Folder: Peter Kohler's Bicycle Collection
serial no. 692 444
Purchased from Hilary Stone 16 February 2012 for £225 as a frameset. Back on the road 10 July 2012.
Bill Gray, Framebuilder
Joining the firm in 1932, Bill Gray was among the remarkable “stable” of fine framemakers who began with Claud Butler including Les Ephgrave, Fred Dean, Bill Hurlow, George Stratton and Bill Philbrook. During the war, Gray served in the RAF as an Airframe fitter and towards the end of the conflict, was with de Havilland in Canada making strengthened rear fuselage members on Mosquitos to fit arrestor hooks so they could be used on 'carriers although this eventually proved impractical.
Returning to Butlers in 1947, Gray rose to Chief Foreman Framebuilder and worked with them until the firm went into receivership in 1958. In the early 1960s Gray started his own framebuilding business with a workshop (previously belonging to Saxon) directly behind the well-established (1927) Wandsworth, London cycle shop of George W. Stratton (still trading and family-owned). The shop had originally been a Claud Butler one and Stratton came from them as well. Like many of the better London shops, it offered its own range of custom made racing cycles and Gray built most if not all of them over some 20 years.
Gray made bespoke frames for many London area cycle shops in addition to Strattons including Dave Russell (Slough), Dave Davey (North London), Fred Dean (Wandsworth), Clive Stuart (Catford) and H.E.”Doc” Green (South London). Most of these bear his unique serial no. sequences which help identify them as Gray-built.
In addition to road racing frames including for the Clive Stuart racing team, Gray built track frames and even novelty bikes for stage and circus performers. He was the first British framebuilder to use welded aluminium. His frame making output was reduced for a time when he fell into a lucrative side job working on contract to the garage next door to his shop welding new floor pans to replace rusted out ones on 1960s Minis!
Giving up framebuilding in the early 1980s, he went on to work for British Oxygen and finally part time at the boatyard in Colliers Wood, South London, although he continued to do frame repairs and kept a stock of Claud Butler frames and bits for sale. Aged 85, Bill Gray passed away in August 2002 after a short illness; one of Britain’s top framebuilders of the classic era and whose work whilst less well known than others who built under their own name is no less well regarded.
This Bicycle
Built in February 1969, this has had but owner since new who rode it regularly and competitively in time trials including several sub two-hour times in “50s”.
A beautiful example of Bill Gray’s skills, the frame features exquisitely filed and profiled lugs, slender “pencil” backstays (unusual in so large a frame) "backshot" onto the seat tube and strikingly rendered long stiffening spearpoints radiating from the bottom bracket shell to provide a very stiff and stable specialist time-trial frame in an unusually large size.
Obtained in remarkably fine condition with its original Stronglight headset and bb, this has been outfitted in period correct and typical rig for timetrialling interpreting what was most like the original fit including rare 175 mm Stronglight 49D cranks mated with a rather wonderfully custom “lightened” TA 56t chainring. The only restoration of the frame was the fitting of replica Strattons head and seat tube badge transfers to replace the badly chipped originals and some minor paint touch ups. Built up, she tips the scales at just 20.6 lbs.
The Ride
Exceptional. Always been wary of buying secondhand bespoke frames since it's rather like buying a tailormade, for someone else, suit. But this was remarkable from the first ride in fitting literally like a glove and requiring not the slightest adjustment, a perfect combination of lightness, stability and pick-up desired of a timetrial machine. One couldn't ask for a better made or balanced frame.
Frame/Fork
Material: Reynolds 531 double butted
Braze ons: gear cable stops on chainstay, top tube brake cable clips, seat tube pump pegs, single gear lever boss
Drop outs: Campagnolo vertical TT rear and Campagnolo front
Bottom bracket:
Finish: original Sky Blue enamel
Size: seat tube 25" (c to t), top tube 23.25" (c to c)
Chain stay length: 16.75" (centre of spindle axle to centre of dropout)
Angles: 72 head and 72 seat
Fork crown: Davis sloping
Fork rake: 1.45"
Wheelbase: 42”
Bottom bracket height: 27.5cm/10.82”
Rear spacing: 120 mm
Lugs: Prugnat S4 long point
BB stampings: 692 444 (also on fork steerer tube)
Weight: 20.6 lbs built up
Components
Rims: Fiamme Red "Longhi" Label 28-hole sprints
Hubs: 28-hole Campagnolo Record high-flange hubs, double-butted 15/17/15g. Campagnolo Record skewers
Tyres: Tufo Jet Pro 19mm sew ups
Bottom bracket: Stronglight
Chainset: Stronglight 49D 175 mm cranks with 56t TA chain ring, custom drilled
Pedals: Campagnolo Record 1038 Pista, ALE toeclips, no name blue leather straps.
Derailleur: Campagnolo Nuovo Record “patent” no date
Derailleur lever: single Campagnolo
Freewheel: Regina Oro five-speed 13-14-15-16-17t
Chain: Regina Oro
Brakes: Weinmann 500 sidepull with Weinmann 144 levers
Headset: Stronglight Competition
Stem & handlebars: 3ttt Grand Prix 130 mm stem with 3ttt Grand Prix 38cm 'bars, Olmo blue plastic tape up to brake levers only and blue REG plugs.
Saddle: Unicanitor no. 55 plastic
Seat pin: Nitor 27.2mm 110 mm
Accessories: Ventolux alloy pump
serial no. 692 444
Purchased from Hilary Stone 16 February 2012 for £225 as a frameset. Back on the road 10 July 2012.
Bill Gray, Framebuilder
Joining the firm in 1932, Bill Gray was among the remarkable “stable” of fine framemakers who began with Claud Butler including Les Ephgrave, Fred Dean, Bill Hurlow, George Stratton and Bill Philbrook. During the war, Gray served in the RAF as an Airfram…
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