Derailleur Hanger amputations were common on British frames when the
Campagnolo Gran Sport became more widely available and affordable. The
derailleur of choice before that was the pull chain Simplex Tour de France.
Gillotts, and doubtless others, were cutting the attached hanger from the
derailleur out of the box and brazing the lower half of it to the dropout.
The earliest original one I have seen dates from 1948. It is, I believe,
possible to adapt a Simplex hanger to take a Campagnolo pivot bolt. Correct
me if I am wrong.
In a recent conversation with Mario Vaz, a spray painter in South London,
he told me that fixie fans were buying steel clasic frames at Cycle jumbles,
then bringing them in to him. He told me they wanted horizontal dropouts
fitting and a respray in plain colour, no transfers. His business has
boomed. The horizontal dropouts are fitted by his brother who used to work
at Holdsworths, as did Mario.
I believe that some, not all, of these fixie fans will go on to appreciate
the frames they ride from a historical and functional perspective. That has
to be encouraged for the future of cycling, collecting and the planet.
Mark Stevens, Evanton, Scotland