A sad end to a sorry tale

kowalski Plan G is afoot....

Should be back on the road by Saturday.

Impulse buys. Sod this "everything comes to those who wait."

Excellent news - what did you go for?

did you buy one?

only i have a 56 fuji frame sat in my hallway i am thinking of selling.

next time just go straight to Roberts, the only british frame builder i would ever get a new frame from...

Stef next time just go straight to Roberts, the only british frame builder i would ever get a new frame from...

+1, i've set my sights on roberts too. let hope none of the remaining ones get fucked up by some branding cnut like tony malone.

Stef next time just go straight to Roberts, the only british frame builder i would ever get a new frame from...

I think you've closed off some pretty good avenues. Check out:

Robert Mather

Dave Yates

Brian Rourke

Argos

I was looking at Brian Rourke frames a little while ago. You can get a proper track frame from him (ie welded OS 853, 1 1/8" ahead set, carbon forks) for £550. None of this lugged, quill business :) Although they do lugged frames too (I think)

Oh man, I'm so tempted by a Mather. Got me a job offer the other day, I'm thinking of blowing the signing bonus straight away :D

Lol. Thing is, I've been riding a good few years but I've never ridden anything approaching track geometry. Hence I'd not really have any idea what to go for...

And also, looking at the price list, it would be very hard not to splash out on like 100000 different extras like stainless lugs, couplers, full 725 tubeset, paul ends etc etc. It all adds up :S

next time just go straight to Roberts, the only british frame builder i would ever get a new frame from...

They're OK, but I've heard plenty of grumbles about the variable quality of their paintjobs, and they don't seem to care about anything they built more than 10 years ago. Two people I know have approached them for (minor) repairs and resprays on older Roberts and have been told "we're not interested, you're better off buying a new frame instead"

fc9k Lol. Thing is, I've been riding a good few years but I've never ridden anything approaching track geometry. Hence I'd not really have any idea what to go for...

And also, looking at the price list, it would be very hard not to splash out on like 100000 different extras like stainless lugs, couplers, full 725 tubeset, paul ends etc etc. It all adds up :S

theres loads of people here who know stuff about bikes....i don't think theres much chance of getting anything wrong.
if you don't think you can afford what you want...then don't bother..theres no point doing it if you don't do it properly(probably)

Well I'd happily blow my signing bonus on it, which would be gravy. But then if I decided to quit and they wanted it back :S

stompy [quote]kowalski Plan G is afoot....

Should be back on the road by Saturday.

Impulse buys. Sod this "everything comes to those who wait."

Excellent news - what did you go for?[/quote]
I got a good deal on a CONdor.

SimonC
They're OK, but I've heard plenty of grumbles about the variable quality of their paintjobs

They use the same painter as Witcomb. I'm not convinced the finish is that clever, tbh.

SimonC [quote]next time just go straight to Roberts, the only british frame builder i would ever get a new frame from...

They're OK, but I've heard plenty of grumbles about the variable quality of their paintjobs[/quote]

Me too

Dave Yates is a top bloke, Mercian are lovely. I've a friend just got one and it's lovely. Cheap too for the amount of work that goes into them.
BJ has had some negative feedback on their customer service, I'm not sure I'd go there.

However, I had some repairs done to an old frame at Roberts and they were brilliant, cheap, fast and did a perfect job. (£45 for a repaired broken seat stay and adding a bottle cage mount, in 10 days).

I cycle past Whitcomb every day. No doubt for not much longer; SE8 will be swapped for SW11 at this rate.

BJ have been very helpful for me. Also, the BJ Vigorelli seems about the cheapest frame of all the touted Brit built frames; which is a good start. The finish seems good and they offer a wide choice without charging extra.