Just a small list of South African frame builders. there might have been earlier builders ommitted
If anyone is interested, I can try and find more information, source photos, or even frames and complete bicycles if anybody wants to collect them. One can pick a complete bike up for many brands for us$100-200, shipping will be an additional us$100. Sometimes the bicycles are free for the taking. YMMV
I do have a hansom tandem, a hansom frame and a pettini bicycle. The pettini is in my wooljersey gallery.
Gotty Hansen built under the brands Hansom, Zini. These were build as racers, track and tandem, and some definitely custom fit. Gotty Hansen was the president of the SACF - South African Cycling Federation. My LBS has NOS zini frames for approx US$150
Francois du Toit built Lejeune under licence, later building du Toit. Custom fit was available. One regularly see 6/7 speed Lejeunes at the funrides, I have only seen one du toit cycle. I dont think he is building anymore. He is the local pinnarello agent currently
Duncan McIntyre, not sure what his own brand was, but he also built under the Pettini brand for Linden Cycles. He used to build in just about anything, but my pettini is a lugged frame
Bill Lange built De 'Lange and also under the Macintosh brand for Robbie Mcintosh, (never seen these before)
The Bloch family built Sancini, (heard about them, never seen, but I might be able to get hold of a frame from a local guy)
The Cohen family built Le Turbo (one regularly sees them in 10/12 speed variants) these are more bottom end.
There are also 2 other brands : Alpina and Cosmos, but I dont know who built them. Alpinas are lugged steel, one can see them regularly. I have not seen (or noticed) a cosmos before
(I think Peugeot also built locally, not sure. there sure are an awful lot of them around)
Moving off-topic now, but adding them for completeness sake for posterity, and also because I am not sure about some of them
Not sure if these are on or off-topic/KOF as I have never seen any Gary Koen - Avenue Peter Wheeler - Victoria, Lotus (the lotus frames were carbon fibre, and definitely off-topic)
John Freeman - Exocet (the only ones I have seen is aluminium, he could have built in steel as well)
These are distinctly not on topic Donald Williamson - Produx (used to be aluminium and now carbon fibre. I think they started off in aluminium) Patrick Morewood - Morewood (Downhill mountainbike)
Hentie Stassen
Fontainebleau, Gauteng
South Africa