Ron Kitching Crono Express

  Ron Kitching, a name well known in

the UK during the sixties through to the eighties, 
as being one of the biggest importers of cycle 
racing components and in the country.

Ron was also known as a generous and enthusiastic 

sponsor of top riders in Cyclo Cross, Time Trialing,

and even had his own sponsored teams .

Barry Davie, Ron Kit Cyclo Cross team

 Ron Kitching (R) with Andre' Bertin and Eileen Sheridan

 photo courtesy of Bertin classic cycles, who have a great piece

on Ron Kitching here. 

Ron Kitching also had a range of bikes built under his

name on the market in the early seventies.

Of course every item in the bikes manufacture was 

gleaned from the Ron Kit inventory.

This could make for quite an interesting array of

tubes, lugs and components on the one Ron Kit

machine..witness the Crono Express.

 The Crono Express as it arrived, tatty, but as far as I can tell

mostly original.

according the original add for the Crono Express, the frame

was constructed from the following components;

Tubes Vitus 971

Bocama 'sport' head lugs

Milremo 'Trident' bottom bracket shell

Milremo' Super Corsa Fork crown

Zeus 'Gran Sport'drop outs

Milremo 'Classic de Luxe' head set

TA Professional bracket set.

  Crono Express add International Cycle Sport

May 1974.
Notice that they have the rear wheel set at the very
front of the rear drop out, to make the wheel base of this TT
bike look a bit shorter I assume.

My Crono Express seems to have been brought as a

frame set, and built up independently from the suggestions

made in the Ron Kit add, which is a bit of a shame.

I think I will build this up (one day) as it is in the add.

Quite an unusual seat cluster, I am sure that I have read

elsewhere that this was also a Milremo part.

Note the Ron Kit badged seat bolt.

Bocama lug and decal, bot the prettiest lug profile I have seen. 

Mafac Tiger brake caliper, with Milremo fork crown, plenty of 

light between the tyre and bottom of the crown.

 Early version Campagnolo Record R/D.

Zeus drop out.

Vitus 971 decal, very unusual to see on a English bike.

 Cinelli steel stem/bars, non original brake levers.

Even though Ron Kitching bikes where heavily 

advertised at the time, often with full page colour adds.

I could only find a bare few examples on the internet, 

whether this means that they didn't sell well, 

or just that not many have survived I don't know. 

However after talking to my pommy pals, 

I have the feeling they were not that

highly regarded by most serious riders.

Still Beryl Burton was sponsored by Kitching for quite a while,

so they couldn't have been all that bad.

Although that being said, Burton would have probably still

kicked everyone's arse riding a Raleigh MK 1 Chopper.