies of which are due to be sent over to him to add
> even
> more detail to his research. Although an owner of the catalogues and also
> of quite a lot of Strata accessories, I did not know, until Gordon told
> me,
> that Harry Skidmore actually owned the manfacturing company that made
> them. Probably STRATA was best known for its very wide ranhe of handlebar
> shapes such as Dernier, Pelissier,..and its "to kill for " model the South
> of France bend, so beloved by the members of the British League of Racing
> C
> yclists.
>
> So... Tod's bike is an incredible piece of history..bringing together ma
> ny of Harry Skidmore's products on the one bikem- STRATOS plus STRATA.
> As for the byuilder of the frames..well, of course it is possible that Har
> ry had a builder working down in the mill where his accessories were made.
> However, having had a really good look at Tod's photos, I am just about
> cer
> tain that the frame is the work of another Manchester-based company, that
> o
> f Bill Cusworth, who was well-known for his lugless bronze-welded frames.
> N
> ow all that remains is for me to ask Gordon what he really knows about
> Bill
> ..
>
>
>
> Norris LOckley, Settle..in the White Rose County of Yorkshire, England.
>
>
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