At 2/2/2010 10:02 PM +0000, Norris Lockley wrote:
>Jack Taylor frames were very often very very attractive, beautifully
>enamelled and epitomising a certain "je ne sais quoi" French something or
>other. On the other hand they could be very idiosyncratic..looking as they
>were ABC frames - All Bits Combined, by which I mean that not all the lugs
>came from the same box or even the same series...the front drop-outs did not
>match the rear ones, the treatment of the ends of the chainstays, seat-stays
>and fork blades tips were not always matching as if one person had made the
>frame and someone else had made the fork..without the two ever conferring as
>to style and finish.
My Taylor Tourist has Campag 1060 vertical dropouts at the rear and Suntour fronts. The rear canti posts are positioned for a 27" wheel, the fronts for a 700c. Serial numbers match.
The 1060 dropouts have eyelets, which I've only seen on Taylors.
>Having said all that...I have no doubt whatsoever that when that frame was
>factory fresh..in its British Racing Green enamel , with its gold and red
>double-box lining and the Old-English style transfers..it would be a sight
>for sore eyes..a rare beauty for all its idiosyncracies.
Still isn't a bad looking bike, just "different". And losing the original finish won't keep it from being a great bike to ride. If it were smaller and I didn't already have one, I'd be bidding.
Mark Stonich;
BikeSmith Design & Fabrication
5349 Elliot Ave S. Minneapolis, Minnesota 55417 USA
Ph. (612) 824-2372 http://bikesmithdesign.com
http://mnhpva.org