Holiday Greetings, All!
I have very recently acquired a Hobbs of Barbican frame and forks. Based on info from the Hobbs website linked on the CR page, I believe it was made in 1948. I attempted to email Mervyn Cook, the VCC "expert" on Hobbs, but the email address on the Hobbs page for him (jacques-cook@ntlworld.com) returned to me an "invalid recipient" error. If anyone knows how to contact him, I would appreciate hearing.
If any of you have a Hobbs, and would be willing to help me identify the model, let me know.
Despite some moderate surface rust, it's beautifully made, with the trademark Hobbs lugs. In addition to frame and forks, it also came with a Bayliss Wiley bottom bracket (which turns freely and feels smooth!), a Lytaloy headset, Stratalite tour de france bars, an aluminum seatpost and a very servicable (but not pristine) Brooks B17 narrow. All of this for the low, low price of 70 pounds on Ebay UK. A lesson here: the seller said on his listing that he wanted to deliver locally only. I emailed him and asked if he would ship. He agreed, so I bid and won. I think other bidders stayed away because they never bothered to ask if he would ship overseas. He charged me 25 pounds to ship it, and it arrived from England in FOUR days! He was very willing to accomodate my packing requests. A great seller.
A history question: Hobbs used two types of tubing: Reynolds 531 and Accles and Pollock Kromo. Accles and Pollock was apparently a TI company. I guess they started as competitors? When did Raleigh buy TI? I've never heard of Accles and Pollock Kromo tubing before, but apparently it was thought to be as nice as 531... Wonder what ever became of it?
So how about it? Any Hobbs experts out there willing to share their wisdom regarding my new (old) frame?
Thanks in advance,
Duncan Granger
Lancaster, PA