In a message dated 10/27/2009 1:01:52 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, classicrendezvous-request@bikelist.org writes:
Message: 9 Date: Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:37:35 -0700 From: Brian Samson <brsamson@telus.net> Subject: Re: [CR] Harry Quinn is alive and building in Seattle (sort of) To: Classic Rendezvous <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org> Message-ID: <D0CCF03B-2627-4417-871E-21E3C1B9AFA1@telus.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"; format=flowed; delsp=yes
Very interesting. I didn't know that, but I'm not surprised. I have two Davidsons, a 73 and a 79, and they are not only beautifully made but also two of my favorite bikes to ride.
My 1973 (first year) Davidson has the same brazed-on nuts for the water bottle cage as the 72 Quinn now on ebay. I asked Bill about it and he said there wasn't much else available at the time.
Brian Samson Vancouver, BC, Canada
Having seen many Harry Quinns, and bought and sold a couple, I would have to say the skills of the student far exceeded those of the teacher. Perhaps it was that back in the day, some Brits were just into making practical bikes that anyone could afford, so kept them simple with a minimum of adornment and detail work. But Bill has always insisted on clean lines, thin sharp lug edges, impeccable finish, and a great ride. Harry's bikes were pretty plain and a little crude by comparison. He did have some avant garde geometries though, with very short chainstays and steep angles. And he did some ultralight stuff too. We repaired one this year that went back to its original owner in Australia, that had extremely light chainstays. They had broken and been fixed and broken again, so we replaced them with something modern and strong but looking original.
Brian, I hope you will consider bringing your bikes down to the classic bike show at the Seattle Bike Expo March 13-14. I will be displaying among other bikes a Davidson track bike of that era, and my 1979 road bike. The track bike belonged to Jane Robinson, women's US national road champion of 1975, who returned it to us this year.
shamelessly self-promoting,
Bob Freeman
Elliott Bay Bicycles
2116 Western Ave
Seattle, WA 98121
206-441-8144
Home of Davidson Handbuilt Bicycles