I'm grateful to Lynn Ashmore for bringing this Bespoke frame on UK Ebay to my attention. Truth is these days, I have stopped scouring through the UK s ite as is was always too tempting and I was buying too much. Now I just try to be more selective on the French site...at times when I know I am about to cross over there for a few weeks.
There have been a few Bespoke frames on Ebay over the past couple of years, none of which I have been able to acknowledge. However, this frame I know well, and it is as described by the seller, a very lovely frame.
It was custom-built for a friend of mine called Peter Gibbs, some time back in the early 80s - the frame No should be under the bracket.. Peter wa s/is a very stylish rider,,just poetry in motion..had/has the best ankling action when he pedalled/pedals of anyone I have ever met...super smooth and powerful. His time trialling scene was longer distance events, with noth ing under 30 miles. Distance Record events for town-to-town rides were hi gh on his agenda.
This type of intended usage is reflected in the specification..ie nothing t oo short in the chainstays - hence the 41 ", not 39 or 38 or 37 or less...j ust short enough to confer rigidity without losing comfort on a biggish fra me. At the time of building the frame, I built almost all my time-trial f rames without lugs, ie bronze-welded, but Peter was determined to have a set of Nervex Pros..because he had always admired them, but had never be en able to afford them before. He was disappointed that the fork crown was not a Nervex one, but I had convinced him that the Cinelli cast one was far stronger and more appropriate than a pressed Nervex. The original paint-jo b was a deep ultramarine metallic with white transfers and white lug-lining .. The decision to use Reynolds 531DB instead of a slightly lighter tube se t such as an Ishiwata or a Columbus -I didn't like 531SL - was the customer's as was the choice of the 5/8" seat-stays and the long chamfe red top-eyes, and Campagnolo Corsa semi-vertical drop-outs. The D/T bott le cage bosses, unusual on most of my TT frames, reflect the fact that the frame was used for longer races, during which the rider needed to drink. Th e TA bosses themselves were very fashionable at the time, but in this insta nce, were chosen to compliment the Nervex lugs.
All in all a very functional - in the sense of form follows functio n, understated and responsive frame, that I am happy to acknowledge as a genuine custom Bespoke.
I hope it goes to a caring and discerning owner because, and I am not going to be modest here, it is a delightful frame, built to a very high standard of craftsmanship.
Norris Lockley, Settle UK - the home town of Bespoke of Settle custom light weights.