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Contact Bates Bicycles on Reclassicbikes@aol.com
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A Website Devoted to Bates Bicycles
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More Photographs of Bates Frames
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The History Of Bates Cycles
Cantiflex Tubes and Diadrant forks.
In August 1926 Horace Bates founded Bates Cycles at 2a Swete Street, London E13. His brother E.G. Bates joined the company in 1927 and the firm changed its name to "Bates Brothers" shortly afterwards.
They manufactured all types of cycle frames and cycles, sports, touring, club and racing machines.
In an effort to improve on the frames of they day, they hoped to built frames using oversized steel tubes. However they were unable to secure a good source for suitable oversized lugs to allow them to join the tubes effectively. In order to over come this problem, they commissioned the famous tubing manufacturer, Reynolds of Birmingham, England, to draw some "cigar" shaped tubes. This was done using Reynolds famous 531 steel alloy. With this the Cantiflex tube was born.
In November 1935 Horace Bates patented this idea of cycle frame tubes of varying diameter. The patent specification stated that the objective was:
.... to provide a construction whereby the strength and rigidity of the frame is increased and the so called "whip", or vibration of the tubes, which is known to absorb some of the energy expended by the cyclist is wholly or substantially eliminated.
That it worked is not in doubt. Perhaps this fact is borne out by the large number of modern "cutting edge", computer designed cycle frames that currently use tubes with profiles that vary along their length.
At about the same time Horace was asked by the Butcher, who owned a shop next to their cycle shop, to provide some forks for the delivery bikes. Horace designed a fork to fit around the carrier basks on the front of the Butchers bikes. They tried them and everyone agreed that they were a great improvement. Horace immediately saw the benefit of these forks for all cycles and set about registering the design. Unfortunately due to a clash with an existing design, modification was required. Eventually a registered design was awarded and Diadrant forks were revealed to the world. Do they work, well ride a Bates and find out!
The Bates brothers now had unique and patented designs for bicycles, so they set about building a reputation for quality and reliability.
The London Years
In 1936 Bates Bros offered four main models, The Volante, The Ideale, the Utopian and the new Vergrandis. Read a road test of the 1936 Ideal from the pages of Cycling.
They all had special features such as Crystolante Finish, Low temperature brazing, Rigida Mudguard studs, and all chrome head tubes.
The Volante was their top flight road-path model, custom built, weighing only 151/2lbs with silk tubular tyres and costing 13 guineas.
Production continued through the war years. The Bates works at Plaistow expanded to an area of 3,000 square feet, although the Bates brothers boasted that they
...have not and will not allow it to expand to a degree whereby we are simply "figureheads". Every letter, every customer, every fraction of business, is controlled by us in person.
The skilled men that built the frames were not paid for piece work, but were salaried. Among their ranks were Stan Butler, who also raced using a Bates machine and HR Morris, who became a well respected frame builder, producing frames under his own name.
For a short spell, due to post war rationing, The Vendome model, which was manufactured in Belgium was introduced.
During this period Bates capitalised on their racing successes by intruding the BAR.
Best All Rounder, the name taken from the title given to winners of combined distance time trial championships. This was their top line road model and the Volante was retained as there more expensive track model. They also produced tandem frames, which they named Grangewood, after the location of their offices. Rudi Alt, thrice Champion of Switzerland was one of the top racing men to feature in their brochures.
The Split
In 1947 the brothers decided to split the business.
EG Bates started his own shop, using the name EG bates. This closed in 2002.
Horace continued building Cantiflex framed cycles now using the name Bates of London. Business flourished, but in 1954 Horace moved the business from London to Westcliffe-on-sea, Essex. The name was changed to Bates of Westcliffe-on-Sea. The Volante frame was developed to include fancy hand cut lugs and also became a road model. Different versions of the BAR were built, some with Nervex pro lugs, others with Legere series lugs. Read this 1955 review of the Bates Volante.
Westcliffe-on-Sea
When Horace Bates died in 1968, his son Peter took over the running of the shop. Production of Cantiflex frames continued on in Westcliffe until the end of the 1980s.
In the early '90s, Ray Etherton took on the mantle of producing Bates Cantiflex frames.
Peter wound down the business in Westcliffe-on-Sea and retired.
Ray employed Ron Cooper, former head builder at Gillots and a very accomplished builder under his own brand name, to build Cantiflex frames. They concentrated on producing custom frames with beautiful hand cut lugs, continuing the Volante tradition.
In 2001 the responsibility for continuing this tradition in to the new millennium was passed on to Classic Bikes. If you would like to know more about this please email Martin Coopland on Reclassicbike@aol.com.
Thank you for being interested in Bates Cycles.
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Dave Novoelsky
Page 3 New December 03
J Moos' French style touring bike
Page 4 New December 03
Kevin Krugers Race Bike
Email or Post to us a photo of your Bates Frame and we will try and display it on these pages.
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