Fookin' 'ell, do these so called bike lovers hail from the local institution?
I've never seen so many works of art ruined by a terrible taste in componentry. What were they thinking? 'Look at me, cutting edge man.' Still, the website owners narrative did make me chuckle.
It's a classic 'Waller' frame with the right mix of components for its age. No different in quality to a curly Hetchins, a 'Flying Gate', Bates Diadrant, Paris Galibier or any other frame made in a ''non-traditional' manner.
On Saturday afternoon I spied one of Yvonne McGregor's old Dolan track frames (it still had her name transfer on the top tube!!) on Waterloo East station - it had been defaced with umpteen vinyl stickers and kitted out with straight bars as a cycle courier-style fixie. Sad end for a bike that may well have won a medal or two in its heyday.....
I agree, the craze for turning decent classic road machines into garish trendy Shoreditch fixies really ticks me off. Its like the banger racing scene in classic car circles destroying prospective classics. I rescued an 80s Ernie Clements from ebay a few years ago before things got ridiculous, for a low price and restored it with period parts and TLC to a rideable daily user whereas if I hadnt it would no doubt have ended up stripped and painted pink outside some cyber cafe in Hoxton.