FS: early 70s Clive Stuart British-made frameset
 

Spring herd thinning has commenced! Up for sale is an early 70s Clive Stuart British-made frameset. Specs are as follows:

--Seat tube = 58cm center to top
--Top tube = 57 cm center to center
--chain stay = 42cm
--wheelbase = 101cm
--standover with 700x32mm wheels is 32.5"
--brake reach with 700c wheels is 55mm front, 45mm rear
--Campagnolo dropouts front and rear
--Serial # 258 (which I'm guessing indicates 58th frame produced in 1972)
--weight as shown with headset is 6.7 lbs on my hanging scale

The story of Clive Stuart is pretty funky. There's a four-page BF thread here; essentially, Clive and Stuart were two different gents who teamed up for a tumultuous run in the early to mid 70s. They seemed to employ a variety of frame builders, and this example is quite well made with nicely thinned lugs (Hayden?), wrap-over seat stay, and sloping fork crown. Paint is not original and not in terribly good shape; it was likely bright yellow at its start, and you can see that yellow coming through in various chips and scrapes. No dents or dings. There's a Reynolds 531 Professional sticker on the seat tube, but I really doubt that's accurate, given the frame weight. It takes a 27.2mm seat post, so I do think it's likely Reynolds 531, just not the Professional tube set.

I actually built this bike up with 650B x 38mm wheels, and it had ample clearance for that conversion with Dia Compe 750mm center pull brakes. It fits 700 x 32mm wheels just fine (I checked).

Price is $125 plus shipping from zip 02446 via BikeFlights in the CONUS. Sale includes frame, fork, and Campy headset (I'm not sure of the model).

SOLD!

Slightly too small. Nice f/f. HS looks like Record, if the race cover is chrome and not AL.

$125 plus shipping? Are you crazy? (Low, not too high)

He is crazy, and if this was 2 or 3 cm smaller I'd probably buy it and then it'd hang around doing nothing for years, because I already have too many bikes and projects. But it is a really cool frame.

Looks like a Gran Sport headset to me.

Fine bike at a good price. Too big for me thankfully, : )

Really, really cool bike...agree with the others that NL's prices ARE INSANE!

Didn't Crazy Eddie end up in jail? Watch out, Lerner!

He did...after trying to escape justice in Israel. It's a pretty fascinating story actually...I wrote about it and researched the heck out of it for an audit class. After he was released, he violated his parole by being involved with a very early online electronics retailer.

Danny Devito actually bought the rights to the story, but there were issues with his defrauded creditors, and other players in the story, looking for money from the movie and not signing over their rights. He bought a white elephant.

His father was also a huge crook and remained untouched.

His original shop was right around where my dad grew up.

NL - sorry for thread drift.

I guarantee that Crazy Eddie is not and has never been a party to the sale of this bicycle frame.

May I inquire headtube length?


I know someone who may be interested.
Will you deliver next time in PNW?
Cheers & tally-ho,
Stuart

Head tube measures 15cm to my eye.

And no foreseeable trips to the PNW for me though I wouldn't say no if an opportunity suddenly came up!

Whew!
58cm is usually too small, and that headtube really wouldn't do for a proper fitment to me.

What is the rear spacing? The paint looks like good, just some chips... is it good quality? The Reynolds decals are a lot newer style, have they been cleared over if someone wanted to remove/replace them?

It really is a nice frame and very tempting.

Rear is spaced at 120mm. Reynolds decals do not seem to be clear coated; I could put a finger nail under them without too much effort.

Paint is good quality though, as I noted, lots of chips and rub marks.

It'd look great hanging over my corpse in the basement. Seriously though, are you making a trip in my direction in the foreseeable future?

I am glad that this is not bigger...I would have to be returning something to try and justify. There is sosmething about that frame that I really like. GLWS

I'm afraid not in the short term, Rob. Maybe in the summer, but I'd like to sell this frame before then. eBay beckons!

I honestly can't believe this one is still available. I'd have to wear platform shoes to ride it, but don't think I'm not tempted.

Yeah, put it on ebay. You'll get a lot more for it there, and you'll make the people here feel like fools. Not sure if that would make you feel good, but ...

Well, I just want to sell this frameset, not make anyone feel like a fool. But thanks for the unique marketing angle, Tom.

I was joking. Sorry it didn't come across.

Well, I guess it worked--Clive Stuart is sold!