Bill Vetter touring bike
10-07-22, 05:02 PM
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Bill Vetter touring bike
Just brought this home. Wow. Anyone know anything about the bike or builder?
When I picked the bike up it looked to have been garage kept until the original owner downsized and lost the garage. The in-laws that ended up with it had put it outside, and I think it got soaked during the recent hurricane remnants, thus the minor flash rust. This morning I pulled the seat post and there was a 1/4 cup of water in the down tube. It wasn't too rusty, but I realized that the vent tubes on the stays are all sealed, so I think I will pull the bottom bracket and fork and get the frame fully aired out. I had almost convinced my self I would be riding it this weekend.....
When I picked the bike up it looked to have been garage kept until the original owner downsized and lost the garage. The in-laws that ended up with it had put it outside, and I think it got soaked during the recent hurricane remnants, thus the minor flash rust. This morning I pulled the seat post and there was a 1/4 cup of water in the down tube. It wasn't too rusty, but I realized that the vent tubes on the stays are all sealed, so I think I will pull the bottom bracket and fork and get the frame fully aired out. I had almost convinced my self I would be riding it this weekend.....
Last edited by bark_eater; 10-08-22 at 07:05 AM.
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10-07-22, 06:23 PM
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From web
Bill Vetter worked out of Vermont in the 1970’s. He is most known for his touring bikes. Bicycle quarterly did a profile of his work in issue vol. 3 #4 (summer 2005).
Bill Vetter worked out of Vermont in the 1970’s. He is most known for his touring bikes. Bicycle quarterly did a profile of his work in issue vol. 3 #4 (summer 2005).
10-07-22, 09:59 PM
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Wow, indeed @barkeater . Nice bike. The condition looks very good. It looks like a little cleaning and some wax and this will shine. You may need rubbing compound on the fork crown or maybe it is an reflection in the picture. Otherwise that looks great.
It is good to see a custom or semi-custom built frame once in a while. Not that we don't like those production bikes. But these builder set the trends. So it is always good to see what they were up to and of course keep their history going.
It is good to see a custom or semi-custom built frame once in a while. Not that we don't like those production bikes. But these builder set the trends. So it is always good to see what they were up to and of course keep their history going.
10-08-22, 05:34 AM
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10-08-22, 06:40 AM
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framebuilder
Bill Vetter revealed to me some of the mysteries of framebuilding in an article in Bike World magazine in the early 70's. He had visited Bill Hurlow in England to get his information and brought back a couple of Hurlow frames (including the model with his initials cut into the head lugs). Just as background information, America had just started to become interested in good bicycles around 1970 and most knowledge about how to make frames existed in Europe and not here in the US. Bike World magazine had just come out as competition to Bicycling magazine in this new-to-us sport.
I met Bill Vetter when my wife and I were doing a cycle tour of Vermont in the early 80's. We were resting at a scenic overlook when Bill and a friend of his from DC just happened by at the same time. He invited us for supper and we spent the evening chatting about building frames. What I recall is that Bill and his sister lived on a typical Vermont small dairy frame. That is how he made a living. Bill in his middle years had just got married to a younger city girl. The dynamics of all this was interesting. Sadly just a few years later Bill was killed in an auto accident.
I met Bill Vetter when my wife and I were doing a cycle tour of Vermont in the early 80's. We were resting at a scenic overlook when Bill and a friend of his from DC just happened by at the same time. He invited us for supper and we spent the evening chatting about building frames. What I recall is that Bill and his sister lived on a typical Vermont small dairy frame. That is how he made a living. Bill in his middle years had just got married to a younger city girl. The dynamics of all this was interesting. Sadly just a few years later Bill was killed in an auto accident.
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10-08-22, 12:01 PM
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I found this picture from BQ. I think my bike has a different geometry, but shares a lot of the details.
03-05-24, 06:08 PM
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I'm bumping this ancient thread only because I knew Bill Vetter well and can shed some light.
I met Bill when I was an 18 year old high school kid in VA. At the time Bill was a photographer at NASA in Washington DC. He was active with the DC racing scene and that's where our paths crossed. He was also active with an adult touring group called the International Bicycle Touring Society and American Youth Hostels. Bill would often take groups of us out for weekend tours in the Blue Ridge Mts of VA or the Dutch country of PA staying at youth hostels.
Bill met British builder WB Hurlow on one of his IBTS tours. He acquired several Hurlow frames for himself and his wife Nan. Bill became Hurlow's unofficial agent in the US acquiring frames for his many cycling friends including myself. Hurlow was Bill's inspiration to learn frame building in his later retirement years.
Fast forward to 1980. I went to school in NH and later moved to the northern part of the state. Bill retired from NASA and moved to Stannard VT (just up a dirt road from Greensboro Bend). Only a short drive from my NH town so I drove over frequently for visits and rides, our friendship was re-kindled!
Bill soon began building frames. In 1982 he built mine ...
I toured on it for 10-15 years (including cross country) and had it re-painted once. The paint finally bubbled on the top tube revealing a rust crack and I retired it.
A few corrections to the above posts ...
Bill did not live with his sister, he retired to VT with his younger wife from VA. Bill was not a dairy farmer. Nan re-married a dairy farmer after Bill's death in a car accident (late 80s?). No relation to Craig. And from @jonwvara thread, Fit Kit was Bill Farrell.
I met Bill when I was an 18 year old high school kid in VA. At the time Bill was a photographer at NASA in Washington DC. He was active with the DC racing scene and that's where our paths crossed. He was also active with an adult touring group called the International Bicycle Touring Society and American Youth Hostels. Bill would often take groups of us out for weekend tours in the Blue Ridge Mts of VA or the Dutch country of PA staying at youth hostels.
Bill met British builder WB Hurlow on one of his IBTS tours. He acquired several Hurlow frames for himself and his wife Nan. Bill became Hurlow's unofficial agent in the US acquiring frames for his many cycling friends including myself. Hurlow was Bill's inspiration to learn frame building in his later retirement years.
Fast forward to 1980. I went to school in NH and later moved to the northern part of the state. Bill retired from NASA and moved to Stannard VT (just up a dirt road from Greensboro Bend). Only a short drive from my NH town so I drove over frequently for visits and rides, our friendship was re-kindled!
Bill soon began building frames. In 1982 he built mine ...
I toured on it for 10-15 years (including cross country) and had it re-painted once. The paint finally bubbled on the top tube revealing a rust crack and I retired it.
A few corrections to the above posts ...
Bill did not live with his sister, he retired to VT with his younger wife from VA. Bill was not a dairy farmer. Nan re-married a dairy farmer after Bill's death in a car accident (late 80s?). No relation to Craig. And from @jonwvara thread, Fit Kit was Bill Farrell.
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03-05-24, 06:13 PM
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I'm bumping this ancient thread only because I knew Bill Vetter well and can shed some light.
I met Bill when I was an 18 year old high school kid in VA. At the time Bill was a photographer at NASA in Washington DC. He was active with the DC racing scene and that's where our paths crossed. He was also active with an adult touring group called the International Bicycle Touring Society and American Youth Hostels. Bill would often take groups of us out for weekend tours in the Blue Ridge Mts of VA or the Dutch country of PA staying at youth hostels.
Bill met British builder WB Hurlow on one of his IBTS tours. He acquired several Hurlow frames for himself and his wife Nan. Bill became Hurlow's unofficial agent in the US acquiring frames for his many cycling friends including myself. Hurlow was Bill's inspiration to learn frame building in his later retirement years.
Fast forward to 1980. I went to school in NH and later moved to the northern part of the state. Bill retired from NASA and moved to Stannard VT (just up a dirt road from Greensboro Bend). Only a short drive from my NH town so I drove over frequently for visits and rides, our friendship was re-kindled!
Bill soon began building frames. In 1982 he built mine ...
I toured on it for 10-15 years (including cross country) and had it re-painted once. The paint finally bubbled on the top tube revealing a rust crack and I retired it.
A few corrections to the above posts ...
Bill did not live with his sister, he retired to VT with his younger wife from VA. Bill was not a dairy farmer. Nan re-married a dairy farmer after Bill's death in a car accident (late 80s?). No relation to Craig. And from @jonwvara thread, Fit Kit was Bill Farrell.
I met Bill when I was an 18 year old high school kid in VA. At the time Bill was a photographer at NASA in Washington DC. He was active with the DC racing scene and that's where our paths crossed. He was also active with an adult touring group called the International Bicycle Touring Society and American Youth Hostels. Bill would often take groups of us out for weekend tours in the Blue Ridge Mts of VA or the Dutch country of PA staying at youth hostels.
Bill met British builder WB Hurlow on one of his IBTS tours. He acquired several Hurlow frames for himself and his wife Nan. Bill became Hurlow's unofficial agent in the US acquiring frames for his many cycling friends including myself. Hurlow was Bill's inspiration to learn frame building in his later retirement years.
Fast forward to 1980. I went to school in NH and later moved to the northern part of the state. Bill retired from NASA and moved to Stannard VT (just up a dirt road from Greensboro Bend). Only a short drive from my NH town so I drove over frequently for visits and rides, our friendship was re-kindled!
Bill soon began building frames. In 1982 he built mine ...
I toured on it for 10-15 years (including cross country) and had it re-painted once. The paint finally bubbled on the top tube revealing a rust crack and I retired it.
A few corrections to the above posts ...
Bill did not live with his sister, he retired to VT with his younger wife from VA. Bill was not a dairy farmer. Nan re-married a dairy farmer after Bill's death in a car accident (late 80s?). No relation to Craig. And from @jonwvara thread, Fit Kit was Bill Farrell.
