Hi,
I've been surprisingly unlucky finding any kind of old frames here in Denmark in the past month that aren't beefy city bikes tossed under a bridge or in the river... I'm heading to London for a week and have looked around and noticed condor, brixton cycles etc but was wondering if there was anything geared towards used bikes? like a co-op/chop shop of some sort or a more active craigslist equivalent?

I'm looking for a 53-55 track or road frame for the next six months, but trying to keep the price relatively low since i have my nice bikes waiting for me back at home.

thanks!!

your best bet would probably be to head out to brick lane market early on a sunday morning. I doubt you'll find a track bike but you'll probably be able to grab a road frame.

I might be able to help you, depending what sort of a frame you're after, and what your idea of "fairly low" is.

I've got a couple of gas-pipe road frames (both probably 70's) in about a 56, which you could have for £10. I also have a really nice frame that I suspect of being 531, pretty lugs, etc, but it's more like 52 cm. I'm in Southampton, but I come to London all the time. Drop me a PM if you want to discuss further.

There are a few shops that sell second hand frames. Edwardes in South London is the best. Also, there's a shop further south - but I forget the name, it's something like "Re-Cycling" but it's not this shop https://www.southwarkcyclists.org.uk/recycling.htm

the shop you posted the link for is very expensive i think. i was really excited to go down there but was blown away by the prices.

there is a guy who sells a lot of track stuff on ebay based in brixton and covent garden, it may be worthwhile sending him a message to see what he has got at the moment. his user name is xrobertomedeirosx.

good luck with your search.

Thanks Sammyboy, I'm thinking the 56cm road frames might be a bit too big, how long is the TT on those? Is the geometry relatively tight on them? Maybe you can PM me some specs and pictures? That 531 frame sounds nice, but 52 might be too small.

I sent a message to xrobertomedeirosx on ebay, he's got a nice rossin frame up for bids but it's also a 52cm. God it's a tight bike though, the wheels are practically touching the seat tube and downtube. would be a fun ride.

I'll have a look at the shops too and let everyone know if i find anything, but keep the suggestions coming, i'm excited!

Too bad I can't make brick lane market, i'm only there sunday evening - friday afternoon..

Medeiros is a good guy, with a lot of nice stuff. I have a Francesco Moser frameset (gaspipe, mind you) that may be smaller than the one I measured. I'll take a look. It sounds like the 52 might be too small, which is a shame, it's a sweet frame.

just watch out. It is common knowledge that there is alot of stolen stuff in brick lane.

Brick lane bikes may be worth a visit, if you're around Brick Lane. Seen a few 2nd hand track frames there during visits.
https://www.bricklanebikes.co.uk/

Would 2nd the opinion that you've got to be careful buying bikes at the market. Lots of hot bikes there and the last thing you want to do is ride a bike ripped off from a London Messenger or one of his mates.

Second-hand frames are hard to find in the UK IMHO. Its a pretty tight market with lots of buyers and not a lot of stock right. Just have to patient as the supply is pretty steady.

Keep an eye on the Moving Target Zine site. Every now and frames are posted.

Best places though seem to be the Bike jumble/swaps. Ripley is really good if you can get there (next ripley jumble is March 31st). The Good Friday swap/meet at Herne Hill should be good too (6th April)

Oh and if you can get there, you may find a decent cheap bike at the Walthamstow Bike Recycling project:
https://www.lbwf.gov.uk/index/transpo...ng-recycle.htm