Claud Butler - King of Lightweights
Author: David Palk
Claud Butler is perhaps the only high-quality British lightweight marque that was ever widely recognised outside of the club cycling world. It is a name that has been familiar to every British cycling enthusiast from the early thirties to the present day. So why is this marque so special and what made it stand head-and-shoulders above a myriad of highly competitive rivals?
Claud Butler was a successful club cyclist, and from humble beginnings in late twenties south London he developed his marque into the premier brand amongst hand-made enthusiasts’ cycles. The quality of workmanship was of a high standard, and the latest popular fads and influences were incorporated at the earliest opportunity to keep an increasing and widening range of clubman's cycles fresh and vibrant. Claud Butler was not a true technical innovator, but like other successful entrepreneurs he was able to identify new trends at an early stage, and then fully capitalise on borrowed ideas promoted in an original way.
The glory days of Claud Butler, as with many other lightweight marques, were the mid-to-late thirties and the immediate post-war period. This was a time when club cycling boomed in Britain and every town across the land had at least one active cycling club offering a full range of sporting, leisure and social activities. Claud Butler was a pioneer in the fashion of 'fancy' lugs, with ornate feature-cut lugs being incorporated into the 1937 range with the Anglo-Continental model; rival marque Hobbs having established this trend during the previous season with their Continental Superbe model. The mid thirties also saw a rapid expansion of the business and obvious commercial success for Claud Butler.
Continued: http://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/claudbutler.html
The article goes on to say how before World War II; cycling and camping clubs were really, really common. People did things together. Then, the big war came, in the UK, austerity measures came post war along with TV; it changed the way we live.
http://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/bikes/cb-olympic-rb.html
1951 Claude Butler
I like this green one much more than the below lavender bike though it is okay as well.
When They Were Good
A friend of mine owns a late 1980s Claud Butler roadbike. And whenever I have occasion to look at it, I experience a mix of feelings that, for the longest time, I could not quite place.
Once in a while the bike is extracted for show-and-tell. Neighbours gather round.
"Ah this one's from back in the day," one says, "when they were good." And he points to the lugs, the Reynolds 531 decal on the frame. Others nod understandingly.
Continued: http://lovelybike.blogspot.com/2017/02/when-they-were-good.html
