Jack FFR1846

Hi,

I talked about mine a couple years ago. Well, bought my son a road bike and have started riding with him a bit. I'll likely sell off the Laing and buy something modern. I built this in 1974 when working at a bike shop. The frame is a 22" and is built like a crit bike but with a bit more fork rake. Perfect for me a the time as I did almost nothing but criteriums but also rode to work and school and trained on the bike. I bought the frame....a late UK build that the shop blind bought and it happened to fit me. I transferred all the campy record stuff from my raleigh international and sold the leftovers. Upgraded the brakes to campy and the pedals to super record. The BB axle is one of the first TTT titaniums in existance. Being the drilled water bottle age, my bottle cage and cables were all held with zip ties. I even gave away the crank caps because....well....extra weight. I sold off the campy hubbed wheels at some point and it now has a set of my remaining traing wheels. Normandy rear and Shimano front. I'll put up a few pictures. Feel free to look in my photobucket. The lugs were originally striped in blue. I redid that all at some point in yellow. I raced from intermediate to junior in ABLA and even did one Mass state track championship with this bike on a Saturday, converted back to the 10 speed and rode the junior road championships in Harvard, MA on Sunday. I later used the bike in club racing while at Worcester Polytech and a bit of training races in eastern Mass after that. It's pretty much sat in the basement for the last 20 years.

https://s143.photobucket.com/upload?l...=Colin%20Laing

campy dropouts


heart fork top cutouts

wiseclam

I just found a Colin Laing frame in Boulder, CO at Community Cycles. It looks like a fantastic find. I had been looking for a nice frame to build a single speed but this one might be worth full restoration. Opinions?

Any thoughts on when this bike was made would be appreciated. It looks like it was built for a guy named "Jeff Buchanan" who coincidentally could be a bike builder himself (https://www.flickr.com/photos/j_d_buc...bicycles/sets/).

selaing

Hi Wiseclam,

I can tell you about how your bike frame was made in Tucson, Arizona probably from 1974-1984. In the bottom bracket, do you see a number?
cheers
Stuart Laing
son of Colin Laing

whentruthdivide

Picked up a new Laing bike this past weekend, a Colian with a wishbone Seat Stay. Columbus TSX Tubing with nice lug work and a cinelli bottom bracket. Came with Full Suntour Superbe Pro minus a wheelset. 57cm seat tube and top tube. Thinking I am going to leave the groupo on it minus the brake levers. Throw on a brooks b17 honey and maybe some mustache bars with old shimano 105 (1055) brake levers (like the feel better). Paints pretty beat up but I Like the colors and decals so don't want to mess with repainting it, at least for now.

wiseclam

First, thanks for your help!

Second, sorry for the delayed reply. I did not get an email update, as expected.

The bottom bracket is stamped with an "F" and then the number 5299 below it.

whentruthdivide

I know the guy I bought my Yellow frame from was running it single speed. I would probably convert it to a road bike, but that is me. Build it how you would like riding it the most, so if that is single speed then go for it. It does look like a really nice frame though! I actually dig that orange paint job and those campy cable guides are a score!

cptmoney

Unfortunately, it's time for me to sell my Colian as well. Economy being what it is and all, I just can't justify hanging on to this thing. It's the pits, but higher priorities are calling. I need the space and money way more than my wall trophy. This is one of those "you'll regret it" moves.....but such is life.

I need some help on where to price this thing. Take a look at the pics and steer me in the right direction if you have a second. I would greatly appreciate it. Just gotta get this thing down the road. Suntour and Shimano components, Sunlight headset, Mavic wheels, Tange forks....I have no idea what to ask for it. Coupla hundo? That outrageous?

It's about 58cm. I've got all kinds of good use from it, but for the last two years or so it's just been hanging on my wall as a trophy piece. I don't have that luxury currently, so it's on the auction block.

Here are a few pics....


UPDDATE: So.....I let her go for a few hundred bucks. Went to a great home. I'd have loved to keep the frame and build up exactly what I want with it - but the money end of it just didn't make sense. And right now, I need the money/space for other things....so it's down the road.

Thanks for all of the help everyone!

whentruthdivide

I couldn't see the pics. Sounds like someone got a pretty good deal! Any custom bike at $200 I think is a great deal!

wiseclam

Stuart - Any further feedback on the bottom bracket number?

F 5299

Chicago Al 

Sorry to say that the super-jumbo (73cm) 'Colian' frame that I helped a Chicago friend acquire from MiamiJim met the same fates as most of this super-jumbo guy's bikes: it broke. First the dropouts, as apparently usually happens, then after they were re-welded, the downtube by the lug (not sure which one). He's by no means overweight for his height, he's just...really big, and so has broken several frames. The Laing he really regrets as he knows it was something very special, so he's holding onto it and hoping to get a framebuilder to rebuild and reinforce it in some way. In the meantime he's got a Fuji 69cm frame, which is a bit small for him, but he considers frames like that as basically wear and tear items.

whentruthdivide

Is this the frame you sold? https://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI...ectorid=229466 Someone is trying to get a lot for one on CL. $1000 seems a bit high to me.

I saw this on albuquerque cl https://albuquerque.craigslist.org/bik/4106975616.html - also seems a bit high for the mish mash of parts on the bike. but what do i Know?

wiseclam

Any further word on this frame? The bottom bracket is stamped with an "F" and then the number 5299 below it.

I'm wondering if "Jeff Buchanan" is the handmade bike builder JD Buchanan...

LanceFarmstrong

Haha, I was just browsing the forums, and stumbled on this. I'm apparently dating his granddaughter/ the daughter of Ian Laing. Ian is still doing some bike work on the side. He has moved on to general metal working https://www.thirdnailcreations.com/.

tediseasy

Hello all, I found this thread after googling around while browsing for new bikes. I found a funky CL ad for an aluminum MTB being sold as a "Le Colin". Talked to seller, who says he worked at a shop in Tempe that had the frame wrapped up in the back since the late 90's and he acquired it there after the shop closed. The price is right for a built bike; if it's a good fit I'm willing to jump on it. And if it is indeed a Laing frame all the better.

However I'm just a tad skeptical that someone who built steel road frames his entire career would veer off into aluminum MTB land, and was hoping that either the locals or selaing could shed some light on the situation. Any help or input appreciated. Thanks!

selaing

This frame is not made by my Dad. Tempe Bike owned the Le Colin name and put that one aluminium frames.
If the frame is cheap, go for it.

zonatandem

Known Colin and family (Margret, Ian and Stuart) sine 1978 when they had a nice small shop on Grant Road in Tucson, AZ.
Colin when back to the UK in the mid-80s for about 18 months and then returned to the US and settled in the Phoenix area.
In 1986 he built us a custom tandem. Reynolds 531 racing tubing with a R-531 tandem gauge down tube; chromed lugs that took 40 hours to hand make. Chromed rear triangle and R-531 chromed fork with fancy snake-like chroming. A real work of art that rode as great as it looked.
Put 56,000 miles on that magnificent tandem!
Colin was a master builder and a great friend. As we were both from Europe we had some great experiences to share.
Like the story of when he was British tank commander stationed in Germany that had his personal bike lashed to the tank so he could ride when the opportunity presented itself. Or, when he raced all over Europe, racing with Fausto Coppi and working as a frame builder's apprentice for the Taylor brothers in his native England.
Colin was a great builder/craftsman/artist and a wonderful friend.
Pedal on!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

At ages 82 and 80 we are still tandeming TWOgether

eastcoaststeve

A brazed Laing for the non-paved path:







































Steve

Dizzy Wheels

Hello,

Back around the early 1980’s, I had ordered a custom frame from Colin Laing bicycles. The frame had numerous construction issues, and was returned twice. One of the issues that I can recall was that Colin did not indent the right side chainstay where the chainrings would be, which would not allow the crankset to be attached to the bottom bracket. Very serious. The frame of course was returned permanently. Colin then revealed to me that he had been hit by a car, causing a great deal of damage to himself. This may have contributed to the poor workmanship on this frame.

KSleeman

My father recently passed away and I inherited his bike collection. This was his favorite racing bike . Curious about its value

merziac

Pic's, link, something? Value to you should be far more than any $$$ value. That being said it is a custom frame from a well known builder so it may very well have good $$$ value to the right buyer. Like I said, we need to see what you're talking about, pic's man, pics!

selaing

You would have to put some photo's on the web so I can tell you more details about the bike, if my Dad did build it.

deraileurloveur

i saw that the le colin name was owned by tempe bikes. is this a colin laing built bike?

deraileurloveur

A little about this bike: 64 CM C-C with Ishiwata 015 tubing. It's actually in really great shape. The crankset are Mavic, obviously. The rest is a mix of Suntour and Sachs 7000 hubs with Sun Mistral clincher rims.

I was really surprised to see the Ishiwata 015 tubing on such a tall bike. I definitely would like to know the history on this guy.

Serial # is N6A6692.

Cheers if you can offer any help. Lively yet stiff ride for 015 tubing. Some exceptional skills went into this frame.

easyupbug 

Colin was in Tucson in the mid 70s to mid 80s and I have one from a few years later when he was in Tempe, unfortunately had to be resprayed but with original Colin Laing decals source from Andy Gilmour. I believe he built bikes for a lot of names not just his own, don't think he ever had another builder for his bikes other than perhaps his son, Stuart. When he returned to the US and built Le Colins I think it was in the 90s.
Mine is a wonderful bike.

francophile 

Explained ITT: