Hello all,

This is officially no longer for sale! I bumped the advertisement hesitantly only to discover and purchase what I feel is a perfect "mate" for this bike... So, I plan to keep it after all!

I acquired this frameset as a partial trade for the late-'50s Bates Volante frameset I sold to a gentleman and fellow forum member from San Francisco. After pondering it for some time, I've decided that it isn't a bicycle I can justify building up because of the effort it will take to do it justice.

This is a lovely frameset, and I did not clean it up completely before taking these photos - there is some gunk around the lower parts of the fork blades and bottom bracket area in particular, and I believe it might have been put on the frame intentionally to keep it from rusting. It comes off easily enough with a bit of vinegar and water, which is what I used to clean around the head lugs and seat cluster already. I don't see or feel any dents but there are signs of some pitting around the bottom bracket and chainstays which seems superficial enough.

It feels very solid and has Bates patented cantiflex tubing and diadrant fork blades. It measures 25" from center-to-top along the seat tube and 23" center-to-center for the top tube. The frame and fork have matching serial numbers of U13851. The Bayliss-Wiley bottom bracket assembly looks very nice but will obviously need to be rebuilt - the spindle spins freely but there is obviously a buildup of old grease in there causing it to feel clunky.

-Gregory

More photos...

Jaw drop.
Phil

If this was a 23" or 24" I'd be in the chopper on my way to Carmichael.

Good luck with the sale...

It MIGHT be 24” CTC! Haha. Get the chopper running!

A wonderful iconic restoration project! I can vouch for the seller: I have bought two older English frames from him.
Brent

That seems like a fantastic deal on a rare and unique frame. It's got good bones and replacement decals are available. I am super tempted even though it's not my size, I have no funds, and I already have too many bikes and projects. I did my first postwar project a couple years ago, it was more expensive and more difficult to find parts, but not excessively so. Overall a very fun and rewarding project.

my size.

Think Campy SR 13 would look good on it?

Someone buy this. That's an order.
I could easily fit this frame which happens to be adjacent to the grail for me, but I have too many already and they all want attention. I just can't.
Phil

Campy on a Bates? The absolute Horror.
A Bates is on my list but this checks only two out of four boxes...
What size wheels was this frame made for?
597 or 630?

Definitely something you don't see everyday.
Amazing!!!

Hello folks,

The frameset is (perhaps temporarily) no longer available.

Last week I managed to sell a car that I've had advertised for several months, so I no longer have storage space issues or quite such a heap of extra stuff lying about to cause anxiety. I've decided to hold onto this frame a while longer to mull over the options given the circumstances. Cheers!

-Gregory

That's good news. Congrats on the sale, Gregory. This one seems like a keeper.

Bump! Back on the market for $400 + S/H.

I discovered that my pal Giles over in the UK (a great collector of such bikes) actually owned and built this frameset up in 2020, and sold it directly to the fellow in San Francisco that I purchased it from. Here's a photo of how Giles had it set up:

-Gregory

Bump! Price drop to $350 + S/H within continental US via Bikeflights. I'm eager to move this one along and make room in by storage unit as well as my brain!

-Gregory

I really hope that whoever buys this frame doesn't repaint and re-decal it..

Well, just a day after a hesitant bump, I quite suddenly stumbled upon and decided to buy a frameset that I think is a perfect match for this Bates. So, I've decided to keep it. End of story!

No longer for sale!

-Gregory

Looking forward to the thread