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A heads up on a local Southampton Heritage group on facebook made me take a trip out to the old Rotrax shop in Shirley last week. The previous tennants had moved on, taking their cheap plastic shop sign with them, revealing an old sign underneath.
I was surprised to see there was no hint of a Rotrax sign though? And who was 'W. HARVELL.' ??Some googling refreshed my memory. Bill Harvell was a lightweight cycle specialist from the 30’s through to the 60’s. He had a couple of shops, one in Hillsea, Portsmouth, and this one in Shirley, Southampton. After the war ended he sold this to the recently RAF demobbed Freddie Prince. (Freddie and Bill raced and time trialed together before the war)
Freddie then set up Rotrax Cycles here. (So this shop sign is from the 1930's!)
Bill carried on with his small but popular cycle shop in Hillsea.Bill had an outstanding career as a cyclist, competing at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics and the 1934 Empire Games in Manchester, winning bronze medals in each.
For more info on Bill there are a couple of excellent online articles I recommend you read -
www.missmargueritewilson.com/blog?fbclid=IwAR1lwkHe4CJuVS...
www.classiclightweights.co.uk/harvell-watts-reminiscences...
1932 Los Angeles Olympics by Mike, on Flickr
Bill Harvell, cycle shop sign reveal by Mike, on Flickr
Bill Harvell, cycle shop sign reveal by Mike, on Flickr -
Great project bike! Always admired Gillotts but never owned one.
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Good to hear from you James, and another Jim Guard owner!
I do not know the Baylis brothers, but found this on a quick search on google, so educating myself!SPOTLIGHT ON SOUTHAMPTON
July 2010
By Tony Taylor
The long established Southampton Wheelers
produced two top post war time trialists - Ken
Whitmarsh and Jon Baylis. After the last war
Ken Whitmarsh had recorded times for 25, 50,
and 100 miles, of 58min 54sec, 2hr lmin 6sec
and 4hr l0min 0sec. He clocked 4:18:53 to win
the National 100 mile TT Championship in
1952, while Jon Baylis took the same title in
1961 with a time of 4:11:54. The Southampton
Wheelers, including his brother David Baylis
and Pete Betteridge were also the winning team.
That year, Jon Baylis recorded a 4:02:42 in the
prestigious Bath Road 100, but was beaten into
2nd place, as was Pete Betteridge in
the same event the following year,
when he recorded 4:03:46. Jon
Baylis recorded a 1:55:42 in the last
50 mile TT of the season to clinch
the runner's up position in the 1960
British Best All Rounder (BBAR) the
third Southampton Wheeler to have
done so, after Johnny Potter and
Ken Whitnarsh.
1961 proved to be the club's
most successful year, with the Baylis
brothers and Betteridge winning the
team prize in the National 12 Hour
Championship. Jon Baylis was again runner
up in the BBAR, and the team of Jon Baylis,
Pete Betteridge and Ray Holt were runners
up in the BBAR team award. The Baylis's
grandfather Alfred, was a founder member of
the Southampton Wheelers, and their uncle was
the club's best pre-war rider.
In the 1955 Womens' National 10 mile TT
Championship, the Wheelers team of Anne
Mounsey, Pat Clark and Olive Guard won the
team award with a competition record.
Another outstanding time trialist was
Glen Longland (Antelope RT). He broke the
competition record for 12 hours in 1983,
1986 and again in 1991, breaking the 300
mile barrier. Longland later turned his efforts
to three wheels, and between 1989 and 1992,
broke the tricycle competition record at 10, 25
and 50 miles. The Antelope RT broke the team
record on all these occasions, with R.Dadswell,
T. Dadswell and N. Stroud. R. Dadswell also
broke the 12 hour tricycle record in 1993.
The Achilles VC was the first to affiliate to
the British League of Racing Cyclists (BLRC) in
1944, to cater for road racing. An early success
was the 3rd place by Ron Filsell in the first ever
stage race in Britain, the 3-Day Southern Grand
Prix, held that year. This club was superseded
in the early 1950s by the Orion RC, later by
the Test RC, and eventually the GS Europa.
The leading road-men from these clubs in
the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s were Brian Packer,
John Parfitt, Mike Lewis, Pete Glasspool, Colin
Ayley and Derek Witt, who was
tragically killed by a drunk driver
in 2008.
Southampton had its own
cycle track at the Southampton
Sports Centre, with regular
meetings under the auspices of the
Southampton Cycle Track League.
Competitors were mainly from
neighbouring Portsmouth/Gosport
and Bournemouth/Poole area.
In 1945 Freddie Prince bought
a cycle shop in Shirley Road,
Southampton, and started to build
racing frames, giving them the brand name
Rotrax (his shortened version of road and
tracks). The business proved very successful,
until mass production proved too much for
specialist frame builders. For the 1950 season
Brian Packer rode as an Independent (semi-
professional) for Rotrax Cvcles.
Another business in Southampton was
Jim Guard Cycles. Jim Guard was himself a
racing man in the Southampton Wheelers, and
for seasons 1960 and 1961 he sponsored as
lndependents, Test RC members Mike Lewis
and Pete Glasspool.
Over the years there have been many local
cycling clubs in the area most of which had
racing traditions in time trials, the majority
have since disappeared. Some familiar names
were - Crabwood CC Erramus CC, Southern
Paragon CC and Solent & District RC,
although the Sotonia CC still survives.http://www.yeovilcc.com/YCC%20content/YCC%20newsletters/Pedaller%200710.pdf
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Jim's old bike lives!
https://www.strava.com/activities/1723984085Thanks for the positive comments. It's good to keep a little bit of local cycling heritage alive.
First ride was uncomfortable. I used my old method of raising the saddle an inch, whether it needed it or not, jumping on and hoping for the best. Saddle still felt a little low, and too far forward. I was perched on the back. Hopefully raising it a touch more will help for the return trip when I finish work tonight. Couldn't get top gear either, but that took two turns with a screwdriver once I got in. It's low geared, and they are very close ratio gears. You can tell Jim wasn't a great fan of wide ratio and double chain rings!
My usual average speed commuting into work is 13/14 mph at the moment, on the 1948 Rotrax with a low geared 4 speed SA hub. My uncles 1955 Cliff Peters with 10 speed and a Campy Record derailleur is nippier, and I get 14/15 average on that. Even taking it steady, on a bike that didn't fit me properly, with no top gear, I got 15.5 on this ... -
Anyone have an old bike computer that will fit this? Anyone recognise it?? Many thanks!
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And here is Jim Guards last machine, from the late 70's. He used this as a daily hack, and for doing the occasional 100 miles on his birthdays!
I've no idea on the maker. The only transfer is Jim Guards own name badge on the top tube. It's super light and feels like it should go like stink ... close ratio gears, narrow tyres, narrow saddle ... The saddle looks like Jim has swapped it over from bike to bike, and must be decades older than this machine. I wonder what mileage it has on it!
Feel very honoured to be this bikes custodian, and to keep alive the memory of Jim Guard some way through it. Not entirely sure how yet, but sharing it here is a start. As with Olives bike, an clean and overhaul to get it back on the road, and maybe it will hit the mean streets of Southampton again ...
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Cheeky little overnighter on Chiselbury Camp, an Iron Age hill fort on top of Fovant Down, famous for its Great War regimental cap badges carved into its 30° chalk slopes.
It's 40 miles from me. I left after tea, cutting it fine to make it there to see the sun go down. I rode along the old cattle drove that runs from Salisbury to Shaftesbury, picking it up at Salisbury Racecourse. My map reading skills failed me though and in the dusk, and more worried about staying upright on a top heavy loaded bike on loose gravel and ruts, I rode past the fort and on another couple of miles! I retraced my steps and set up camp at 10.30.
It was a fantastic night! No moon and really clear, I had a wonderful view of the Milky Way.
Up with the sunrise for a quick mooch around a couple of the restored badges, then back on the road before it got too warm, cycling back mainly along Cycle Route 24, back to town.
There's been some good posts on the facebook page. The photo of the 1949 Rotrax Team is superb! I plan to ride over and see the old chap who posted that as he's a mine of information.