Category Archives: READERS’ PIKES

SP 7835

November 10, 2016 James 1 Comment

I recently received an email from Mike Riley from Riley’s Cycles of Sherborne. He said…

I have a Stan Pike ladies tourer. It has the owners name, Margaret Lowrey, painted on it. I believe she lived in East Coker and rode the bike extensively around Europe.

I emailed Stan’s son, who said…

Regret I don’t have record of this one but I suspect it is one of ours, It will be a very early ladies frame though I suspect from the frame number, built in 1978. There are some other signs such as the seat lug/seat pin fastening method and the brazed fittings, plus the fork crown, all signs that it’s genuine.

If anyone knows of a Margaret Lowrey, from Somerset, (she was possibly a member of 1^st Chard Wheelers) please get in touch. It would be great to know more about her and her bike.

Mike also said…

I would love to ride a gent’s Stan Pike as I live not far from Crewkerne and would like to show the folks in our cycle club what a quality English bike looks like. If you know of a Stan Pike gents bike or frame for sale around size 22 or 23 inch I would like to make contact with the seller. PS your website is a great resource and shows real respect for a great artisan.

READERS' PIKES

PJ 75

October 5, 2016 James Leave a comment

Giles Butcher contacted me about a Fred Baker frame he owns. Stan built a number of frames for Fred Baker and Giles was hoping his was one of them. Unfortunately it wasn’t. But things aren’t all bad as Giles has recently purchased PJ 75. It turns out that PJ 75’s previous owner had been in touch with me in June* – he intended to sell as the frame was too big for him, but was keen to know if I could supply any further information about it. Here’s what I found out from Stan’s son…

This one is recorded as a 24 and 1/4″ frame with 13 and 3/4″ wheel clearance, built by Phil in 1982 for Mark Cottrell. It’s built with Reynolds 531 plain gauge tubing (so not 531 double butted), but a lightweight and hand built frame nevertheless.

Anyone know a Mark Cottrell who owned a Stan Pike in the early ’80s?

*You’d be surprised at the number of people who contact me, ask for information about their Stan Pike, I supply information after contacting Stan’s son, then I never hear back from them. Not even a thank-you. (Grumble over)

READERS' PIKES

PJ BH3 7JX

September 13, 2016 James Leave a comment

Chris Jackson contacted me and said…

I bought the bike on eBay for my youngest daughter. She wanted the bike when she saw it one eBay, but wouldn’t ride it once it arrived!

It’s a 24″ wheel bike by Phil Pike (Pike of Crewkerne) and is built up with some good kit. Frame is 531DB tubing, 18″ size. Lugs appear to be Bocama Pro with cutouts. Crank is a Stronglight 49D, hubs are Maillard 700 Professional Large Flange. Frame has semi sloping fork crown, lamp boss brazed on right fork blade, and a chain catcher on the right seat stay. Pedals are SR alloy/rubber, stem and bars SR, brake levers MAFAC drilled, Weinmann centre pull brakes, Pletscher alloy rack, Simplex SLJ friction gear lever. The rear mech is a modern Shimano Acera, which will be replaced with a Maeda SunTour Vx-GT. The frame is in need of re-enamelling and I plan to get it painted the same colour by Argos.

I also plan to start putting some of the Springhill Cycle Collection bikes on my blog as time permits. Some of the machines do get an outing on some of our local V-CC rides.

The frame is stamped ‘H. Dighton’ and ‘PJ BH3 7JX’ which I presume is the original owners (Bournemouth) postcode. If anyone has any further information about this bike’s origins and history, we’d love to hear from you. I contacted Stan’s son and he said…

Built for a H. Dighton in 1982. It was a small 18 & 1/4″ frame. Maybe the only one on 24″ wheels.

Unless anyone else knows of any others?

READERS' PIKES

SP 65973

June 10, 2016 James Leave a comment

I was recently contacted by Nigel Dight, who wrote…

I inherited a Stan Pike bike from my uncle, who died a few years ago. The frame was made for my uncle, Victor Dight from Plymouth. Vic was the founder of Somerset Road Club in 1930 when he lived in Taunton. The frame is in its original condition, and has his name, Vic Dight and SP 65973, stamped on the BB.

I contacted Stan’s son, but unfortunately he has no record of the frame being built. However, he did say that it could date from around 1978 given the records that he is missing.

READERS' PIKES

PJ 7779

April 19, 2016 James Leave a comment

Patrick Wright contacted me and said…

Here are some pictures of another bike from the ‘Pike’ stable. It was made for my late brother in law, George Reynolds Cannon. I have no record of the date, but guess from the serial number that it’s a late “Pike of Crewkerne” model, although all the transfers were gone before it came my way. George lived in Marlborough, Wiltshire, and died in 1992. He was very tall – some way over 6 ft 6, and the frame is correspondingly huge (69.5cm or thereabouts). I am 6 ft 5 ins and find it a good ride as long as the saddle is as close to the post as possible – although the SunTour gear levers still seem a long way away! Unlike some other owners on this website, I can be pretty relaxed about locking it up: it would be impossible for 90 per cent of people to ride away on the thing. It was initially silver-grey and has been resprayed and reassembled once. It now needs respectful restoration.

READERS' PIKES

SP 8178

November 3, 2015 James Leave a comment

Michael Bannon contacted me and said…

I rode Eroica 2015 with a friend on a 1982 Stan Pike tandem. Unfortunately we only got half way before a catastrophic front wheel failure sent us over the handlebars. I think this was secondary to a blowout, secondary to the front rim getting too hot from braking on one of the long descents. I bought the tandem two years ago in slightly tatty condition, did a service, only to find that the rear seat post was welded to the steel with corrosion. After mechanical methods failed I resorted to the caustic soda approach- which worked but stripped the paint, so I had it redone with new stickers. The frame was unscathed by the crash and I have had a new front wheel built using a NOS 27″ 48 hole rim on ebay.

Hope to finish Eroica next year – although my stoker might be less than keen – so I could be doing it on a different bike!

READERS' PIKES

SP 22664

November 3, 2015 James Leave a comment

Simon Jones contacted me and said…

I have a bike I’ve recently bought. It’s badged as a Bob Addy. He had bikes made by other makers to sell through his shop. The frame number is SP 22664 with the word DRAYCOTT, both under the BB. The lugs look very similar to SP 25332 but without the cloverleaf cutouts. The drop outs are campagnolo with a Gipiemme brake bridge. Components include Campag nuovo record PAT.83 rear with record downtube shifters. Cinelli R1 stem and bars. Dura ace seat post. Modolo black professional calipers. I’ve seen on the internet that Stan Pike built frames for other shops. Do you think he might of made my bike frame?

As you can see, the brake levers are not correct, but look better than what was on there when I bought it. Also the saddle and front mech I’ve replaced with parts I’d got on another bike. The photo of the rear mech shows the dropout with 2 holes for a Portacatena and no holes for mudguards, so the bike was presumably built for racing. The rims and hubs look good so I’ll respoke the wheels. I hope the photos are good enough for the website.

I forwarded photos to Stan’s son, who replied…

I know this one and knew from the pictures it was a Stan Pike, you can tell from the feathering on the lugs, no one else would bother to spend the time perfecting them! Built in Sept 1983. It’s a 23″ frame, built from Reynolds 531 double butted tubing for Bob Addy.

As it was built in Sept 1983, it means it was one of the last Stan built before his death in November 1983.

Now living in Australia, Bob Addy is very busy as a professional cycling coach. He has a hugely impressive list of achievements – amongst other things Bob is a former British Road Champion, Australia vets Road, Criterium and Time trial Champion, and has ridden in the Tour de France, Olympics games and Commonwealth games. See his website here. I emailed Bob in the hope that he might have some Stan Pike related information. He said…

Yes, this is a Stan Pike frame and I don’t mind it going on the website. My father had a TT bike made by Stan, low profile which I still have in the garage. I will try and get a photo of it over to you within the next few weeks.

Fingers crossed Bob will supply me with more detailed information and photographs. I’ll update the page if so.

READERS' PIKES

SP 2163

November 3, 2015 James Leave a comment

Trevor Harrison contacted me about his Stan Pike and said…

I own a Stan Pike frame. Bought from Alltrax Cycles in Plymouth, I have tried to trace information on the original owner for some time. It’s a very light frame and a fast ride. Some details for you:

Reynolds 753 tubing – 21″ time trial frame
Powder blue with gold lug lining
Original riders name in gold on op tube – CR Sweet
Bottom bracket is stamped ‘Christopher Sweet’ SP 2163
Campag Super Record 52/42 Chainset
Super Record pedals
Nuovo record seat post and shifters/headset/front and rear mechs
Cinelli bars and stem
Ambrosio Sprint wheels + tubular tyres
Campag Record hubs
Regina CXS 14-24 freewheel
Reg Bottle cage
Leather saddle

I contacted Alltrax Cycles and received some further information from John Benney. He said…

Here are some more pictures of the bike as it was when I purchased it from Mr Alan Cox who was the second owner of the bike having bought it from Mr Sweet of Plymouth. At the time of having the bike in the shop for sale I managed to trace Mr Sweet, he came to the shop to see the bike, unfortunately I was out at the time so did not get to meet him, but he did leave a contact phone number. I still have the receipt from Mr Sweet confirming the sale to Mr Alan Cox for £350 for the complete bike. Trevor Harrison bought the frame & forks from me as I striped the bike down & sold all the Campag Super Record parts separately.

Here are some of John’s photos…

READERS' PIKES

SP 25332

June 24, 2015 James Leave a comment

Nick contacted me in March 2014 to tell me about his Stan Pike frames, but it wasn’t until he decided to ride at Eroica Britannia 2015 that he built one of them up as a complete bicycle. Nick said…

It is a lovely Reynolds 753 frame, but obviously really a time trial frame, so it has very tight clearances and significant toe overlap with the front wheel! Not exactly what you might think was designed for Derbyshire off road tracks!

The frame number is SP25332, stamped on the fork stem and under the bottom bracket. Also under the bottom bracket is stamped the name: Jim Bartlett.

I bought the frame initially from Hilary Stone and at the time it was sprayed up as an Argos, although Hilary knew it was a Stan Pike and sold it to me as such.

I actually sold the frame within days of buying it to Paul Baker who runs the Cheddar Cycle Store. Paul is a vastly experienced Somerset road racer in his mid sixties who knew Stan very well and Stan used to make all Paul’s frames. As Paul rode as a professional for some years, he used to have the name of the shop who sponsored him on the frames. He had always said that he regretted selling his Stan Pike frames and I sold it to him as a favour. He had it re-sprayed by Argos with the correct decals and rode it for a short while, but as he now rides modern carbon bikes he found that he did not really use it, so he offered it back to me and I re-bought it. All very convoluted I know.

I contacted Stan’s son, who said…

It’s a 21 3/4″ frame, built in November 1982, from Reynolds 753 tubing.

Interesting, in May 2015 I received an email from an Englishman now living in Australia, who said…

My uncle, Jim Bartlett, who passed away ten years ago, had an absolute stable full of Stan Pikes. He rode with the Frome Wheelers for 50 years and took me in 1977 to see Stan to have my first road frame made. Jim’s frames would all have been 54cm/21” with a serial code that began with the letters JB. I’ve often wondered where his Stan Pikes would be now.

Looks like one has turned up.

If you know the whereabouts of any more of Jim’s frames, please get in touch.

READERS' PIKES

SP 58

June 12, 2015 James Leave a comment

I was contacted by Anthony Thompson a couple of weeks ago…

I recently bought a Don Farrell frame, which I am about to restore. The bottom bracket and forks are both stamped “SP 58” and “140773”. The bottom bracket also has “SILVER BRAZED”. What I am wondering is whether this is one of the frames which Stan Pike built for Don Farrell. The Reynolds transfer and the way the cable guides are arranged suggest that the frame was built before about 1970. I would be grateful for any help that you could give me on this.

I contacted Stan’s son, who said…

I can confirm the frame was built for Don Farrell in Jan/Feb 1973. It is silver brazed and is a 23 &1/2″ frame with 14″ wheel clearance. The front fork rake is 1 & 5/8″. Chain stay length 17″ with 23″ top tube length.

I asked Anthony if he had any further information that I could put on the website. He replied…

I’m afraid that I know nothing about it’s history. I bought it from Vintage Bike Cave in Highgate knowing nothing about Don Farrell or his connection to Stan Pike. It was simply very obviously a very well made frame.

I’d be very happy for you to feature it on the website – any information your readers could supply would be gratefully received.

I won’t be restoring it exactly as original – the chrome has rust underneath and will have to be removed and the downtube decals I’ve obtained are white with a blue edge. However, I will try to capture the rather flamboyant circus big top feel – use the blue and red from the Don Farrell logo and shift the cream background into a definite primrose yellow. Sounds risky, I know, but I think it will work. If not, I’ll start again.

I will share updates from Anthony’s restoration as and when I receive information.