Around 2013 I picked up this ‘Concorde’ branded track frame from the LFGSS classifieds. It might not have actually been a Concorde, but was made of some nice tubing and had tight clearances, which was all I cared about. It was about £250 and I built it up with whatever I had laying about at the time. the Sugino 75’s and 90’s Time ATAC World Champion pedals were highlights… there’s nothing like(or as stupid as) trusting your life to pedals the same age as you.

I’ve always been a sucker for a super tight clearance steel track bike and it was properly fun to ride. Really nippy and lively in traffic, but still quite smooth on rough city roads. In the end I passed it on to a mate and it did another few years in the Bristol courier world before ending up bent and in a skip. Probably a fitting end really. The number of miles this thing did through the city is (in my mind) a decent justification for the fact that brakeless track bikes aren’t actually death traps. They encourage you to ride in a super-aware and cautious state, and I’ve had way more near misses or accidents on bikes with brakes than I have on those without. That said you do have to give them the respect they deserve and not get carried away thinking you’re Lucas Brunelle on your first ride.