Thought I'd post this. Not my first project but my first fixed! Although its not a track bike all the components suggest it was built originally as a fixed or single speed.

It was in a pretty bad state when I got it although the frame paintwork cleaned up well. Its been re-lug lined and had new decals. The forks had to be resprayed because someone in the distant past had hand painted them red.

The Major Taylor stem was re-plated along with its nuts and bolts, the seat post bolt and the bottom headset cup.

Wheels are Dunlop Lightweight 27 x 1 1/4", Brooks Swallow saddle, Williams crank, Statalite Madison Bars and Bayliss & Wiley Bottom Bracket. Reynolds 531 frame and forks.

Some better pics here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/62249235@N05/sets/72157633056899641/

Be interesting to know what the fixed experts reckon?

Cheers
Rob

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Lovely looking bike! Needs some foot retention though - some nice toe clips?

How does it ride?

Lovely looking bike! Needs some foot retention though - some nice toe clips?

How does it ride?

Thanks :) Yep, it definitely needs some toe clips! Not had chance to get out for a first ride yet but hope to go out over Easter. Be the first time on a fixed as well!

Amazing masterpiece!!

i have a major soft spot for Major Taylor stems. any before pictures?

Amazing masterpiece!!

Thanks evasee :) Just added a bottom bracket grease nipple, and tweaked the chain alignment so its now complete :)

i have a major soft spot for Major Taylor stems. any before pictures?

To be honest, I had to research a bit to discover it was a Major Taylor stem. I've seen a couple turn up on Ebay where they seem to fetch crazy money! Here's the stem before. Not only had most of the chrome worn away, it got the red hand painted treatment along with the forks.

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before pictures of the whole bike? Just so we can see the start and end point. ..... the end point looks great by the way...... also whats the history of the bike?

Very nice :)

Clean with nice details such as stem/lining to make it stand out.

(I like minimalism bar when there's chrome involved lol)

before pictures of the whole bike? Just so we can see the start and end point. ..... the end point looks great by the way...... also whats the history of the bike?

F. R. Russell Cycles are still in business and still have their shop in Walsall near Birmingham. I contacted the owner who is the grandson of Fred Russell. Fred used to build frames in their workshop during the 1950's although they don't hold any records of frame numbers.

The bike has had one owner from new. Unfortunately, the previous owner and Fred Russell are no longer with us so that's really as much as I know. The bike came via the owners widow and although he had a couple of bikes this was his favourite.

Here's a pic of the bike as it was picked up. I don't think it had been cleaned since 1955!

Very nice :)

Clean with nice details such as stem/lining to make it stand out.

(I like minimalism bar when there's chrome involved lol)

Same goes for me, I love a bit of chrome and lug lining :)

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Hi Rob just dropped you a PM about this bike would love to know more!

I love a bit of lugwork myself! Beautiful pencil stays..... You won't find any fixed gear experts on here though.....

trollface

:0)

That's an incredible restoration! Major kudos

I'm waiting for Robbied196 to confirm but I'm pretty 90% sure this belonged to my Grandpa, and my Nan sold it when he died, the details fit just too perfectly for it not to be! If it is I will fall off my chair as I've been trying to trace these frames in recent years.

There were two which were sold one set up as a fixed gear the other as a road bike. FR "Nutty" Russell made them for him in his workshop, both identical and sized to him. My Grandpa was a lifelong memeber of Walsall Roads Cycling Club and even when he was too old to ride he used to stand in laybys on summer evenings timing the TT's ;-)

Put me out of my misery Rob!!!

Will

^I hope that this is the case. Brilliant provenance if it is the same frame and a great story.

I'm waiting for Robbied196 to confirm but I'm pretty 90% sure this belonged to my Grandpa, and my Nan sold it when he died, the details fit just too perfectly for it not to be! If it is I will fall off my chair as I've been trying to trace these frames in recent years.

There were two which were sold one set up as a fixed gear the other as a road bike. FR "Nutty" Russell made them for him in his workshop, both identical and sized to him. My Grandpa was a lifelong memeber of Walsall Roads Cycling Club and even when he was too old to ride he used to stand in laybys on summer evenings timing the TT's ;-)

Put me out of my misery Rob!!!

Will

Will. This would be a an amazing connection if it turns out to be your Grandpa's. I sent you a PM before I saw your post here so I've just read the extra bit of history :) It would be a result if its the right bike.

Gorgeous! Classic bike.

She Who Must Be Obeyed hails from the glorious parish of Walsall, so your bike makes it two lovely things that were created there!

Anyone thinking they know everything knows nothing.....

Thanks Rob, we're getting close to the truth I think :-)

I'd love for this to be my Grandpa's bike for obvious reasons but even if it is not it's a remarkable fit for his story, and probably a very similar story to the person who owned this bike.

Anyway let me indulge myself and post the pictures I scanned from the Cycling magazines we found in his archive after he died of him in his pre-war pomp. What a shame that he was diverted to to war in the prime of his cycling career, we have his meticulously recorded Midland's time trial records from the 1940's and he was a proficient rider, if only I was half as capable I'd be happy :-)

](http://s1274.photobucket.com/user/williamkbradley/media/IMG_5557_zpsefea0a91.jpg.html)[/IMG]

](http://s1274.photobucket.com/user/williamkbradley/media/IMG_5546_zpsdc73762f.jpg.html)[/IMG]

Brilliant job, great story: subscribed!

That is the coolest photo!

That would be so amazing if it's your granddads bike :)

Those are brilliant photo's Will, this is getting quite bizarre! I assume these are photo's of him on his Fred Russell?

I can see your Grandpa is obviously a tall guy in the photo, just the right height for a 24" frame! I can plainly see a Major Taylor stem and what look like the same shape bars. No rear caliper and fixed gear. Its very hard to tell on the photo but the left side rear drop out looks like a horizontal drop out and not a track drop out as you would expect to find. Its in the back of my mind that we could be setting up a big disappointment here, but it is a very strange set of coincidences!

Because there are no records of frame numbers the date of 1955 came from the Williams crank. The left crank is 1955 and the drive side is 1958. I assumed the sprocket had worn and been replaced leaving the original left crank. If this was your Grandpa's bike I would guess the amount of cycling would mean the cranks could be regularly changed, and the bike could be much earlier.

If the article is from 1941 do you have any idea when he bought his bike or any other photos?

Well thanks to the info from Rob, an email from a chap called Graham (who's shop Rob bought them off) and my Dad's recollections we've come to the conclusion this isn't my Gramps' old bike afterall! But very close I think.

In doing this we've unearthed a bit of provenance regarding this bike from Graham who runs a bike shop in Wolverhampton about it's origins. According to Graham a widow brought the FR Russell and a Carlton (which Rob also restored) into his bike shop and he bought them from her, apparently they had been stored for 15 years under a tarpaulin in the yard of a foundry in West Bromwich, these were apparently the foundry owners bikes, which the wife sold on after he died and that he used to ride to work on.

So a bit of history but disappointingly for me not the history I was hoping for. According to my Dad my Grandpa's bike was a 21.5 inch and had very ornate lugwork. The story goes that he had two identical ones, which were built for him in FR "Nutty" Russell (no idea why it's 'Nutty'!) one set up as a fixed gear and one set up as a road bike, he rode both of them on the road but the fixed gear was his favorite (whether it had track dropouts we don't know). When he died my Nan sold the bikes on to a member of his cycling club and that's as much as we know.

So if anyone comes across any FR Russells don't be shy post them in the thread, and who knows it might rear it's head from a West Midlanders garage one day :-)

There's more info in this thread as well from a while back: http://www.lfgss.com/thread61128.html

Many thanks to Rob, great job on keeping this bike alive!

Also the bike in the photo he's riding I doubt is the FR Russells I'm looking for, as he was in his late teens there, and there's probably not much chance he would have been able to afford two custom made bikes at that time. He's got a decent aero position though! He was a pretty proficient track and grass-track racer in his day as well as big TT rider.

Its a bit of a shame that lead to a dead end, it would have been a result to reunite the bike back with the same family. Its probably more than likely that FR "Nutty" Russell built several bikes to the same spec and design.

From the photo above it might be worth checking that frame size. To me that looks around a 23" frame. Its hard to tell from a photo but your Grandad looks at least 6' tall so a 21.5" would seem a bit small.

Anyway, we'll have to consider this thread the collection point for anything F. R. Russell related :)

Don't know anything about the above iron, but I had a frame built by 'nutty'
in the 50s As far as I can remember it was metallic red with gold coach lines
curly lugs 24" frame can't remember the frame angles,but it was pretty steep.I used 5"stem south of France bends campag 10speed 14-22 Block,
51-49 chainring swallow saddle quick release hubs. Raced super Vitoria
tubs trained on something more meaty.
I went over to the BLRC and later ended my competitive days after a coming together with car ! I lost!