A google search deosn't seem to turn up any info on this guy - as you probably know. Why not ask the man for his son's phone number and talk to him direct - you will probably get a good sense of whether he is legit or not.
Hugh Thornton
Cheshire, England
From: David Vines <dvines@dvines.plus.com> Subject: [CR] Arthur Rowland Tandem Frames - UK To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Date: Thursday, 10 February, 2011, 22:23
Hi All,
I have been offered a Tandem frame which the vendor (in Swanage/Studland Dorset UK) claims is NOS and built by his son Arthur Rowland who was a framebuilder in the UK and has now emigrated to Canada and is now building over there
he appears to have number of these frames and also some complete "Globetrotter" tandems for sale, the complete tandems are being offered on Ebay.
I have never heard of this builder and my only interest in the frame stems from the fact that it is a 25" front and I can't otherwise buy anything that big off-the-peg and would have to have it made at more than twice the price he is offering the frame only at £800....
I am not entirely sure if the frame is "handbuilt" or actually just a stripped down one of these Globetrotters, which he's advertising on Ebay as "Craftsman Handbuilt" - I thought they were made in france by Gitane to a budget price.
Does anyone know anything about this frame-builder or am I being led down the garden path to buy whats actually a cheap mass-produced frame done up as a handbuilt ......?
The vendor is a long-way from me and claims not to be IT-savvy enough to send a picture my email (he sounds v elderly on the phone) so it means driving along-way to see it.
David - UK