Orange. . . . .Formula?????

[ringo]

Is it me or do the terms Donkis Nob and Dogs Bollx take something away from these fantastic machines...

I can swear with the best of them (witness some of the auctions I missed out on...) but it just seems so cheesy to use these fnarr fnarr acronyms...

Or is that the gag? The joke didn't survive to make it into retro and the bikes more than did!

I'd love a Dogs but I'd have Gil whip up a set of decals without the bolx!

PS, sorry we are moving a bit OT...

 

[NeilM]

Or is that the gag? The joke didn't survive to make it into retro and the bikes more than did!

I think you've hit the nail there.

I remember when all these frames were released, and the names were really just a bit of a laugh. Now I think the Roberts is just known (even by them, or should that be especially by them) as the DB. Where as the DONKIS is rare enough not to really have a known presence, other than amongst the knowledgeable few, even though it is still made.

 

[Coleman]

You have all them on the go??? the list of people who maybe bbc bikes is growing

If I could sell them all for those prices I'd retire!

So can you enlighten us on the progress of your projects, or is it a Black Ops.

Im particularly looking forward to the DAVE YATES, D.o.n.k.i.s. .n.o.b
DAVE LLOYD C.a.t.s.W.h.i.s.k.a.s And the the formula....!!!!

Yates - all the parts assembled for a full XTR m900 build but need a 27mm AC or XTR seatpost. Talking to people about the multi coloured paint job but not getting anywhere fast at the moment (its going to be bloody expensive).

Lloyd - all the parts assembled for a full Campag build. Frame is further gone than I'd hoped and am having trouble deciding between sticking with the rear disc and switching to cantis....... back on cantis at the moment.... no disc..... no cantis......... :?

Formula......? But I will do a specific thread and keep it updated

So, will it be ready for the British Steel ride in August?

That would be nice - work/money allowing...

To be honest this isn't one for me I don't think.

.

interesting :shock:

Well done , great frame

Yeah sorry - change of mind Bid what I thought it was worth and left it at that though - got away with it by a tenner!

 

[matthew71]

Thanks chaps.

Out in the US with work at the moment, when I get home I'll crack on with it.

you might be looking for a 1 man flat when the good lady finds out,i think your suitcase is on the drive allready.you could sell me that mt tam to help pay for it

 

[sinnerman]

Thanks chaps.

Out in the US with work at the moment, when I get home I'll crack on with it.

you might be looking for a 1 man flat when the good lady finds out,i think your suitcase is on the drive allready.you could sell me that mt tam to help pay for it

FWIW

If Adrian can build the British frames to the standard of his Salsa, then i will Chant God Save the Queen For an Hour Straight.......Thats how important i feel it is that we save the British Steel, And All the History that surrounds our Bicycle industry at this time...........BEFORE ITS TOO LATE AND LOST FOREVER.

I did suggest this upon him unvieling the Dave Lloyd and Dave Yates, and the British Steel thread.

We need to at least pool all our resources and knowledge, pull together as a team.......!!! we are British and this is Retrobike, i think between us as a team we could do this....!!!

Make the British Steel Thread a Sticky, make it a feature thread i dont care, but we should some how club together, and record all the information, of our "Homegrown" bikes brands and builders, in one place.

The americans have why shouldnt we.......!!!!!!!!

We dont have a Mombat, But we do have a RETRO BIKE.


( HEALTH WARNING......Do not fall in love with the bike below, i have first dibs.)

 

[NeilM]

We need to at least pool all our resources and knowledge, pull together as a team.......!!! we are British and this is Retrobike, i think between us as a team we could do this....!!!

Make the British Steel Thread a Sticky, make it a feature thread i dont care, but we should some how club together, and record all the information, of our "Homegrown" bikes brands and builders, in one place.

The americans have why shouldnt we.......!!!!!!!!

We dont have a Mombat, But we do have a RETRO BIKE.

Sinnerman, I salute and concur with your sentiment; as a recent owner of several fine British made frames, we need to value them more (not just financially). However, we also need to accept that not everyone has the skill, time, money or inclination to reconstruct nut and bolt perfect historical pieces, and my experience from the world of motorcycle restoration tells me that it is human nature to take restorations to the extreme.

In my short time on this forum I have noticed that a fine clean polished bike will get heaps of praise, but a similar machine, which is obviously used for the purpose which the maker intended will more or less be ignored. My point is, that in a recent conversation I had with Chas Roberts, he looked relieved when I told him my intent for my 1992 DB was to ride it... hard.

Preservation and appreciation are fine, but turning these bikes (as many on the other side of the pond do) effectively into highly polished museum pieces is, I feel, just as bad as letting them go to the tip. Both are effectively lost.

Ride'em with pride.

 

[Rich]

I agree, but thankfully from what I can tell, a lot of people on here do ride their bikes, thank goodness

Good job on getting the Formula Nevadasmith!!!

 

[sinnerman]

We need to at least pool all our resources and knowledge, pull together as a team.......!!! we are British and this is Retrobike, i think between us as a team we could do this....!!!

Make the British Steel Thread a Sticky, make it a feature thread i dont care, but we should some how club together, and record all the information, of our "Homegrown" bikes brands and builders, in one place.

The americans have why shouldnt we.......!!!!!!!!

We dont have a Mombat, But we do have a RETRO BIKE.

Sinnerman, I salute and concur with your sentiment; as a recent owner of several fine British made frames, we need to value them more (not just financially). However, we also need to accept that not everyone has the skill, time, money or inclination to reconstruct nut and bolt perfect historical pieces, and my experience from the world of motorcycle restoration tells me that it is human nature to take restorations to the extreme.

In my short time on this forum I have noticed that a fine clean polished bike will get heaps of praise, but a similar machine, which is obviously used for the purpose which the maker intended will more or less be ignored. My point is, that in a recent conversation I had with Chas Roberts, he looked relieved when I told him my intent for my 1992 DB was to ride it... hard.

Preservation and appreciation are fine, but turning these bikes (as many on the other side of the pond do) effectively into highly polished museum pieces is, I feel, just as bad as letting them go to the tip. Both are effectively lost.

Ride'em with pride.

Neil, i havent suggested for one minute that these bikes all need to be Museum pieces, on the contrary, i too agree that this would be a great shame.

And i see no reason why any of these bikes cant be ridden, whether the owner refinishes them or not.

As better men than me have Said, the paintwork is merely a veneer...!!!
And the joy of these steel bikes is they can be fixed when broken, as the formula is.

And once it has been fixed, whether repainted or not, i see NO earthly reason why it couldnt or shouldnt be ridden, it takes no skill at all to ride it, and clean it, and treat it with respect.

As you can perhaps tell, Im NO fan of Garage Queens.

No the point i was trying to make, is this.

In the Great scheme of things, i consider our little Islands contribution to the worldwide mountain bike market at this time, almost as a cottage industry.

And due to Market dominance from overseas, whether America or the Far east, the Uk scene was perhaps Overlooked to a degree by many people, and subsequently, the information surrounding the Uk efforts have been scattered, and/or not recorded.

We only have to look around, to see it, i believe you yourself are riding a Roberts at the moment and are still unsure of its Origins/model, we think its a White Spider, but it has clearly been modified by the removal of the brake hanger and the addtion of Crud Catcher Mounts.....!

When was the last time anyone saw a Roberts Bottom line, or a Dave Yates or Dave Lloyd E-stay...........???

No what i am merely suggesting, is a place here where we can go to for permanent reference and conversation.

My example being the "British Steel" thread, so when these bikes do pop up for sale, people dont disregard them as old Iron, and can go straight to a point of contact, and ask questions......Who Knows What may re-surface.... i mean look at this formula or even the Fronteria......Both built by Paul Donahue, and yet a builder, that isnt overly Known or regarded, just like Kevin Winter for Example.

And what makes these two Frame builders any less important than say Ross Shafer of Salsa Cycles....? Nothing in my Opinion, they are all skilled craftsmen working with steel, in a shed somewhere, the only difference is how it was heavily Marketed and how the consumer percieved the Image.

To my mind i am thankful for RETROBIKE, if not for this site, and its members, could the Formula have been Overlooked as nothing more than a old broken bike.....?

And i also feel there is far too much Conjecture when it comes to our own History.

It Needs Recording as the Facts become avaliable imho.

 

[sinnerman]

Is it me or do the terms Donkis Nob and Dogs Bollx take something away from these fantastic machines...

I can swear with the best of them (witness some of the auctions I missed out on...) but it just seems so cheesy to use these fnarr fnarr acronyms...

Or is that the gag? The joke didn't survive to make it into retro and the bikes more than did!

I'd love a Dogs but I'd have Gil whip up a set of decals without the bolx!

PS, sorry we are moving a bit OT...

It doesnt take anything away from these fantastic bikes IMHO, it only adds to it.

I dont consider the English Frame Builders Chosen model names any more "Cheesy" than some of the more well known model names from other countries frame builders...!!!

I mean, if there wasnt massive advertising and reviews/promotion at the time, would we have really considered a name referring to a Pepper, and a dinner menu......i.e the " Salsa Ala Carte ". (this just being one example).


For me, the names are part of the charm, especially when you consider the point in time that is in question., and the reasons why it all started.

Early 1990s, we were(ok sum of us... ...lol) were walking around wearing bumbags/fanny packs.... :shock: , i remember there being a lot of pink and purple clothing.....even pink Sunglasses were popular.....lol.....All shocking when we look back now.

How it all Began..............FACT.

Chas Roberts, was indeed working on a very important NEW frame project, the weekend of the biggest race event in Uk history was fast approaching again, and Chas Roberts and the entire team were working Through the Night, to finish this new frame to the FASTIDIOUS high standards, that Roberts cycles is renowned for.

The Day before the race the frames fabrication was finished, and was sent for powdercoat.

This particular frame was like no frame that had gone before it, and was a cumulation of all the knowledge gained from the best of the white Spiders and more....much more.

At a time, when the Market was flooded with Bright Neon colours, and mad splatter paint jobs..... given these facts and the time restraints they were left with to actually get to the Malvern hills classic on time, the chosen Colour was a timeless and Classy white and black.

The trouble was.......with all the work and the detail that had been going into the frame and the panic to have it finished so the magazines could view it as had been requested, no One had thought to give the Bike a Model Name.

At this time, Chas had a University Degree student working with them in the work shop who was an Avid fan of "VIZ" magazine.

When chas held the frame up, and realised at the eleventh Hour, there was no model name, this staff member with his copy of Viz Magazine in hand, stopped dead in his tracks, and said mate thats the "DOGS BOLOX". (an expression meaning top quality/top of the range, and made popular here in the uk, by VIZ magazine).

Chas said thats perfect, made some decals quickly attached them to the frame, and raced down the motorway to the Malverns, to Show the much awaited frame to the Press and the Public.

The Acronym didnt come untill later when Chas was asked to explain the name, and he Jovially came up with a meaning for the name, reffering to it....

Dirt Orientated Geometry System Bidirectional Ovalised Lateral Xtra.

and considering this was off the top of his head when asked, i think it was pretty dam good............

Of course at a time when Competiton was fierce from both foreign and domestic markets, it didnt take long for other well respected English frame builders to follow suit, with there top of the range frames, and there chosen names.

the rest as they say is history.

 

[sylus]

Is it me or do the terms Donkis Nob and Dogs Bollx take something away from these fantastic machines...

I can swear with the best of them (witness some of the auctions I missed out on...) but it just seems so cheesy to use these fnarr fnarr acronyms...

Or is that the gag? The joke didn't survive to make it into retro and the bikes more than did!

I'd love a Dogs but I'd have Gil whip up a set of decals without the bolx!

PS, sorry we are moving a bit OT...

They were made in the early 90's ...back when we seemed to have a sense of humour...perhaps youth gives us that but as we get older some lose it and become grumpies

If you think about it old men riding bikes of their youth could be compared to harley riders...mid life crisis

The names captured the times we were in and they were cool and funny then and they still are..the only thing that has changed is the people with an opinion on them.

As sinn says the name would never stop me riding a great bike and these are great bikes

Back on track using the same ooo no sir I wouldn't because of the name...why would anyone by a bike after a baby mix?

sometimes age removes the humour in life