A world champion's track bike built by an Olympian

While Graham Webb is perhaps best known for winning the 1967 Amateur Road Race World Championship, his palmares on the track is equally impressive. In 1966 Webb won the National 4,000 metres individual pursuit title, as well the team pursuit. The Birminghman born rider also set national records for 10, 25 miles and the hour; he held the latter for decades until Graeme O’Bree and then Chris Boardman surpassed his mark. And this is the bike he did it on.

Webb’s Tommy Godwin frameset is made using Reynolds 531 double butted tubing. It features a notable high bottom bracket of 11 x ¼” to handle the steep banking of the track. The frame has been restored to its original colours; Dave Marsh met Graham in Belgium who asked him to take the bike back to the UK to be renovated.

Marsh would go on to build two bikes for Webb as well, one for the road and one for the track, which he used to great success at the Masters Track World Championships in Manchester. Both bikes remain with Webb’s family in Belgium, where he lived until his death in 2017.

Dave Marsh

Many of the classic bikes we feature, including this one, are owned by Dave Marsh of Universal Cycle Centre in Rotherham. Marsh was a national level racer in his day as well as event organiser later on. He has an extensive collection of beautifully restored bikes, many of which he has bought from original owners, or the family of

Much of the build is courtesy of Campagnolo. The Record Piste chainset features a 49t x ⅛” chainring with 170mm long cranks. The pedals are also Record Piste and fitted with Christophe chrome steel toe clips and leather straps.

The 36-hole large flange Record hubs are laced to Mavic Sprint rims and shod with Vittoria tubular tyres. As was often the case in this ear, the spokes are tied and soldered together to provide some additional strength and rigidity.

The two-bolt Campagnolo seat post is more notable for the saddle attached to it. It’s a rather faded and scuffed Cinelli Unicanitor, the world’s first plastic model. It was fitted to Webb’s road bike before he went on to win the World Amateur race in Heerlen, Netherlands, ahead of Claude Guyot and René Pijnen.