Roberts Cycles

Roberts Cycles was a custom bicycle manufacturer in Selhurst near Croydon, South London, England.

Beginning soon after World War II, Charlie Roberts started as a frame-builder for Holdsworth, Claud Butler and Freddie Grubb. In the early 1960s, he started Roberts Cycles in Croydon. He was joined in the workshop by his teenage son Chas. In 1979, Charlie died and Chas took over.

The shop closed at the end of May 2015 in order for Chas Roberts to take a sabbatical. He has said that he will return to frame building at a lower volume (10 to 12 a year) after approximately two years. The skilled mechanic previously employed in store by Chas Roberts; Brian Phillips, is available independently (though contactable through an email address on the placeholder webpage ) for maintenance and upgrading of Roberts cycles.

Production was limited by capacity to 100 steel frames per year, and they were made in a bespoke manner to the dimensions, mass and equipment specification requirements of the person ordering when new. A mixture of Reynolds and Columbus tubing was used in construction, which was all completed "in-house". Powder coat finishing was outsourced and completed to a high specification. The frames and completed cycles have a reputation on for the quality of finish, reliability and comfort.

The range included track bikes, road bikes, touring bikes, tandems and off-road bikes. Unless built for demonstration of shows, all bikes were tailored to the specific requirements of the customer. Technical specialisms were developed that could be applied including: Fittings in the down tube and cross tube that enabled the complete cycle to be dismantled, and the application of Rohloff internal geared hubs. In the last year of production a prototype Gates belt driven bike was made to explore the potential of the application; though no customer bikes were completed.

Like many of his contemporaries in the cycle trade (including Freddie Grubb and Charlie Davey (cyclist)) Charlie Roberts was also a competitive racing cyclist. His specialty was time trials and, according to the records of Addiscombe Addiscombe Cycling Club, founded by Charlie Davey in 1906, he held the Southern Road Racing Association 12 hour record from 1940 until 1959 as well as setting the South Eastern 12 hour record in 1946. While formally registered with the club, from 1940 -1947, he notched up nine first places, six second places and five third places in time trials. Born in 1920, Charlie entered the cycle trade, at the then not unusual age of 14, working for Charlie Davey in Croydon. Davey, a successful cyclist in the 1920s, owned a shop in Addiscombe Road (Davey Cycles) and helped finance the Allin and Grubb business (South London bike builders) in 1919. Other builders, all in South London that Charlie Roberts worked for included Claud Butler, Freddie Grubb and Holdsworth. Contemporaries of Roberts at Claud Butler and Holdsworth included Les Ephgrave, Fred Dean, Bill Hurlow, George Stratton, Pat Skeates and Bill Philbrook – most of whom, like Roberts, subsequently set up workshops of their own. During the war Charlie joined the Air Force as a mechanic. Post war he returned to frame building, primarily for Holdsworthy, where he became foreman and later works manager.

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