Hey

I'm looking at building a bike and i've been looking around for frames. In my search for a frame i've found an Archie Wilkinson frame, what i'm wondering is are these any good? As brand new i can buy one for under 100 quid.

Is it worth it or shall i look else where.

Simon

naaah sounds crap.

Where is this frame btw?

http://www.archie-wilkinson.co.uk/

forgot to mention i don;t want a speedway bike set up/

Ah mate I was just joshing, sounded like the old english claptrap I tend to be interested in.

But wooo speedway looks cool!

They're cheap as chips, you can't go wrong with one of those man!

What size wheels do they take?

not sure just about to email them now asking for more information, when i get it i'll happily post it on here. Unless someone else knows about them.

this is what i found on the bay

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...tab%3DWatching

They are made for some 26" wheels (not iso 559mm) but somone else on the forum said that 700 c wheels fit, but don't quote me on that. I'd like to see how one of these builds up. I think I would swap the fork though for one with a little rake.

Never heard of the cycle version of speedway. It looks like good fun.
Check for specs as the tyres may not be 700C. Perhaps 650 with generous tyre clearances. No brakes in sight, so you will probably have to drill the fork if you want to install a front one.

Search the forum I got some more specs from AW a while back and posted them

^^^ GrowUp in the blue top?

Archie Wilkinson is only 8 miles from me.

Ive been meaning to go check out the frames, ill do it early next week and take some pics and details for you lot!

Talking to Carl who runs the show down there, he insists running the standard forks on the street would be stupid, although he says there is just enough clearance even with a 700c wheel.

Will see what the deal is.

i dragged up a thread from way back showing some pretty nice archie wilkinson and other speedway frames / polo frames might be a good ref. point for these frames.

Would these work well as OTP polo bikes?

the tubing is thin and they are flexy ;)

i disagree with dogsballs.
I had one, it is essentially a fucking heavy, strong as shit, old english steel track frame.
worth the £25 i got it for.
there is enough for 700c wheels- just built it up for my friend, who now rides it around oxford.

the proper polo players from somewhere at the tournament were rocking these.
so yes they work well.

What colour is the bike in Oxford as i live in Oxford and i'll look out for it. There aren;t too many fixed or singles here

i'm fixed in oxford. there's about 60 atm.

his is red, with fluoro yellow halo wheels.
mine is red with yellow forks and black wheels.

Cranksets could be interesting for polo bikes too, only £20 for the cheap one ....

if i see you i'll shout hello. I tend to be mainly down cowley road as that the school i've got placement at.

which one? I used to work at cheney + Matthew Arnold.
now at the hospital in a lab (student)

St gregorys the great roman catholic school. a bunch of pleasant kids there.

Eyebrows, get a shot of the bike you built up, if you get a chance? Would love to see one with 700s.

will try.
uber toe overlap. looks sexy n tight though.

That's one of the things I expected. Not a great polo bike then. Although, maybe throwing a 650 up front instead....

I finally went and visited "wilkinson wheel" today, where Carl very kindly spent a great deal of time showing me the Archie Wilkinson speedway frames as well as a prototype complete OTP single speed bike. (Which I got to test ride!!)

The two main purposes of the visit was to get detailed measurements & to see how much clearance the standard frame & fork had with a 700c wheel. I somehow managed to fail on both by forgetting the latter and leaving my notepad behind in the warehouse! Silly me, but I have taken a number of pictures which I hope youll find useful for now.

Ok, Wilkinson do two sizes of speedway frame, the small being VERY small and not really a pheasable size for adults looking for a street bike. The large frame has (if I remember correctly) a 23inch seatube and a 21.5inch top tube. Ill have to check these though.

The bottom bracket height with 700c wheels & tyres fitted is exactly 290mm centre-floor. The dropout spacing is 110mm, Carl said he regularly fitted 120mm hubs to the frames with no problem. The head tube is 1" and short at 100mm. It maybe a good solution to run standard road threaded 1" forks with a threadless headset & clamp on stem. Bottom bracket is standard British threading & width.

The company had been working on a OTP complete single speed road bike using the standard cr-mo steel speedway frame, and the prototype for this is what I got to try out. The bike was fitted with a raked fork different to the speedway one, which is not yet available for sale.

I must say it felt great to ride, and surprisingly felt lighter than my columbus road conversion. Id say the bike would suit a smaller rider, my road frame is 56cm and this was smaller. It definetely felt 'trackier' than other OTP I have tried, Charge Plug, Bowery etc

The geometry to me seemed spot on, the bike handled well and was both sporty & comfy feeling. It was perhaps a little flexy though, but in a nice way.



Remember the complete bike is not yet available. They currently have a quantity of the black steel frames in stock at £70 or £100 with the un-raked fork, which is perhaps on suitable for speedway or Polo. They do sell frames in many other colours, but are awaiting new stock.






Here it is next to my road conversion:




Next I can show you some pictures of their aluminium speedway frame. It has similar geometry & size, but is both sitffer & lighter. The price is £199 for frame and fork if I remember right. They have a good choice of colours available for these, including translucent!






The company is a family business which produces competitivley priced speedway products to support the niche sport which they have themselves competed in. The bread & butter of the company is wholesale wheels, the only ones which they will sell retail is the speedway ones (26 1 3/8"). Which at £65 a pair with sealed bearing hubs are a bargain, they also have a range of fancy coloured ones for a few £ more.

Do give them a bell if you are interested in one of their frames, and also to show interest in bikes for the street in general. As Carl told me, anything is possible. They will supply the raked forks and the OTP single speed bike if their is interest, I also suggested designing a more specific track like non-speedway bike for the fixed wheel scene, which he also will consider.

0121 580 0401
Barton Street,
West Bromwich,
West Midlands.
B70 8AJ.


Email : info@wilkinsonwheel.co.uk.

Aluminium Frame , contd.

Hey Thanks for supplying the information. I'd most prob go for the black frame without the unraked fork.

Thanks once again

Those rear dropouts look hard as nails.