The above frame is advertized at Butler's web site [vintagecycles2000.com] as a "1970s Hetchins Magnum Opus Hellenic, very rare in top class condition, unused since restoration." David Miller's comment: "That is definitely a rogue frame. Hetchins never built any Hellenics with vibrant stays, except, that is, for the one I had with vibrant chainstays [see below]. The fact that [Hellenics] had straight stays was, I think, the very problem that caused their early demise in the early seventies and resulted in only about 75 being built. No one liked the design as, I think, it looked too much like a copy of the Thanet. Now of course, everyone wants an original; now they are rare. Some time ago, I recall a similar frame being for sale in a magazine, with Vade Mecum lugs [1950s model]; [but] the Hellenic didn't appear on the scene until 1967. The frame was eventually revealed to be a conversion. Notice in the photo [above] that the seat stays are not parallel to the downtube, which they should be. The 'curly' seat stays prevent this, otherwise the stays would have finished half way along the top tube." Len Ingram added that Jack Denny wouldn't have let such an awful design out of the shop. Twenty-one original Hellenics are listed in the Hetchins Register, the last one built in 1979 or 1980.
Below are the genuine articles:
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