Paul Donohue Appreciation Society

The paint job was done by a friend of mine and they are not decals, but paint. Really nice job.

To have that done yourself would probably cost near to what the current bid is.

Yeah it's absolutely lovely, so so tempted.

Well, my 853 Donohue is fantastic. Rides like a blend of all my favourite frames.

Keeping my eyes on that too.

only addition will be a 100mm 26mm stem. i love the syntace stratos on it but would like a bit more drop.
im thinking the easiest and cheapest option would be to get an alu jag and have it bored out on a lathe to 26mm.

if anyone has one give me a shout.. no hurries on it though.

http://www.swinnertoncycles.co.uk/workshop-c348/tools-c354/frame-c360/adjustable-reamer-23-81-26-98mm-p25936?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=cyclo-tools-adjustable-reamer-23-81-26-98mm-tl07830&utm_campaign=product+listing+ads%3Futm_source%3Dgoogle&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=cyclo-tools-adjustable-reamer-23-81-26-98mm-tl07830&utm_campaign=product%2Blisting%2Bads&gclid=CPeRuKOytLoCFXHJtAodLC0A0A#37827

s'all.

I have an 853 weigh with aero tubes, how do I find out if its a donohue?

If it's aero 853 and tig welded, I reckon there's a good chance it will be. Especially if it has the trademark forks.

Any ideas what this would be worth? Very tempted to place a bid!
http://item.mobileweb.ebay.co.uk/viewitem?itemId=111196649742

I won it for £225! Mental, I was willing to pay a fair bit more than that. TM, you can expect to see it getting ridden around Leeds when I get it built, I'm moving up next month. I'm not too sure how I'm going to build it yet but it'll be my "nice bike" and my Mielec will be the leave it locked anywhere bike. This might be the excuse I need to get a decent set of cranks. I'm in no rush to get it built so I reckon I'm going to be fairly selective when it comes to the components.

Sweet! Make sure you get involved when you get up here, you can find us on fb... Fixed Gear Leeds.

Got that for a really decent price, looking forward to seeing it built up

Sweet! Make sure you get involved when you get up here, you can find us on fb... Fixed Gear Leeds.

Way ahead of you! Ha ha. Really looking forward to being able to ride with other people more often. Bournemouth's really shit at the moment.

I won it for £225! Mental, I was willing to pay a fair bit more than that. TM, you can expect to see it getting ridden around Leeds when I get it built, I'm moving up next month. I'm not too sure how I'm going to build it yet but it'll be my "nice bike" and my Mielec will be the leave it locked anywhere bike. This might be the excuse I need to get a decent set of cranks. I'm in no rush to get it built so I reckon I'm going to be fairly selective when it comes to the components.

Barstard.
You were the nob who outbid me last minute... ):

^shouldve bid more innit?! it is a beauty though. very good work on the resto; very classy, unlike the paintjobs they normally come in..

Barstard.
You were the nob who outbid me last minute... ):

Sorry! (Not really, I'm well pleased with myself, ha ha). If it's any consolation I promise I'll take care of it!

You besta.

And take photos of it built up

Won't be for a while yet, I reckon I'll probably just ride my Mielec all through winter.

Having said that, the chances of me not getting over excited and building it up with any old crap as soon as the frame arrives are slim.

haha

It's nice, as the frame belonged to a good mate of mine from Leeds, who realised it was too small and sold it to Dom, who got it repainted.

This is how it looked originally...

(I set it on fire...)

That's awesome! Thanks so much for sharing. It definitely looks a lot better with the new paint but maybe it'd look even radder if it were constantly aflame?

A bit of Donohue history as requested, we bought a few of Paul's bikes in 1997/8 I think. They were amongst the first built in Reynolds Millennium tubing, Patricia had a 531 winter bike followed by a 653 close-clearance summer bike. I had a 531 winter followed by an 853 which was built in the same series as the Team Brite bikes but with Donohue stickers. The colour was known as Brite Red.

When Paul heard that I was thinking of a Colnago frame he offered the 853 built with a complete Dura Ace group set for the same price. It was a good deal so I took him up on it.

We got quite friendly with Paul and met him several times over the next few years, he was a really nice genuine man.

He explained that he was having to compete with imported bikes but wanted to keep the Donohue name for his own builds. Just at this time Cougar went 'bust' and Paul bought what was left of the company in order to sell imports under the name Cougar. He inherited several frames with the buy-out, built I think by Terry Dolan, he sold one to me for the cost of the paint job (with the correct Cougar stickers). From here on he sold his imports under the Cougar name.

He had a lucky escape when he was awarded the contract to build the bikes for the LInda MaCartney team which was being formed. The team pulled out of the deal and the contract (for what it worth) went to a foreign builder. The rest is history - the team set-up was in fact a scam and there was no money behind it so the bikes were never paid for and the team soon folded. Paul also built all of the Graham Weigh bikes at this time including the junior track bikes for Manchester, this is why he was able to build the small frame for Patricia just as she wanted it.

I'm not sure when Paul gave up the frame building but he was a highly regarded builder who assisted Reynolds with test builds of new tubing. Having got away from the bike scene he soon lost interest completely and doesn't respond the requests for information. He did however hand over his decal/transfers to H LLoyd Cycles which helps restorers.

Thanks for the info, greatly appreciated.

Regarding your frame, I could be interested definitely. Will pm you shortly.

There's a 58cm winter frame on Ebay at the minute which keeps creeping down in price.

Figured I'd post my new "pub bike" in here, unsure if it's a proper Donohue build or an import but either was its a dream to ride and the paint is awesome. Need to order some new decals at some point.