The birth and life of a 1952 Gillott
Peter Underwood
We have recently been sent a copy of a 1952 Gillott frame order/invoice by Keith Tubby from Norwich who raced with the Norwich Amateur Bicycle Club: it is a good example of how frames were built in the 50s and shows how the relationship between builder and buyer was established:
Date of order: November 19th 1952 Date of delivery: December 27th 1952
Frame Number: 523059 Type and size: 24½” Fleur de Lis
Angles - Head: 74º Seat: 73º Top tube: 22½”
Bottom Bracket: 10¾” with 26” wheels
Wheelbase: Front................... Rear 17¼”
Fork ends:- Front: Our special Rear: Our special track
Head fitting: Continental type Lytaloy
Front forks: Round 1¾” rake RJB crown
Width of front ends: 3⅞” Rear: 4?”
Size of wheels: 27” with mudguards
Brazed-on attachments: Mudguard eyes Make of fittings: Baylis Wiley
Chainwheel set and sizes..........................
Rims.......................................................... Hubs......................................................
Spokes....................................................... Tyres.....................................................
Chain........................................................ Pedals.....................................................
Gears and sprockets................................. Saddle.....................................................
Mudguards................................................ Brakes...................................................
Handlebars and stem...............................
Colour and finish: Super Electro Flamboyant Majenta; White P O L; C/P Fork all over, stays all over; Block
transfers.
(White P O L = white paint on lugs; C/P = chrome plating)
Accessories.............................................
Price......................................£18.17s.6d. plus 7s.6d.
Deposit...................................£1.0s.0d
Balance when ready.........................................
Special notes: Rear ends 2” slot; 5/8” seat stays Rapid taper chainstays
The end result, Keith Tubby NABC at speed in a 72" Restricted Fixed-wheel event in March 1953 on the Gillott ordered via the above form.
It was a stunning machine with the beautiful Fleur de Lys lugs, finished in polychromatic magenta on nickel plate with chrome forks and chrome rear triangle. The frame had A S GILLOTT in block letters on the down tube and the lugs lined in white.
The specification of this machine was:
Brooks B57 Swallow with stainless-steel frame
Cyclo steel stem 4½" with 1" drop - Reynolds bars 'Continental' with 8" drop
Brake GB Superhood lever with Coureur stirrup
Fiamme sprint rims on Harden LF Flyweight hubs and Dunlop N. 2 tubs
Allez pedals with cyclo clips and straps
Note the CO2 inflator below the saddle and secured in a Terry clip mounted on a block at the rear of the seat tube.
Keith was 6' 2" tall and weighed 11 stone in racing trim.
- Beginnings
- Post-War Years
- Lugs and Frames - Numbering
- Stems and More Lugs
- The Final Years - The Business Sold
- The Birth and Life of a 1952 Gillott
- Bronze-brazed Frames