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Hand Made In Britain

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clarion:
Spurring off from another discussion, I was musing on this issue.

I'm not the most patriotic of folk, it could be said ;) , but I do like a good British made frame.

Back in the old days, there was a host of small-scale builders in workshops turning out frames of various qualities, and a few large-scale manufacturers with factories (Raleigh, Rudge, Claud Butler, Dawes etc).

Now, it seems, you can get a 'British ' bike - so long as you don't mind that the frame has travelled half way round the planet before you see it.  And I know that componentry has long been from furrin parts, but the frame, for me, is the 'soul' of the bike...

So - where have my bikes' frames come from?

Orbit Silver Medal - Dudley (despite what it says on it, not Yorkshire - I have later graphics)
Orbit tandem - Dudley
Carlton - Worksop
Rudge Pathfinder - Coventry
Carlton Franco-Italia - Worksop
Woodrup Giro - Leeds
Woodrup - Leeds
Dawes Super Galaxy - Not sure, but probably Birmingham.

I'm not claiming some sort of innate superiority to my machines - some of those 'US' brands with frames mass produced in Taiwan are really excellent bikes, no doubt about it.  But I just wanted to illustrate how quickly we've outsourced.  And maybe the resurgence of the UK bike industry is dependent on the relative cheapness of the outsourced frames...

Who now actually builds frames in Britain?  I'll start the list, but feel free to add to it, so we have some kind of record.

Bob Jackson
Mercian
Roberts
Dave Yates
Brompton (after a period of outsourcing, they brought it back).

Who else?

Mr Larrington:
Longstaff.

LEE:
Some of Thorn's frames.

Zoidburg:
Rourke.

Looking at the paint jobs I suspect Longstaffs and Rourke get them built or at least sprayed in the same workshop.

border-rider:
Robin Mather
Argos

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