Hewitt Chiltern, Cheviot, et al

[Sweep]

IMHO fashions have changed, and so has the market (perceived value vs cost).

However practicality has not changed.

So whilst those who might have bought a steel audax fifteen years ago might now buy something plastic instead, and those who might have bought a touring frame might buy a gravel bike instead (say) it doesn't make them 'bad bikes', just ones that won't necessarily sell as well as they once did.

cheers

Thanks for the considered reply Brucey.

Would be interested to see if anyone spots the frames being sold elsewhere under whatever brand.

Isn't it very likely that they still are?

For of course Pearsons/Hewitts or Byercycles didn't make them - they were churned out somewhere out east - though very nicely.

I would be interested in buying another frame - though I would fit a square taper BB - my Hewitt is external bearing.

[Brucey]

...Isn't it very likely that they still are?...

No I don't think so, not those exactly; I understand that Mike Kowal (who specified/imported them) has probably retired. You may be able to buy frames welded in the same factory (in Taiwan) but -for good or ill- they are unlikely to be made to the same designs.

The whole point of starting this thread was to collate whatever information exists about them before it is lost in the mists of time, since it might be of benefit to anyone who already owns one of these frames or indeed is thinking of buying one used.

cheers

[PH]

He did have good run with them, but that no one stepped up and took over shows how things have moved on.
I really like my Cheviot SE, it's been built up in different ways and is currently in Audax spec, as this was going to be an Audax year...

Intrigued by your comment on things having moved on PH.

I think Brucey has answered that well. You only have to look around - When CJ wrote the Cheviot SE review and I bought mine in 2004, the bikes at the start of any Audax would be 90% steel and the majority of those very much in the mold of the Chiltern, and the bikes at the start of most CTC rides also steel and fit a certain pattern though a bit more varied than Audax.
Now the standard bike on an Audax is likely to be further towards the racing end of the spectrum, even if some of them are of the Adventure Race type that might be mistaken for touring. Whereas my MG has a bit of everything, partly because we've encouraged that, partly because I think there's a wider range of bikes available for the sort of riding we do than there was twenty years ago.
When I bought my Hewitt, the others on the short list were - Trek 520, Galaxy, Ridgeback Panorama, Thorn Club Tour, Longstaff custom. If I was buying a bike for the same purpose now, the short list would be longer and not many of those would be on it.

[Sweep]

Maybe I was late to the game for bought mine long long after you bought yours.

Still happy.

By the by, found this on my googledrive - may have been downloaded from Spa's site when they were briefly selling the "Hewitts".

From a quick look seems to generally agree with the table posted upthread by Mark.

With the addition of an extra extra large.

Folk feel free to tell me that it is nothing of the sort.

[PH]

Still happy.

Oh yes, me too, I didn't want to give the impression otherwise. I don't ride it that often, I've grown accustomed to the convenience of the Rohloff, though as I said earlier I've recently built it up to serve a slightly different function. I don't have a photo of the current build, but here's a couple of previous incarnations

Out West by Paul, on Flickr

Hewitt by Paul, on Flickr

[Brucey]

found this on my googledrive - may have been downloaded from Spa's site when they were briefly selling the "Hewitts".

very useful, ta. Interesting that the dwg shows curvy stays and a pump peg on the back of the head tube; is this how they actually came, or artistic licence?

cheers

[De Sisti]

it could be argued that the fit is 'OK' provided the contact points end up in the right place. But that is a fairly extreme example, for a traditional touring bike!

Given that over the four sizes the ETT only varies by 40mm (less than this once the seat angle variation is taken into account) and even longer seat pins are available, you could perhaps have been 'fitted' to any of the four sizes of frame....?

cheers

@Brucey, Sweep; Yes, when I went to collect the bike I was a bit taken aback, because it didn't look in
correct proportion in comparison to the test bike I rode at the Islington Business Centre Bike Show.
A frame size up would have looked better. However, once upon it and peddalling, it felt comfortable.

I eventually felt out of love with the proportions (and the cantilever brakes) and had no difficulty in
selling the frame on.

[Chris Jeggo]

...

Would be interested to see if anyone spots the frames being sold elsewhere under whatever brand.

Isn't it very likely that they still are?

For of course Pearsons/Hewitts or Byercycles didn't make them - they were churned out somewhere out east - though very nicely.

I would be interested in buying another frame - though I would fit a square taper BB - my Hewitt is external bearing.

Take a look at the Pilgrim Tourer model here.

[Brucey]

Take a look at the Pilgrim Tourer model here.

that does look very similar, and is almost certainly made in Taiwan (their more expensive frames are UK-built, and they say so). Braze-ons are reminiscent of the ones depicted in Sweep's screenshot, with no rear canti hanger, pump peg on the head tube etc. Fork seems different too. I wonder if the geometry is the same or not? They also do a disc version (which also has canti bosses, so they are hedging their bets...) which looks as if it comes from the same source.

cheers

[Sweep]

Take a look at the Pilgrim Tourer model here.

interesting - thanks.
i note with interest also from a quick page scan that it has a sloping top tube whereas their UK built premium frames appear to be level.

[531colin]

found this on my googledrive - may have been downloaded from Spa's site when they were briefly selling the "Hewitts".

very useful, ta. Interesting that the dwg shows curvy stays and a pump peg on the back of the head tube; is this how they actually came, or artistic licence?

cheers

The drawing is from an entirely different manufacturer.

[slowster]

Take a look at the Pilgrim Tourer model here.

that does look very similar, and is almost certainly made in Taiwan (their more expensive frames are UK-built, and they say so). Braze-ons are reminiscent of the ones depicted in Sweep's screenshot, with no rear canti hanger, pump peg on the head tube etc. Fork seems different too. I wonder if the geometry is the same or not? They also do a disc version (which also has canti bosses, so they are hedging their bets...) which looks as if it comes from the same source.

cheers

Pilgrim state on their website that in addition to their own brand frames they also sell Spa and Surly frames. Based on a very superficial examination of the website photographs, the standard Pilgrim Tourer looks very similar to the Spa steel tourer and the disc version to the Spa Wayfarer, and it would not surprise me if Spa supplied its frames to Pilgrim for them to rebadge. In that case the question for many potential purchasers would be whether there was any significant difference in price and service between buying a bike based on those frames from Spa or Pilgrim. If Pilgrim are relatively close to where they live and they would appreciate the potential extra service/after sales service that they might have access to as a result, that might well justify paying a small premium for the Pilgrim version.

I think the lugged and brazed horizontal top tube frames are made for Pilgrim by Bob Jackson.

[Brucey]

yep, 1/2" frame size increments in that spec with that description sounds like BJ.

cheers

[Sweep]

found this on my googledrive - may have been downloaded from Spa's site when they were briefly selling the "Hewitts".

very useful, ta. Interesting that the dwg shows curvy stays and a pump peg on the back of the head tube; is this how they actually came, or artistic licence?

cheers

The drawing is from an entirely different manufacturer.

Ta for that - as I said I wasn't making any particular claims for it - i found it on my drive with a file name I had amended to indicate that it may have been downloaded from spa in the past. I may have just downloaded it from wherever originally as an example of frame geometry measurements.

When I found it the name printed on it made me think it might be the Hewitt.

Which manufacturer do you think it might be?

Since it is not a million miles from a Hewitt I might be interested in a frame from whoever it is.

[PH]

When I found it the name printed on it made me think it might be the Hewitt.

I'm pretty sure the dimensions are the Cheviot, it's just the drawing they've put them against isn't. That should be seen as a diagram to indicate what the measurements refer to rather than a representation of the bike itself.