[CR] Macleans Featherweights Frame Numbers & Other Matters

(Example: Framebuilders:Tony Beek)

From: "Joe King" <joeking@fastmail.fm>
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: [CR] Macleans Featherweights Frame Numbers & Other Matters
Date: Sat, 23 Sep 2006 12:20:00 +0100


Through the 1930's Macleans located their frame numbers on the seat lug on the chain side. Post war when they started using the letter "K" prefix they relocated the number to underside of the bottom bracket shell.
>From approximately 1958 onwards things got pretty lean for Macleans no pun intended. They kept going by selling equipment and clothing but they hardly made any frames, although frame repairing and re-enamelling was still quite busy right through to the end in late 1962. Their closing down sale seemed to go on for ever and in the final month it was just a bare empty shop. British lightweight frame manufacturing is obviously intertwined to the economy and fashion. Post war their was an enormous cycling boom in the UK but when the economy grew rapidly in the 1950's and car and motorcycle ownership became more prevalent it started to wane dramatically. The junior and schoolboy cyclists of the early 60's mostly became mods and sold their bikes for scooter's, incidentally most of these fashion crazed young cyclists rode Vespa GS scooters with hardly any junk on them. The other mods from non cycling backgrounds rode the ones with all the lights, crash bars fitted (junked-up)

Also the various lightweight makers were always linked to specific clubs so if the cycling club prospered through the lean years the maker tended to survive. All the clubs that you would automatically associate with Macleans folded quite early on and had vanished into obscurity by 1958. PS Hebden Cord might well be finished tried the phone and Fax number without success.

Croeso Cymru Joe King Nr. Maenaddwyn Ynys Mon Wales