When F.H.Grubb went into the cycling trade his engineering mind & skills was reinforced by his crack time trialling and record hunting experiences. On numerous occasions he had been courageous enough to leave the straight path of conventional design and practice, with several striking innovations coming out of his Wimbledon works. Of these his pre-war "Twinlight" is an outstanding example. In profile the "Twinlight" is reminiscent of the famous "Centaur" cross frame which preceded it by many years, but the resemblance was only superficial. Mr. F.H.Grubb designed and made an an entirely welded frame in which the head tube was the only standard size tube. Small diameter tubes being employed elsewhere; the largest of these was the single tube that ran from the bottom of the head to the seat cluster. The twin down tubes were one continuous length to the rear ends; in the meet where they angled was the bottom bracket barrel, which was buttressed against the twin set tubes that were stepped just in front of it. A rigid practical BB assembly that responded to every pedaling thrusts. The twin tubes that met the head were outside of it, a wide spacing which prevented whip and twist: two rings about 6" apart bridged the top of the seat tubes and these also held the seat pin, which was exposed to view. This machine was said to be at the time ultralight, fast and responsive. Manufacture was shelved in 1939. I have also seen a very similar Hobbs of Barbican machine. James Cycles in 1936 also manufactured a frame similar in appearance to the "Twinlights" but this dispensed with some of the tubes and replaced them with tension wires. My apologies for the rather amateur description. Perhaps someone has a photograph?
Yours in cycling. Michael Butler Huntingdon UK.
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