A rare Hetchins bike made for racing that eschewed their classic curly stays and intricate lugs
First raced back in the 1970's, this handmade track bike was raced by another two generations of riders before it was restored to it's full glory
It was on this Hetchins track bike that Alan Johnson, ‘70s track and hill climbing great, piloted his way to his first significant win, taking the 1967 National School Boy Sprint Championship. At the time, Alan was a member of Polytechnic CC, which is why it’s painted in the distinctive red, white and blue colours of the club.
Many Hetchins frames came out of their Tottenham workshop
Shortly afterwards, the frame was sold to Joe Marsh for his son Dave - now of the Universal Cycle Centre, Rotherham where many of our classic bikes were photographed - to race throughout the sixties and seventies. It was then passed on to Dave’s younger siblings, Sally and Stephen, who successfully raced it well into the 1980s. It’s certainly no stranger to the black, red and blue lines of the velodrome.
Dave Marsh is a former national champion who now owns and runs the Universal Cycle Centre in Rotherham. He has an extensive collection of bikes, some limited editions that have never been raced, and others that were ridden by some bona fide cycling legends
Since those heady days, Dave Marsh and his team have lovingly restored the bike, spraying it with a fresh lick of period-correct paint and re-chroming the fork tips and rear stays. Unremarkably, the frame and elegant, narrow-bladed track forks are both fashioned from Reynolds 531 tubing, the ubiquitous material of choice at the time
Beautifully anodised flanges on the rear hub
However, unusually for a Hetchins, the rear stays are unapologetically conventional. Part marketing, part rudimentary suspension, the brand’s calling card was its outrageously curvy stays, but there’s no evidence of that iconic curly look here. Track bikes, of course, favour stiffness over compliance, which probably explains the regular-shaped rear triangle.
The bike is finished with a slimline racing saddle from Brooks, of course
Bars are chromed steel Cinelli 14s, with only the drops wrapped in cloth tape, as track riders don’t use the tops. The chainset is a rather lovely Chater Lea three-pin affair with a 48t ring, slender 165mm cranks for maximum clearance on the banking, fitted with Lyotard pedals and Christophe toe clips threaded with smart blue leather straps.
The wheels feature 32/40 drilled Fiamme rims built onto large flange anodised Airlite hubs. The rear cog is a 17t.
Finally, that well-worn perch is a Brooks Sprinter leather saddle, mounted on a Campagnolo Record two-bolt seat pillar.
