Hartfield Blackburn

Anyone ever heard of a company that makes frames called Hartfield Blackburn? My girlfriend bought a track frame from Brick Lane Bikes and all it has is decals saying these two words... nothing else. They mentioned something about getting them used from the Manchester velodrome... but this could be bull shit.
If anyone knows anything let me know. It is to be re-sprayed and sourcing the decals would be easier if I knew more.

is the frame blue with green forks?

No. Why? It is black, with white fade at the joins. The lettering in gold. I will try to post a pic later.

is the frame blue with green forks?

oh its deffinitely bullshit....im sure its made by a drunk welder in poland form a scaffolding poles they stole in russia

Nobody is going to read this but I found the address... but I think the place has ceased to exist:
Hartfield Engineering
170 Whaley New Road
Blackburn
Lancs
BB? 9TN (? is where the decal has peeled)
01254260601

i read it.

cos i am from blackburn. but never heard of them.

but hehe their phone number is very similar to my grandmas' !

i can check if they are still there when i am next in blackburn if you want ?

hmm... seems like this frame is in my possession now.. could be a different one but I'm pretty certain.

Mine is with Columbus SL tubing and it says Cinelli under the bb shell.

Thinking it was originally road frame converted to track with track ends as it has cable guide under the bb shell.

Wondering how it looked originally and who made it since neither could I find any info about Hartfield Blackburn.

Does sound like a road frame that has been converted, also it's worth noting that Cinelli BB are used in other frame, like on a Bob Jackson for instance.

picture?

You probably have seen it as posted it on current project thread not long ago.
Like I said all I know is it has Cinelli bb shell and Columbus SL tubing, no serial number though.
Just wanted to know the origin of this frame out of curiosity, well this is my bike after all.

Does look like a road frame that has been converted.

then thank god I didn't pay much for the frame ha!

Doesn't mean it's a bad frame though, Columbus SL are pretty decent, geo wise, it look like idea for a fixed wheel road bike.

yeah I know, frame is quite decent it's light has nice lugs etc. I just thought it would have been a shame if I paid too much for the converted one though. Anyway thanks for the tips Ed, I still want to know the original maker of the frame but it fits me fine so can't complain :-)

Columbus SL tubing are very good (double butted), they're pretty common on decent to high end road bike (generally italian), the fact that it doesn't have any mudguard eyelit indicate that it was a decent/high end road frame, Colnago for example tend not to have any mudguard eyelit on their frame apart from the usual 'fake' of course.

It's a bit odd to hear a frame like this to be made in England since they usually tend to go for Reynolds as it's 'local', especially when the SL tubing were the italian version of the well known Reynolds 531.

Here's what I think, it's probably an italian road frame that has been converted in Blackburn to be used for a certain purpose.

Remember, all this is base on my assumption of what I think the frame is, so don't hold my word for it.

It does say Made in Italy under the bb shell and it's Italian thread.
yep I totally agree with you, frame might be made in Italy
probably re-sprayed and converted in England like you said.

Saw this on eBay. Connected it would seem, doesn't really shed any light on the mystery, but perhaps you could contact the seller?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-Reynolds-531-Touring-bike-frame-set-tourer-VGC-/190516196049?pt=UK_sportsleisure_cycling_bikeparts_SR&hash=item2c5ba672d1#ht_1549wt_1141

the address was an engineering works - derelict for years.

it is now being pulled down.

Been chatting to the maker of these frames today in the Clarion House tea room in Pendle.
Ken Hartley is his name. Fascinating bloke of 81 years, and chairman of blackburn ctc.
The bikes were made for kids at Norden School in Rishton to borrow and ride kirby velodrome.
He also made some for Manchester before they started buying them from Dolan.
The frames were made by re-using tubes from bikes that big blokes had damaged or donated.
Obviously salvaging the good bits, so to provide kids with decent stuff to ride at the track in a cost effective manner. He told me about the angles being 71 degrees with a slightly up sloping top tube, braised together with a big bag of old lugs he still has.
They were powder coated by a mate at cost using whatever colour was in the machine at the time.
Ken is is a retired engineer and his workshop is now in a room in his house.
Hope this helps,
Haunted Velo

Jesus, the Scoble talks a lot of tosh sometimes...

^ Nice info, HV...

Been chatting to the maker of these frames today in the Clarion House tea room in Pendle.
Ken Hartley is his name. Fascinating bloke of 81 years, and chairman of blackburn ctc.
The bikes were made for kids at Norden School in Rishton to borrow and ride kirby velodrome.
He also made some for Manchester before they started buying them from Dolan.
The frames were made by re-using tubes from bikes that big blokes had damaged or donated.
Obviously salvaging the good bits, so to provide kids with decent stuff to ride at the track in a cost effective manner. He told me about the angles being 71 degrees with a slightly up sloping top tube, braised together with a big bag of old lugs he still has.
They were powder coated by a mate at cost using whatever colour was in the machine at the time.
Ken is is a retired engineer and his workshop is now in a room in his house.
Hope this helps,
Haunted Velo

^ nice one.

Pleasure.
There's so much more though - I only been chatting to him for 30 mins before getting dragged away by my kids, but we covered all sorts of stuff.
I'd recommend you have a ride up to Clarion house some sunday and stalk him.
He's a font of entertaining cycling knowledge (east lancs a speciality).

http://www.flickr.com/photos/66041583@N05/6061893208/

^ cheers.

i have never been in there.

but i will try to now i know it is there.

thanks for the heads up.

^ great photo.

very east lancs :-)

I worked with Ken Hartley in the 70's and can inform you that 170 Whalley New Road is not a derelict factory but actually a garden-fronted mid terraced house which was and possibly still is Ken's home!

when i looked it seemed the address was that of the buildings that have just been pulled down (between the cemetery and the motorbike shop).

but the numbering is a little confusing just there. but yes google maps now shows it as a house. so maybe it is.

but i think the original poster has had his original question answered.