Big Up the Swallow Cycles thread

[legrandefromage]

Something Sinnerman said echos with what has been said for sometime, bespoke and custom builds tend to go under the radar unless featured in a magazine. So, this thread is to publicize a little known brand and to hopefully unearth a few more in the process.

The threads:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=142839&start=15

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=250974

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=260085

And some info:

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=251100

And now the bikes, some very interesting geometry for the age when compared to what was mainstream at the time

Retrobate's work in progress Ptarmigan

Nevadasmith's unique Griffon

Rod_Saetans's Merlin

If you have one, post it up!

 

[Rod_Saetan]

Doctor Bond's Merlin

Although I haven't checked downstairs in a while, I'm pretty sure that is still mine.

 

[legrandefromage]

fixed - apologies!

 

[hamster]

They also built some classy tandems.

 

[Grannygrinder]

Is there a reason for the, what seem to be, rather long headtubes?
Just curious

 

[Rod_Saetan]

 

[doctor-bond]

Doctor Bond's Merlin

Although I haven't checked downstairs in a while, I'm pretty sure that is still mine.

I'm still busy casing Nevadasmith's pad, but I'll get round to your place eventually ...




Don't forget the odd Pink one Here

Here's some pics of a Tandem and a roadie I had on the PC:


swallow4_243 tandem detail by Petrelbooks, on Flickr


swallow4_243 tandem a by Petrelbooks, on Flickr


08e8_1 by Petrelbooks, on Flickr

 

[one_bad_mofo]

I used to have a Swallow. It was a cyclo cross bike I built the frame on one of the shop's frame building courses, which I then wrote a feature on for Cycling Today magazine.

However, due to my somewhat 'interesting' ideas on frame design it never really worked for me and eventually went to the big bike shed in the sky. I'll try and dig out some pictures and get them scanned.

 

[one_bad_mofo]

Here's a scan of my bike when it was featured in Cycling Today (April 199 and a bonus scan of a Swallow advert.

 

[danson67]

GG

Is there a reason for the, what seem to be, rather long headtubes?

I think it's mostly down to the relatively high bottom brackets of the frames. UK builders generally copied the long slack Repack bikes first (Saracen/Evans style), but then around 1985-6 we have a brief flowering of UK specific geometry like this, then by 1990 the race scene dominates, going all SoCal on us: lowering BB and bars, shortening chainstays and lengthens toptubes and stems...

BB height looks to be around 12.5". To get the relative positions of saddle, bars and cranks right, the headtube needs that little bit added. Internationally this is more like the early Pacific NW Konas, Brodies and Cannondale Beast of the East.
See also some of the early Bromwich and Zinn frames and my '86 Overbury's Pioneer

All the best,