I was intrigued when a Jack Taylor "project bike" popped up on the SF Bay Area Craig's List at the end of January. I emailed the seller as soon as I saw the ad, talked to him by phone, and told him I'd drive up to Marin county that afternoon to see and pick up the bike. A few hours later I was bringing home a large framed, flamboyant gold colored "Tour of Britain" Jack Taylor, with extensive box lining and a great mix of high quality French and Italian components.
The serial number on the frame was 6644, suggesting that it had been built in 1974 based on the serial number registry here:
Jack Taylor Cycles - Serial # Registry. Michael Thompson had mentioned on Classic Rendezvous that he had made a copy of Norman Taylor frame building log on a previous visit to England. After some very helpful email correspondence with Mike and Bob Elliot, I was thrilled to receive a copy of the relevant pages in the log, showing that my bike had been exactly 40 years ago today (March 22, 1974).
I was almost 15 years old when the bike was built. Actually, my 15th birthday was coming in just a couple weeks at the time, and all of my junior high school friends and I had spent much of the previous year reading, saving, shopping, scheming for our very first 10 speed bikes. I got a huge 25.5 inch Raleigh Grand Prix in spring of 1974, and rode if everywhere throughout high school. The Jack Taylor is nearly as large a bike, but from a completely different planet in terms of build quality, ride, and components.
I'm still in the process of building-up and dialing-in the bike, and getting it back on the road for regular riding. My operating principle has been to treat the bike like a time capsule, with the time dial on the WayBack Machine set for the mid-1970s ! It's been great fun reminding myself what was current at the time, and re-experiencing components that reflect all the charms and foibles of the era. I've put about 100 miles on the bike so far. Not enough for extensive comments, but already enough to say that I am thrilled with the ride, feel, and sound of the Jack Taylor. Happy birthday to a forty year old bike, and many thanks for the chance to feel as excited as a 15 year old whenever I climb aboard!
Frame: lugged Tour of Britain model 531, 71/73 degree geometry, 62 cm ctc seat tube, 58.5 cm top tube, Serial 6644
Fork: Oval fork blades 28 x 16 mm
French Headset: Stronglight V4 Competition
Italian Stem: 3ttt 120mm
Italian Handlebars: 3ttt Grand Prix with "Cinelli Milano" blue end plugs
French Brakes; Mafac tandem cantilevers (4 dot pads in front, 5 dot pads in rear)
Campagnolo drive train: Nuovo Record crankset with 50 and 42 tooth chainwheels, Nuovo Record front and rear. derailleurs Patent 73
Freewheel: Regina 5 speed G.S. Oro, (14, 18, 22, 26, 31), a useful wide-range freewheel that has already spent a week in the rehab spa with PastorBob!
Campagnolo high flange hubs, 36 spoke, with Fiamme Tubular rims (still cleaning up some decades old glue and getting ready for my first ride in decades on tubulars)
Saddle: Brooks Professional
Seat post: Aluminum seat pin (27.2) with separate Brooks clamp-on
Pump: Silca Imperio, Campagnolo metal head.
Original pedals missing (had been replaced by Look style clip-in pedals)
My additions so far:
Vittoria Evo Corsa SC tubular tires and Velox repair kit for the original tubular wheels
Alternative clincher wheels: Campagnolo high flange hubs (1975), 32 spokes, Mavic M2 rims, Vittoria Evo Corsa SC 700x25mm clincher tires, and Atom 14-30 5-speed freewheel
TA Specialites steel water bottle cage
TA Isol water bottle
Campagnolo Gran Sport pedals
Christophe Toe Clips and straps
1970s Cannondale saddle bag (a great "Pay it Forward" gift from Bike Forums member RoadTire).
Thanks to everyone for your help with research and parts, especially Michael Thompson, Robert Freeman, PastorBob, and RoadTire. Bicycle Quarterly had a great issue back in 2009 that originally helped stimulated my interest in the Taylor Brothers and their 50 year history of building beautiful custom bikes in England. For more information see:
The Jack Taylor Story | Off The Beaten Path