Simon's Shorter build Custom build,Bicycles
From a shop in Finchley, Alan Shorter put out many of London’s fastest frames for over 30 years. He was well known for his love of and support for racing and racers, and the frames bearing his name pay obvious testament to that.
Our fan-girl fanaticism where Shorters are concerned is no great secret. Something about the the loud-but-just-loud-enough paint, the exuberant multiplicity of decals, and (perhaps most of all) about the blind-to-all-else obsession with speed that his frames very often bely.
We took on this fastback road frame in a slightly sorry state earlier this year, and hung it around the shop to ponder on in various conditions for several months, before eventually settling on a balls-to-the-wall legnano-green and the obligatory 10 decals.
Once back from refinishing, the frame took a good few hours to shift…Simon came in looking to move some parts from a canary yellow lo-pro Rossin to a more-comfortable-but-no-less-rapid alternative, and after pondering a few more classic track and road frames, settled, with the help of his brother – on this.
The build was a treat. We put together a set of Halo rims (27mm) on Miche hubs (radial front, three-cross rear), fitted our favourite Vittoria Corsa G+ tyres in 23mm (these ones the ‘anthracite’ version – read grey sidewalls), installed a slender, elegant SR Pista crank and moved a Dura Ace brake and seatpost acrossa from the Rossin. Nitto cockpit (pearly goodness), Flite to finish. Ah hem.
