Giom6":4qh7yj7t said:
NeilM":4qh7yj7t said:
painter09":4qh7yj7t said:
the cats out of the bag so to speak
BOOM BOOM!
What makes you think it's not a CATS?
Not saying that it is, as we discussed elsewhere custom bike builders build custom bikes, but just because it is 1990 does not necessarily mean it's not a very early CATS, as we know Dave was already using 753.
Whatever, nice to have another Lloyd within the RB fold.
I was told by a member here that CATS didn't get produced till 92. I think Carl has proved thats not true, but it doesn't matter either way really. Its a custom built 753 fillet brazed frame and thats what counts
The trouble is until the names came to the fore in the press, for all the discussed reasons, It was always overlooked, in favour of hyped foreign product, by the consumer and to a degree by the press.
Im confident if Chas never raced to the Malverns at the 11th hour with a frame in hand, and then come up with a reason for that name to the press on the spot and off the cuff, None of this would have even been noted at all, (FACT).
With all that said, it should be less about the name anyway, and more about the frame, as Gio has said.
Given the best bike available at the time was called the Cats, and it seems to have 753, the top tubeset from Reynolds at the time...etc etc etc.
But a custom bike is built for its rider, the rider would have had a tubing preference and budget, the builder would have assessed his weight, riding style, type of use, etc, then factor in, tubing availability, delivery times, business cashflow etc, all these are factors that would have been taken into consideration anyway.