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@Eugine85
I still have the Tony Oliver touring/ expedition bike I built up in 1994 from a frame that Tony custom built for me at the time. I had just spent a year on a "round the world with bike" trip on a Dawes Super Galaxy (good bike btw) which gave me many days in the saddle planning how my ultimate long-distance bike would be. I then read Tony's book from cover to cover and quickly realised that this pragmatic, common sense bloke understood cyclists and frame building. Being a metallurgist - he knew about tubes, brazing and all the other technical stuff too.
I took on board the advice in the book and ended up with just what I wanted. The frame Tony built rides like a dream, both fully laden with camping gear or unladen for day rides. It's supremely comfortable and ironically, its design and features are almost exactly the same as the Thorn range of touring frames - which came onto the market a few years after my frame was completed. Kevin Sayles, chief frame builder at Woodrups in Leeds built Thorn frames from 1999 onwards before returning to Woodrups a few years ago - so a case of great minds think alike, perhaps?
Here's couple of photos of the bike - still wearing its original bottle green enamel paint - I elected to have a plain paint finish with no frame decals other than the one on the head tube - to make it less attractive to bike thieves.
I still have the original order form and spec sheets.
The main tubes are Reynolds 708 (silver brazed). Forks and seat stays are Columbus SP, and chainstays are Columbus Cyber OR - with a cast bottom bracket, fork crown and Prugnat lugs. The forks have an old fashioned shallow rake to give ample clearance with mudguards fitted and to be more comfortable on rough roads. Built for 26" wheels with sufficient clearance to take mountain bike tyres - because mountain bike size tyres are universally available - unlike 700c touring tyres - as I found to my cost in some remote areas when riding the Dawes.
Shame Tony doesn't build frames any more. The book is a a must read for any bike enthusiast.