Hi All, Attached is additional information that I received from Mick Butler:
>"This one obviously needs some clarification, hope this is not too boring.
>This is my opinion not as a Historian (God Forbid I feel quite flattered)
>but as a hairy arsed cyclists of dare I say it 50 years plus. The
>lightweight scene as we know it didn't really start until after the First
>world War. In 1920 and I will just use London makers as an illustration
>there was really only Allin & Grubb, F.H.Grubb himself and Holly Hodge
>here in the capital which you would perceive as lightweight makers.
>Everyone else was riding makes like Ariel, B.S.A, Criterion, Coventry
>Eagle, Centaur, Olympic, Raleigh, Rudge-Whitworth, Wearwell and James etc.
>Now these London lightweights had head and seat angles of about 66 you 68
>deg and by today's standards huge long wheelbases. Now move on a few years
>more (1925 approx) and we have Selbach, Buckey Brothers, Featherweights
>(later Macleans), F.J.Saunders (where H.R.Morris was apprenticed), Merlin,
>Ewing & Deans (Granby) and Saxon all with the same angles and long
>wheelbases. This was the same on the continent, I was lucky enough to have
>a ride on a Peugeot Tour de France bike from this period that Hilary
>owned, it was frightful. How they ever manged to race on these
>contraptions is a miracle! Have also had a go on an Alcyon from this
>period equally dreadful. The French frame that the Parkes so carefully
>looked at before coming up with the Sun Wasp design was a Louviot (forgive
>the spelling).
>Right now here is the sallent point if you read "The Cycling Handbook by
>A.L.Pullen pp.5 it says the Continetals were the ones to steepen the angles
>to 70deg parallel, I maintain that the Sun experimental design of 1926 or
>thereabouts which resulted in the manufacture and debut of the Sun Wasp in
>1928 was way ahead of the French, if this is not the case it certainly
>heralded the begining of the upright parallel frame here in the UK amongst
>club cyclists.
>Somewhere I remember the late Bill Bush putting on an exhibition of
>lightweight bicycles. This was at the Gordon Craig Theatre in Stevenage
>and pride of place was a resplendent 1928 Sun Wasp with a press cliipping
>from "Cycling" by Nimrod saying that "Mr. Parkes claimed that this was the
>first upright design" plus a write up from Bill heralding the then
>revolutionary parallel upright shorter wheelbased design without the use
>of a curved or "L" shaped seat post. Now Bill was an expert cycling
>historian. Another good reference is the Cycling Handbook by Camm which
>was written in 1934 saying similar about frame angles and wheelbases for
>touring being an ideal 42".
>Now Sun stole a mark on everone here in the UK with the Wasp great design
>which handled perfectly and was very chaep to buy and excellent quality
>build. Claud, Spanner and Hobbs didn't relly get into thier stride or hit
>the big time until post 1936 dare I say it at least eight years after the Sun.
>Finally they made the lugs in either Sun Gents Upright or Special
>Continetal Cut-away. Never ever saw any Parkes lugs but they were the same
>firm as Sun. They made a Sun Snipe which was hugely popular for many years.
>Would be interested to see if anyone can find a French machine prior to
>1928 with steep parallel angles and a wheelbase of about 42".
All the best, Phil Easton, Cambria, California, USA