We’ve discussed it before, but … what an excellent bike.
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and then I did another thing…..
Well, I’ve been finding more subtle issues with my old Trek frame. At this point I’m going abandon ship and do a “post what you pedal” with all these parts hung on a new frame soon. With that in mind…
Anybody have firsthand experience on a Bob Jackson frame? A local shop has one for a decent price. Hand built in Leeds, UK from Reynolds 531 likely in the 70s. I’ve never met anyone who owned a BJ so if you have direct experience I’d love to hear it. Figured this was the best thread for this
And yes, the price is within range for me because of the patina. I don’t mind that at all as long as everything’s square (seems 60 and 40 for example haha), which they assure me it is. They’re an old school shop with a frame jig and all the necessary tools to analyze if anything’s out of whack. Better than gambling on Craigslist!
Anybody have firsthand experience on a Bob Jackson frame? A local shop has one for a decent price. Hand built in Leeds, UK from Reynolds 531 likely in the 70s. I’ve never met anyone who owned a BJ so if you have direct experience I’d love to hear it. Figured this was the best thread for this
And yes, the price is within range for me because of the patina. I don’t mind that at all as long as everything’s square (seems 60 and 40 for example haha), which they assure me it is. They’re an old school shop with a frame jig and all the necessary tools to analyze if anything’s out of whack. Better than gambling on Craigslist!
Bob Jackson made magnificent steel frames. I never owned one, but I raced with a guy who had one. He still has it. I've ridden it a few times, and I can't think of a single criticism. And I can be a hypercritical dickhole (see e.g., the teenage hard on thread in Seriously OTWell, I’ve been finding more subtle issues with my old Trek frame. At this point I’m going abandon ship and do a “post what you pedal” with all these parts hung on a new frame soon. With that in mind…
Anybody have firsthand experience on a Bob Jackson frame? A local shop has one for a decent price. Hand built in Leeds, UK from Reynolds 531 likely in the 70s. I’ve never met anyone who owned a BJ so if you have direct experience I’d love to hear it. Figured this was the best thread for this
View attachment 3903086
And yes, the price is within range for me because of the patina. I don’t mind that at all as long as everything’s square (seems 60 and 40 for example haha), which they assure me it is. They’re an old school shop with a frame jig and all the necessary tools to analyze if anything’s out of whack. Better than gambling on Craigslist!
)To be fair, though, except for making proper fit the frame is the least important part of a road bike
I just love those old frames… they last! Especially if they sleep on the couch!Well, I’ve been finding more subtle issues with my old Trek frame. At this point I’m going abandon ship and do a “post what you pedal” with all these parts hung on a new frame soon. With that in mind…
Anybody have firsthand experience on a Bob Jackson frame? A local shop has one for a decent price. Hand built in Leeds, UK from Reynolds 531 likely in the 70s. I’ve never met anyone who owned a BJ so if you have direct experience I’d love to hear it. Figured this was the best thread for this
View attachment 3903086
And yes, the price is within range for me because of the patina. I don’t mind that at all as long as everything’s square (seems 60 and 40 for example haha), which they assure me it is. They’re an old school shop with a frame jig and all the necessary tools to analyze if anything’s out of whack. Better than gambling on Craigslist!
The frame just hold all the important parts together! Rider included.Bob Jackson made magnificent steel frames. I never owned one, but I raced with a guy who had one. He still has it. I've ridden it a few times, and I can't think of a single criticism. And I can be a hypercritical dickhole (see e.g., the teenage hard on thread in Seriously OT
To be fair, though, except for making proper fit the frame is the least important part of a road bike
Cool. Making sure I’m not getting some piece of trash that has some oddball known failure point. Like old Viscount death forks or something like that.
Next step is definitely getting the engine of this machine tuned up (me).
Next step is definitely getting the engine of this machine tuned up (me).
Getting this Squid So-EZ fixie ready for riding. Needs new tires and SPD pedals and I’m rocking.
My first foray into the fixie world. Stoked!!
My first foray into the fixie world. Stoked!!
We expect an honest assessment in 60 days whether riding a fixie for anything other than track racing makes sense
My partner has commuted on a Bianchi Pista with a fixed cog for 18 years now. She's never had a driver's license in her life so the Pista is her daily. It can be done. It's got dented tubes, has been stolen and recovered, mildly crashed, had lots of parts wear out and get replaced, and it lives on. I've tried to talk her into a geared bike for ages and she has zero interest. She's become one with that bike.
(If she ever decided to kick me for whatever reason, I would die - her legs are made of steel at this point)
So like my hobby of off-roading I’ve gone a bit over the edge with bikes.
First is 2018 yet Jeff’s Al comp 27.5
Upgraded from shimano slx to sram gx
Second 2021 track stache 29’er
Built the bike from the frame up to do xc and bikepacking
SRAM gx dt, fox 34 fork, shimano slx breaks dt Swiss 370 wheels set
Third 2022 Scott addict 20
Shimano drivetrain and upgraded the wheels to hunt 54 carbon wheels
First is 2018 yet Jeff’s Al comp 27.5
Upgraded from shimano slx to sram gx
Second 2021 track stache 29’er
Built the bike from the frame up to do xc and bikepacking
SRAM gx dt, fox 34 fork, shimano slx breaks dt Swiss 370 wheels set
Third 2022 Scott addict 20
Shimano drivetrain and upgraded the wheels to hunt 54 carbon wheels
Sick bikes!!
Hey it’s me, Jim, back again with the boring & esoteric vintage bike ephemera! I did end up acquiring the Bob Jackson frame. Took all the parts off the tweaked Trek and draped them on the BJ. Picked up yet another used Brooks B17 - honey brown with copper rivets - and slapped that on too. Best part: this has as much patina as my 60
Took a lunch break from WFH stuff and did the first test ride: success. What a beautiful riding frame, maybe the nicest frame I’ve ever had. Perfectly balanced, not too aggressive. Seat, bars, and derailleurs are 98% there but need a few small adjustments. @RodrigzCrzr has been coaching me through some RD finesse.
Cool thing about Bob Jackson is they kept a record of every single bike they ever made, going back at least to the late 50s (Bob himself started in 1935 and put down the torch in 1993). BJ was purchased by Woodrup Cycles after Bob’s passing and they kept the records. They charged me $25 for a scan:
Originally sold to my home state of Ohio. Pretty cool to see how it was spec’d.
While waiting on the deal for the BJ to be finalized I accidentally acquired this 1976 Centurion Semi-Professional for way too cheap. Did I already post this? I don’t think so. Tange Champion #1 tubing was every bit as good as 531 or SL in my opinion. 100% original except for the wheels, and all top shelf parts for the time. Amazing how well the old tech still works when you have quality components and a good tune. Like the BJ, this has chromed lugs and lots of attention to detail. It even has chromed wraparound seat stays. These builders took great care making this. The front end trail is pretty long for a road bike and the steering is a bit sluggish, but once it’s rolling it glides.
I promise, with y’all as my witness, that I’m not buying ANY more bikes for a while. Time to ride.
Took a lunch break from WFH stuff and did the first test ride: success. What a beautiful riding frame, maybe the nicest frame I’ve ever had. Perfectly balanced, not too aggressive. Seat, bars, and derailleurs are 98% there but need a few small adjustments. @RodrigzCrzr has been coaching me through some RD finesse.
Cool thing about Bob Jackson is they kept a record of every single bike they ever made, going back at least to the late 50s (Bob himself started in 1935 and put down the torch in 1993). BJ was purchased by Woodrup Cycles after Bob’s passing and they kept the records. They charged me $25 for a scan:
Originally sold to my home state of Ohio. Pretty cool to see how it was spec’d.
While waiting on the deal for the BJ to be finalized I accidentally acquired this 1976 Centurion Semi-Professional for way too cheap. Did I already post this? I don’t think so. Tange Champion #1 tubing was every bit as good as 531 or SL in my opinion. 100% original except for the wheels, and all top shelf parts for the time. Amazing how well the old tech still works when you have quality components and a good tune. Like the BJ, this has chromed lugs and lots of attention to detail. It even has chromed wraparound seat stays. These builders took great care making this. The front end trail is pretty long for a road bike and the steering is a bit sluggish, but once it’s rolling it glides.
I promise, with y’all as my witness, that I’m not buying ANY more bikes for a while. Time to ride.
