Additional bit history on the above frame while the thread is still 'fresh'/because I've not done the chronodredge yet:
The frame was originally given away as first prize for the (then) last ever Hell Of the North West (edition V) alleycat, here in Manchester. It was won by Vin (then of Harry Hall's, now working for Rapha MCR), but as he's a horse of a man, the frame was of course too small. He also owned a Cervelo T1 at the time, so...
Blog post from the event here: https://cgsfortommy.wordpress.com/racing/2010-the-hell-of-the-north-west-v/
Vinny promptly sold it to a local dude/rider/collector named Sean (or maybe Shaun?), who actually fit the frame, and whom I still regularly bump into at Popup Bikes. @craignasty, Godfather of our local fixed scene and organiser of the original HOTNW alleycats, later told me he was not best pleased with this sale, because he'd invested a reasonable chunk of his own cash trying to secure a seatpost for the frame (which I believe was sitting around at Dolan in Ormskirk, without a post, unable to sell). Nasty can probably clear this up but I believe around that time he was working at Planet-X, whose original aluminium 'Stealth' track frame shared the same seat tube/clamp and seatpost assembly (along with a handful of other frames, Hed Aerolab V.0X, Blue TR250, etc...). At a guess, Nasty got the frame for cheap from Dolan, then bought a new spare seatpost, at considerable cost, from the manufacturer, through his work.
Long story short, Sean used the bike as his nice day fast fixed for several years, rolling on Ellipses, stickering it up and generally knocking it abound a bit in the process, before I asked him if he wanted to sell it in early 2017. I dearly wanted another one (having used the grey one - more on that later - for racing over the previous 18 months), and after having miraculously stumbled on a NOS (HED branded) full length seatpost at the NCC winter jumble that year, for £5 (!!!), I finally had excuse to approach him for it. The stickers were haggard, the factory powder coat had been touched up with rattlecan several times, and the bike generally looked a bit crap, so, as the plan was for it to be my 'race' bike, and being inspired by that Bikeradar polished fixed hill climb bike video, there was only one way to go!
Additional bit history on the above frame while the thread is still 'fresh'/because I've not done the chronodredge yet:
The frame was originally given away as first prize for the (then) last ever Hell Of the North West (edition V) alleycat, here in Manchester. It was won by Vin (then of Harry Hall's, now working for Rapha MCR), but as he's a horse of a man, the frame was of course too small. He also owned a Cervelo T1 at the time, so...
Blog post from the event here: https://cgsfortommy.wordpress.com/racing/2010-the-hell-of-the-north-west-v/
Vinny promptly sold it to a local dude/rider/collector named Sean (or maybe Shaun?), who actually fit the frame, and whom I still regularly bump into at Popup Bikes.
@craignasty, Godfather of our local fixed scene and organiser of the original HOTNW alleycats, later told me he was not best pleased with this sale, because he'd invested a reasonable chunk of his own cash trying to secure a seatpost for the frame (which I believe was sitting around at Dolan in Ormskirk, without a post, unable to sell). Nasty can probably clear this up but I believe around that time he was working at Planet-X, whose original aluminium 'Stealth' track frame shared the same seat tube/clamp and seatpost assembly (along with a handful of other frames, Hed Aerolab V.0X, Blue TR250, etc...). At a guess, Nasty got the frame for cheap from Dolan, then bought a new spare seatpost, at considerable cost, from the manufacturer, through his work.
Long story short, Sean used the bike as his nice day fast fixed for several years, rolling on Ellipses, stickering it up and generally knocking it abound a bit in the process, before I asked him if he wanted to sell it in early 2017. I dearly wanted another one (having used the grey one - more on that later - for racing over the previous 18 months), and after having miraculously stumbled on a NOS (HED branded) full length seatpost at the NCC winter jumble that year, for £5 (!!!), I finally had excuse to approach him for it. The stickers were haggard, the factory powder coat had been touched up with rattlecan several times, and the bike generally looked a bit crap, so, as the plan was for it to be my 'race' bike, and being inspired by that Bikeradar polished fixed hill climb bike video, there was only one way to go!
Link to that video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eb6pLWmdbxA