Yikes! I used to think that "clip" overlap was an emotional problem of the
rider, not a design problem of the bike!
Thanks for this one documented account of how this can be a truly dangerous
thing.
David Feldman
Vancouver, WA
> Hi All, I spoke to George today and he told me a tragic story about this
> bike I have just bought. He built it in 1982 for a junior with small feet.
> It was designed with a low bracket and an ultra short wheelbase to be
used
> with 165 mm cranks (Campy Pista) The junior rode it for a season, parted
it
> out, selling the frame to a rider with larger feet. This man put 175mm
> cranks and long toe clips on it. He was in a 10 mile time trial on the
> Weston circuit which has a tight bend. He caught his toeclip on the front
> tyre (now a 30mm overlap) and was spat off under the wheels of a truck. He
> was killed. The frame was undamaged. In no way was George responsible. In
> fact he urges anyone buying one of his frames second hand to contact him
so
> he can discuss the original design. He is most particular about the fit of
> his frames. The toe overlap is less of a problem nowadays as he almost
> universally builds touring framesets.
> The bike is decalled as a Swinnerton. George explained that it was
built
> for this junior who was in the Riva Sport club (now defunct). It
originally
> carried their decals and was in blue. Now in red after modification -front
> der braze ons. GL -033-82 is stamped under the bracket. GL was used to
> denote a Longstaff frame built for a club or private customer as opposed
to
> a shop. RS would be used for Roy Swinnertons' shop or BR for Brian
Rourkes'.
> I have had a couple of responses to timelining Aero era components. If
> anyone can date the introduction of Ambrosio Durex Aerodynamic rims I
would
> be grateful .(stop sniggering, Bloggs)
> One list member proposed a website on Aero frames. Any other interested
> listees please get in touch.
> Mark Stevens in Dingwall, Scotland. Mild but Grey