Anyone Heard of Youngs?

chris crash take it to some one with the proper tools, removing and replaceing a seat stay is not that labor intensive, though it may be a bit ore difficult on a brazed frame, as i have only done welded ones

It will be easier with a brazed one as you can melt the braze and pull the stay off. they shopuld be able to remove the seatstay cap too and put theat onto the new stay. If you want to get it resprayed then I'd definitely pay the extra to get the stay replaced.

Search for lloyds on here to find a guy who might have replacement transfers.

Search fro caustic soda to find out how to get the stem out. It's a nice stem, but if it's bent then it'll be seriously weakened (cos it's aluminium) so you might as well disssolve it out.

daveyf When I moved to Lewisham in 1991 the bike shop on lee high road was still called Youngs although I assume the current shop may well have no connection apart from being on same site. I was speaking to barry witcomb the other week and he was saying Youngs did used to build their own frames back in the day. not sure when they stopped though.

I tried to get my other half to at least have a look at the flat above that bike shop when it came up for rent last year but she told me to "f*ck off".

wolflore This is what is now at the old shop site:
Cycle Shop: Bike Shop The
Telephone: 020 8852 6680
Address: 288-290 Lee High Rd, Lewisham, London, SE13 5PJ

Cycled past this this morning...

Rang the number for the Youngs in Wickham. The guy who answered said it's the same store, but they've moved. I explained about the bike and asked if they frame build.
"No, not anymore."
"Oh, well do you do any of the old decals at all?"
"Um. No. We haven't got any more at all. Sorry about that."

Bummer. The guy sounded a bit sad about it all, really, though London accents make me giggle; he sounded like my grandad, so it's not all bad I guess :-)

BUT

I looked on Lloyd's website and no luck, so I rang and the (awesomely friendly and well-informed) guy on the line said they have sets! He said he couldn't date it, but he went into a lot of detail about the typeface, which is identical to what is left on my frame, so that sounds pretty alright!

All very exciting!

It's still gonna be a long way off until I can actually get this sorted, but it's great planning it out :-)

What do people reckon are the relative merits of either Bob Jackson or Mercian? They seem to be the closest to where I am and though Mercian are a bit more expensive, they seem to have a good rep on this site for quality work. Is it worth splashing out a little extra for one of their jobs?

I'm a new member & I've just picked up the Youngs thread, I know it's probably ancient history now but I felt I had to put my two-pennyworth in. When I was an apprentice in the mid 60s I bought a Youngs bike from a fellow apprentice and used to ride it to work each day (Loughton to Holborn) it looked well used then so I'm not sure quite how old it was. Anyway got married etc and bike got dusty in the shed then in the 80s I mentioned it to a work colleague who told me that Youngs were still going and around the corner from where he lived. I contacted them, stripped the bike down and arranged for the frame & forks be resprayed by Youngs, came back looking great and guess what? It's been hanging up in my garage since then – except now that I've read all this banter about Youngs I'm going to do it up, so there! Just thought I'd share this with anyone who's interested. I'd like to know how much it's worth?
Xander

are you house of pistard xander?

don't think he apprenticed at anything as he is, and as far as i know always was a messenger

I noticed the old Youngs sign still hangs outside the shop on Lee High Road.

To Smeear
I haven't a clue what you're asking, I was an apprentice at a photoengraving firm, so take that as a NO!
Xander

btw - i think tommy mentioned this - the stem on the youngs looks like a GB spearpoint. very nice. tend to go for a packet on the bay.

I've got a Youngs frame. The stickers on it say it's Colombus tubing and made in Italy!? Guy I bought it from knew the old shop and said they got some built out there and then badged them as their own. It's the lightest frame I've ever ridden. Interesting about stickers from lloyds as it really does need a re spray.

Hi, I have just joined this thread. I lived all my youth in Lewisham until the mid-1960s and well recall Youngs cyclery in Lee High Road. I coveted a Youngs but settled for a Freddie Grubb which was all my paper round could support. Today I ride a carbon Cannondale in Australia: great in retirement! Andre

Ahh thread dredging. But funnily, I saw a beaut of a Youngs path yesterday. Recently powdercoated and rebuilt. Beautiful. Owned by the same guy since it was built. 45 odd years!

My friends dad bought a Youngs frame from a jumble a few weeks back, its pretty nice...

My italian track bike frame is Grandini which was linked to Youngs of Lewisham..

http://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/builders/youngs-grandini.html

Hello there, first post as ptn's was above. A friend of mine has asked me to look into a Young's bike he owns and this thread was the first thing I came across.

Then this sprung up .... http://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/builders/youngs-builders.html

Some fascinating reading on there and sure to answer a few of the questions above of you haven't already come across it. What a pity these companies have fallen by the wayside - a bit like the rest of the British manufacturing industry I guess.

Thought I'd add the pictures of my friend's bike, sorry about the quality. I was in a rush and never switched the macro on. Anyone have an idea of what it might be worth?

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hi it seems the grandinis still live and still going strong the Youngs certainly knew how to build a bicycle. The last Youngs shop in Coney Hall, Bromely, London has now sadly closed due to lack of business and am not surprised as Ernie Young who built my bike said see you back here in twenty years for your next one. Sadly 25 yrs on when going back he had passed away. So had it tidied up at a place called Southforks in Braunton N. Devon. Have got a number for Mario Vaz in Lewisham for spraying and stuff.

Anyone got a youngs frame or complete bike for sale ?

Hi do you still have the frame ?
If so did you fix or do you want to part with it ?
I had 3 youngs cycles over the years, i would love another
Rob

cool story bro :) i enjoyed the pics n stuff really painted a picture. i inherited my dads mercian when i was 18 its cool having a bike with loads of memories, it may seem far fetched but i wana past it on to my son if i ever have kids. speaking of mercian they do frame work and restoration though they're in derby so you could probably find someone closer

My neighbour has one she found in the skip!
It's a little too large for her which is a shame. I'm from a mountain biking background so am pretty clueless about the road bike scene.
It's incredibly light, 531 tubing and top end drive by the looks of it.
She's not really 100% sure what to do with it.
The frames paint has seen better days but it does ride well.

Anyway of dating this bike. It's got a serial number ending -84. Do we assume this means 1984 ?

I beIieve the C-Record groupset wasn't released until 1986, so the 84 may be the number which had been built that year. Either way, nice barn find..

Nice bike. What size is it?

That's a mid to late 90s Campagnolo groupset on there so I doubt the bike is from 1984.

^ Oh. Sounds like Dandy has a more precise knowledge of this stuff!