text:
The Instigator
Pro (for)
0 Points
The Contender
Con (against)
3 Points
Businesses should not be allowed to refuse service to homosexuals for religious reasons.
Post Voting Period
The voting period for this debate has ended.
after 1 vote the winner is...
|Voting Style:
|Point System:
|7 Point
|3 years ago
|Post Voting Period
|2,215 times
|Debate No:
Debate Rounds (3)
Comments (0)
Votes (1)
-Burden of proof is on the pro.
-Be civil
-I would appreciate it if we refrained from debating schematics as I am inexperienced and would like my first debate to be about the issue and not any wording errors I may make in my inexperience. However, this is not a rule, merely a request.
Round 1- Acceptance
Round 2- Pro Argument, Con Argument and Rebuttal
Round 3- Both Argument and Rebuttal
To be clear, I am not arguing that a business should be forced to sell "gay" products. I am simply arguing that any product which a business would sell to a straight person, the business should sell to a homosexual one as well.
I will be arguing on the premises of religious freedom, which applies more heavily to smaller businesses, as they are more family oriented and are generally more likely to implement religious ideals.
I will also be arguing on the basis of free trade, which also amounts to government and its inability to legislate if service can or cannot be denied for any reason.
Burden of proof is not shared, as there is no statistical evidence incorporated into this debate. I would use some sources though.
Thank you for accepting the debate challenge.
To be clear, I intend on debating this in the realm of American politics.
My first argument will address the two points which you mentioned in your acceptance.
First, religious freedom is not applicable to refusing service. I agree that the First Amendment to the US Constitution does guarantee citizens the right to religious freedom. However, the United States Supreme Court had ruled that this does not extend to the practice of beliefs which may harm others or violate laws. In Reynolds v. United States, Reynolds was charged with polygamy. He argued that it was his religious duty as a Mormon to be polygamous and his right to religious freedom made any law against polygamy unconstitutional. The Supreme Court ruled against him, finding that religious freedom did not apply(1). I believe that this principle can be extended to apply to discrimination against homosexuals. An interesting part of the Supreme Courts decision read, in part, that if they allowed Reynolds to violate the law for religious duty, what was to stop someone from claiming that human sacrifice was a religious duty(1). If religious freedom is cited for allowing discrimination against homosexuals, what is to stop an organization such as the Klu Klux Klan from claiming that their religion compels them to discriminate and persecute black people? Just as one would not be allowed to cite religious freedom as a reason to refuse to serve a Jewish customer, one should not be allowed to cite religious freedom as a reason to refuse to serve a homosexual customer.
Your argument claiming free trade is invalid. The government does have the ability to control if a service can or cannot be denied. This power was affirmed by the Supreme Court in Heart of Atlanta Hotel v. United States. The Heart of Atlanta Hotel refused to rent out rooms to black customers, in violation of Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964(2). If the government has the power to force the Heart of Atlanta hotel to provide service, it has the power to require businesses to serve homosexual customers.
Finally, I would like to be clear on one point. The company has the right to refuse to produce a certain product. For example, company's cannot be forced to make a wedding cake topper with two men. However, the company should be compelled to provide a wedding cake if a homosexual couple orders one. The product is exactly the same, only the client is different. A company should not be allowed to chose not to serve that person on the basis of sexual orientation. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 already made it illegal to refuse service to someone due to race, color, religion, sex, or national origin(3). Sexual orientation should be an included protection. The government certainly has the power to make it illegal. They just have to pass the bill.
There is no way to deny that legislating religious freedom compromises the Constitution, and that is exactly what is being done.
If your religious freedom impedes on another citizens right to life, liberty, or property, then it shall not be allowed. You have no right to someone else's property or their service, without their permission. To force a party to service you without their will is not an idea created on the basis of personal liberty.
Your entire argument is preposterous and based around the assumption that if the federal government has the ability to do something, they should do it, which is certainly not the case. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was good in a moral sense, but not in a rights sense. No one has the inalienable right to your service without your consent, and there can be no federal entity that can force you to do a service, unless you commit a crime, which forces you to forfeit some rights. The statement based upon polygamy is also religious freedom, and there are quite a lot of polygamists in Utah, due to its high Mormon population. I find it easy to believe that our Supreme Court would do something unconstitutional, as they did in June during the gay marriage ruling. The 1st Amendment guarantees us all religious liberty.
The entire point of rights is opportunity and the freedom to expand. You are not given an excess of rights because you will use them all, it is there because you should not be locked in. Not every religious person would deny service based upon any reason, whether it is religion or sexual orientation. There is no quick way of telling sexual orientation unless you are told directly. On the other hand, denying to make a cake due to you not agreeing with gay marriage is perfectly fine and is protected by the 1st Amendment. This is all a matter of religious freedom, something that is being compromised heavily in this country due to political correctness and the federal governments inability to leave people to their own desires, rather then legislating all of it.
We here are not discussing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as it does not include homosexuals as a protected group. If it is your property, your materials, your service, then no one has the right to it unless you give permission.
Also, the Civil Rights Act does not prohibit the denial of service due to sex.
Thank you for continuing the debate.
To be clear, I did not assert that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applies to homosexuals. I does not. I was simply making the point that it is within the government's power to address this issue.
I feel that I have sufficiently proven that the federal government has the power to legislate this issue. I will instead address your point that I did not sufficiently prove that the government should. Despite your personal opinions, the Supreme Court's decisions are the interpretation of the Constitution. Therefore, as long as the law is not made with religion in mind but made for the public good, it does not violate the religious freedom clause of the First Amendment.
By opening a business, you give implied consent to service the public. You choose what products you sell. You choose at what price you wish to sell those items. You choose where you wish those items to be located. You can choose everything about how the business works. However, you do not choose the customers because it does not affect your business. You argue that people have a right to free trade. I agree, in the sense they should be able to control everything that affects their business. The sexual orientation of a customer does not. The customers money is not worth less because they are homosexual. The customer doesn't force the business to pay money because they are homosexual. Business is all about the bottom line, and serving homosexuals does not affect that bottom line. What if I chose to open a business, and before anyone ordered, I asked them which party they supported. If they said Republican, I would refuse them service. Would that be something you support? I say no, because, just like serving homosexuals, it does not affect the business's bottom line.
Calling the refusal to serve homosexuals religious freedom is misnomer. It is, and should be called, discrimination against homosexuals. Calling it religious freedom is like calling a Klu Klux Klan rally an exercise in freedom of speech instead of calling it racism. Even if you claim religious freedom, the argument is weak. The Bible forbids you from committing an act of homosexuality. It does not forbid you from talking to, selling to, being friends with, or even going to the wedding of someone who is homosexual. The Bible actually says that God is the only one who should judge. Who are you to judge homosexuals and refuse them service?
The First Amendment reads, in part, "No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;"(1). Since the Bible does not condemn those who serve or socialize with homosexuals, there is not even an argument that a law prohibiting discrimination against homosexuals would even remotely violate the free exercise of Christianity. The Bible in fact reads "You shall love your neighbor as yourself"(Mark 12:31)(2). Does this not mean that you should not refuse service to anyone if you would not refuse service to yourself? It is not your place to judge anyone. Discriminating against homosexuals is impossible without judgement.
In conclusion, discrimination against Homosexuals should be made illegal for two reasons. First, serving homosexuals does not actually affect your ability to run a profitable business in whatever way you like. Second, religious freedom is an invalid argument when the Bible does not support discrimination. As a matter of fact, I would say the Bible actually tells you not to discriminate. Congress has the ability to stop the discrimination. Stopping this discrimination does not prohibit the free exercise of your religion nor your right to free trade. Homosexuals did not choose to be homosexuals. It's time to stop discriminating against people because they happened to be born just a little bit different.
Let me use the bakery in Oregon as an example. Those bakers were fined for 135,000 because they refused to bake a wedding cake for a homosexual wedding, as that interfered with their religious views. The 2 women sued for "emotional damages", and since Oregon has a law prohibiting complete religious freedom, they won.
There is no need for checking the background of a person, whether it is religion or sexual preference, but that is the point of freedom. There is no need for hate groups, there is no need for Nazism, there is no need for Satanism, but that is freedom. Freedom and liberty is about expansion, the ability to be despicable, and not face legislated consequences.
I personally do not believe in gay marriage. I believe the government should stay out completely, but I personally do not believe in gay marriage. I believe that people that follow a faith should not be forced to comply with gay weddings unless they serve the public, as you cannot discriminate as a public worker.
A private business that denies service to gays is most notably a small family owned business, not a large corporation, as news will spread fast and boycotts will occur.
Your argument states that it does not affect the businesses bottom line. In the end, that is correct, as money from homosexuals or heterosexuals is the same money. However, being forced to provide service to homosexuals will affect the one providing the service.
The point of privatization as well as liberty is that you are not forced into doing something that is against your will. As homosexuals do not have the right to other's property or service, denying them these would not affect their inalienable rights. Forcing a person to provide service in their own establishment against their will is a direct violation of your liberties as well as religious freedoms.
You also state that the Bible says not to pass judgement. Disagreeing is not judgement, that is argument.
"Gay marriage/same-sex marriage is a perversion of the institution of marriage and an offense to the God who created marriage. As Christians, we are not to condone or ignore sin."
"So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." - Genesis 1:27
In the end, I need sufficient and biological evidence that homosexuality is chosen or is a sexual preference that you are born into. This preposterous claim has not been proved false nor correct by scientists, so I will choose not to accept it, since there is not sufficient evidence.
No comments have been posted on this debate.
1 votes has been placed for this debate.
Vote Placed by PericIes 3 years ago
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Reasons for voting decision: Con had more convincing arguments. Pro's first section of arguments was almost entirely about whether or not the government COULD do something, rather than whether or not it SHOULD do something. Pro's second argument was better, but he made some logical errors. He assumed that the Supreme Court's interpretation of the Constitution is infallible, he claimed that instances of open prejudice and instances of free speech were mutually exclusive, he assumed that anyone claiming a religious aversion to catering to homosexuals would do so based off of Christianity and not any other religion, etc. Con was simply more grounded in facts.
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3,288 sqft
Bar & Restaurant
Shop Share
Anchored by Waitrose, The Brunswick is a semi-covered shopping centre full of great ideas. Here you'll find, River Island, JOY, Yo! Sushi, Giraffe and even a Curzon cinema. Along with the crowds that come with appearing in central London, The Brunswick is alos topped with rows and rows of residential flats.
This space used to be a Baby Gap store and offers a lot of room for a big retail idea. The ground floor is designed for retail: it's long with a mix of flooring, cream décor and strip lighting overhead. There's lots of storage space available in a split-level basement, which includes toilets and a staff area. There's also a service area at the back to make deliveries easier.
With floor-to-ceiling windows either side of the door, spend time crafting the perfect displays before you launch. Russell Square station is just over the road, and you'll be close to University College London – home to thousands of students.
This is a big space, though it's in good to go condition, you will need a lot of stock to fill it.
View other spaces at the Brunswick Centre here.
The Brunswick Centre's capacious modern architecture is a striking departure from surrounding Bloomsbury.
Rows of shops and cafes satiate the needs of the more affluent students and media professionals in the locale and accommodation complex above.
For the more discerning tastes there's a Renoir art-house cinema and food and dairy market. While Bloomsbury feeds the mind, the Brunswick Centre entertains the body.
Look for a space to rent or enquire about doing pop up shops in Brunswick Shopping Centre today.
At Appear Here we believe in the personal touch, which is why everyone gets matched to a Concierge who is there to help you find the perfect space for your idea.

subset: commoncrawl


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Buy stories, books, poems, and more
22 results
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What Sets Us Apart In Chicago, Northbrook, and Glencoe, IL
At Lippitz Orthodontics, great smiles are a family tradition. The Lippitz family has provided exceptional orthodontic care to thousands of families in Chicagoland for over 50 years. Today, Dr. Stefen Lippitz and his father, Dr. Herbert Lippitz, continue to create beautiful smiles that will exceed your expectations.
Along with our doctors' extensive training and experience, you'll find a staff that is responsive and proactive in answering any questions, ranging from billing and insurance to scheduling appointments, and all with big, warm, happy smiles. Very soon you will understand why our patients feel like family!
We want your first visit to our office to be pleasant and informative. Our goal is to build a lasting relationship based on doctor/patient/family trust and our commitment to the highest standards in patient care.
We understand your need to receive treatment in a practice that makes you feel comfortable, safe, and welcome. Please feel free to schedule an appointment or stop by for a complete tour of our practice. You will get to meet our team, walk through our office and treatment areas, and learn more about the treatments we provide.
"I am so happy I chose Lippitz Orthodontics to do my braces. Dr. Lippitz is wonderful and the staff is terrific."— Roy M.
"The entire staff rock and are extremely understanding of our children's needs. Dr. Stefen is truly amazing…thank you!!"— Noah H.
"That appointment was wonderful! My son - who is high-functioning autistic and has a hard time sitting still and was apprehensive about visiting in the first place because he didn't know what would happen – felt very at ease. He was made to feel comfortable!"— Devon M.
"I originally had my braces put on in 1983 by Dr. Herbert Lippitz and he was outstanding over all the years until I got them off in 1989. My most recent visit with Dr. Stefen Lippitz was equally outstanding and maybe better. I give Dr. Stefen 5 Stars!!!!"— Henry M.
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Beaumont/Port Arthur
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After sentencing former West Orange-Stark Assistant Coach Carl Broussard, 54, to 10 years probation Monday, May 15, for charges related to a fatal car accident that claimed the lives of a young mother and her 6-year-old daughter, Judge Buddie Hahn has now ordered Broussard to spend 180 days in the Orange County Jail up front.
Broussard pleaded guilty earlier this year to two counts of failure to stop and render aid after fatally striking 25-year-old Ava Nicole Lewis and her daughter Lamya Janise Newhouse with his vehicle on Nov. 2, 2015.
Former West Orange-Stark High School assistant coach Carl Broussard, 54, was sentenced May 15 to 10 years probation and two $5,000 fines after pleading guilty March 23 to two counts of failure to stop and render aid in the wake of a fatal accident Nov. 2, 2015, that claimed the lives of a 25-year-old woman and her 6-year-old daughter.
Port Arthur Independent School District (PAISD) Superintendent Dr. Mark Porterie reports that there will be increased security at Memorial High School on Monday, Oct. 3, in response to online clown threats - menacing social media posts currently being nationally circulated asserting that creepy-looking clowns will be making armed attacks on various schools.
West Orange-Stark football
West Orange-Stark senior football player Steven Tims will continue his education and play football for Blinn College in Brenham. Tims was named the Class 4A state championship game defensive MVP.
Kelly athletics
Former Beaumont Independent School District superintendent Timothy Chargois was considered and rejected as the interim superintendent for the West Orange-Cove Consolidated Independent School District when the school district's Board of Trustees met Monday, Dec. 8, to deliberate the topic.
No. 12 WO-S (11-2) vs. No. 5 La Grange (13-0)
Moorhead Stadium, Conroe, Friday, Dec. 5, 7:30 p.m.
Radio: 1600 AM, kogt.com
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While we harbor no disrespect for the Wall Street Journal who called us "that scrappy little paper from Southeast Texas," we prefer to think of ourselves as simple seekers of the truth. We're of the opinion that headlines and sound bites never tell the whole story. Our readers demand all the facts, facets and flavors of every story or event. And, they expect to be informed, educated and stirred to action.
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Virgin Australia's Velocity frequent flyer program is introducing penalties for changes to upgraded flights. From 8 April, amendments and cancellations to tickets upgraded using UpgradeMe Points will be charged at 3500 points or $35 if made more than 24 hours before flight departure. Points will be forfeited for changes made within 24 hours of departure, including no-shows.
The Novotel Sydney Central has a new room category. Executive rooms, located on the top two floors of the hotel include a full range of amenities as well as complimentary internet access, Nespresso coffee and mineral water.
A new East Africa travel visa was announced at a recent travel trade show in Berlin. The new visa, which came into effect on 1 January 2014, simplifies movement around Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. The cross-border tourist visa costs US$100.
Qantas has plans to introduce five new regional routes to its domestic network. New services include daily flights between Brisbane and Port Macquarie, effective 1 May, and nine weekly flights between Brisbane and the Queensland town of Miles from 14 July. Other additions include a weekly Melbourne-Coffs Harbour service from 7 June, weekend flights on the Sydney-Hervey Bay route and up to three weekly services from Sydney to Hamilton Island.
Qatar Airways has unveiled details of the First Class cabin to be fitted in its new A380-800. The First Class seats will have a 90-inch pitch and transform into a fully flat bed, with an individual 26-inch TV screen (see pictures below). Meanwhile, the carrier also plans to upgrade business class seats and entertainment on select A320 and A330-200 aircraft. The new business class seats will recline to a 180-degree flat bed. Modification to nine A320s and seven A330-200s are already underway and expected to be completed this year.
Construction will begin this month on a new four-star Rydges hotel at Brisbane Showground. The 208-room property will include a restaurant and bar and is expected to open in 2015.
Virgin Australia has amended its upgrade policy so that Velocity frequent flyer members can use their points to upgrade from Saver fares to Business Class. Saver fares can now be upgraded on all domestic flights, subject to availability. Upgrading to business class on sectors up to 600 miles will require 10,000 points; 17,500 for 601-1200 miles; 30,000 for 1201-2400 miles and 35,000 for 2401-3600 miles.
Mantra Group has signed a management deal for its first property on the NSW south coast. Formerly known as the Best Western Wollongong, the property, which is located in the heart of the CBD, has rebranded to Mantra Wollongong.
Singapore Airlines has officially opened its new SilverKris Lounge at Sydney Airport. The new ONG&ONG-designed concept gives Business and First/Suite passengers their own dedicated area to work or relax. The new lounges are already present in London, Hong Kong and Singapore, with more to be rolled out progressively, including at the four other Australia airports served by the carrier.
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text:
I remember very clearly the first time I heard Renzo Piano describe the new plaza he was planning for the expanded Los Angeles County Museum of Art. It must have been 2005. The Italian architect told me he wanted to create a spacious, classically proportioned space stretching between the museum's new ticket kiosks and Wilshire Boulevard.
"A piazza," he called it, with more pride than irony about how such a romantic notion would play in the middle of Los Angeles.
Artist Chris Burden and Michael Govan, who became LACMA director in 2006, came up with a different idea. Burden, who died Sunday at 69, had been collecting cast-iron lampposts from Southern California streets and storing them at his compound in Topanga Canyon. He painted more than 200 of them a uniform gunmetal gray, arranged them in the shape of an abstract, open-air building and called the piece "Urban Light."
When Govan decided to install the artwork right in the middle of Piano's completed plaza, the piazza idea was essentially ruined, or at least dramatically undermined. But something else emerged in its place: A public space that no longer tried to ape European precedents but instead seemed entirely home in contemporary Los Angeles.
Here were deeply familiar symbols of car culture brought together into a quasi-architectural shape and used, without sarcasm or apology, to suggest an emerging role for the pedestrian and the public realm in 21st century Southern California. If the sculpture was far from an announcement that the car was on its way out, it at least pointed the way to a new era. And announced that new eras require new monuments.
That "Urban Light" is also ridiculously photogenic has given a significant boost to LACMA's goal of activating the long-dormant seam between the museum and the boulevard. And if there are quite a few selfie sticks in use at the sculpture these days, that seems fitting. It is a temple that makes room for many kinds of belief, raging self-regard quite comfortably among them.
The fundamentally architectural character of "Urban Light" -- the artist called it "a building with a roof of light" -- was no anomaly for Burden, who grew up in France and Italy and studied at Pomona College and UC Irvine. Themes connected to architecture and urbanism run through his work, typically with the same wry attitude about the relationship between structure and art-making that the lampposts suggest.
"Originally I was going to study architecture," Burden said at a lecture at the Southern California Institute of Architecture in 2003. "Pomona College didn't have a specific architectural program, so you took physics classes and art classes, and that was considered how you got your BFA in architecture. As time went on, I realized that I wanted to be an artist, mostly because I had worked a couple summers in an architectural office and seemed then to me that you had to be my age -- that I am now -- before you got to make any decisions. Whereas in sculpture I could get something done right away. So that's the path I chose."
He added: "Also, the physics at Pomona got harder and harder and I was competing with sort of the whiz kids of the physics world. They were content to spend 30 to 40 hours on a calculus equation. That wasn't interesting to me."
Some of Burden's work wound up being explicitly architectural. Some was closer to architecture criticism. In 1990, in a piece called "Wexner Castle," Burden made some additions to the exterior of Peter Eisenman's new Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio.
Eisenman had wrapped the building in brick fragments that were meant to recall an armory that once stood on the site. But for Burden the brick towers were too smooth and abstract, missing crenelation and other details. He had those features fabricated and attached them to Eisenman's façade -- a sculptor adding architectural details to a piece of architecture he found too blithely and lazily sculptural.
In 2013, New York's New Museum mounted a major exhibition of Burden's work called "Extreme Measures." In his first discussions with museum curators, Burden said he wanted to leave the galleries virtually empty and instead hang a range of large pieces, including another collection of lampposts, on the facade of the New Museum's six-year-old building.
In the end the galleries were full of works by Burden and just two works were attached to the exterior. (Even those were tremendously complicated to bring off.)
"Ghost Ship," a vessel that Burden had earlier sent on an unmanned voyage, controlled remotely, off the coast of Scotland, hung from the facade. On the museum's roof was a piece called "Twin Quasi-Legal Skyscrapers," clearly an homage to the destroyed World Trade Center towers but also a work with deep roots in the quasi-architectural experiments Burden carried out in Topanga Canyon over many years.
In the early 1990s, he sketched out a project called "Small Skyscraper," which represented the tallest structure you could put up in Los Angeles without a building permit. Working with the L.A. architects Linda Taalman and Alan Koch, Burden built a version of the tower and displayed it in 2003 at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, where it was shown on its side, and later, upright, at One Colorado in Pasadena.
Burden carried out "a kind of outsider architecture practice," Taalman said Monday. She added that "Small Skyscraper," at its core, came down to "evading building inspectors. If someone didn't like it, you could take it down and it could pop up somewhere else."
Taalman happened to be at LACMA on Sunday, standing near "Urban Light," when she got a text that Burden had died. He'd kept news of his declining health largely private; she hadn't known he was terminally ill. She stayed there for a few minutes and watched people interact with the artwork.
"It's amazing the way people are drawn to that sculpture," she said. "It never stops. People are like moths, drawn to those lights."
It's true. I spent a few hours there on Sunday evening and marveled, as I always do, at the same dynamic.
Burden understood that what LACMA and Wilshire Boulevard needed was not a void but a magnet. In the dense European cities Renzo Piano knows well, an empty plaza is attractive as a relief from both people and architecture, from the weight of masonry and history. It pulls you in as a place where the city has a chance to catch its breath.
In Los Angeles we have a surplus of empty space, much of it in the form of parking lots. An open plaza is not a relief or an attraction in its own right. It is a way of letting more air out of a balloon that we've been struggling for several decades to fill.
As Burden said more than once, L.A. is short on both monuments and gathering spots. In this city, at least for now, you need one to make the other.
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Wot! No Mercian?
It might seem that all bike products are made in the Far East these days, but the British cycling industry is thriving and there's a growing choice if you want a frame or component that has been manufactured in the UK.
Though choices for British-made bicycles and components are limited, we've highlights 11 brands that are bucking the trend to outsource all manufacturing and building bikes and components right here in the UK.
Hope Technology
Based in Barnoldswick and with a fine reputation for CNC-machined parts, Hope made its mark on a young mountain bike industry with beautifully made aluminium hubs and as an early adopter of hydraulic disc brakes. It still machines most of its extensive range of components at its slick facility and has even stepped more recently into carbon fibre production, with a seatpost and a mountain bike frame, and likely more products on the way soon.
While it has a clear focus on the mountain bike market, its range of hubs (and more recently wheelsets), headsets, bottom brackets, headset spacers and quick release skewers have been a hit with road cyclists over the years. More recently it has launched a dedicated road bike hydraulic disc brake caliper that is compatible with SRAM and Shimano levers, and there are disc rotors and new hubs as well.
Founded in 1926, Pashley prides itself as England's longest established manufacturer of hand-built bicycles and it's still based in Shakespeare country, Stratford-upon-Avon. It defiantly clings to history with the classic styling of its bicycles, defined by the likes of the Guv'nor, Poppy and Princess are the epitome of style and elegance. And it used to produce the now iconic Royal Mail delivery bicycle. It's just released two new models, the Speed 3 SE and RoadFinder SE, to mark its 90th birthday.
The folding bicycle that is recognisable around the world, Brompton is a real success story. The company builds all its bikes in west London with a staff of 190 people ensuring bike manufacturing skills are alive and well in the UK, but it's had to invest in training staff in the art of frame building to ensure production can remain on UK soil. Few small-wheel folding bikes have bettered the simple design of the Brompton, which has now achieved a sort of cult status and is the go-to choice for urban cyclists that are drawn to its smart design and easy portability when folded. There's even now a Brompton World Championship event held every year.
There is probably no brand more iconic than Brooks, the long-running British company founded in 1866, best known for leather saddles but more recently expanding its range to include bags, panniers, clothing and helmets. Despite modern advances in materials and saddle technology, a leather saddle is still highly regarded for its comfort and durability, and Brooks still makes each saddle by hand at its Birmingham factory.
USE and Exposure Lights
USE, full name Ultimate Sports Engineering, was founded by Richard Sparrow in 1990 and focuses primarily on aerodynamic products, it has carved a bit of a niche for itself with its aero handlebars and time trial extension bars. It also produces wheels, seatposts and handlebars.
But the company's smart move was getting into LED lights in 2001 when this technology was in its infancy, and since then Exposure Lights has been a runaway success story. Designed and manufactured in the UK, its high-powered LED lights are highly praised with their smart design (no cables or external batteries) functionality and durability.
Middleburn is an iconic UK bicycle component manufacturer that produced highly desirable mountain bike products during the 1990s, predominantly cranks and chainrings. We thought the company had been lost to the history books when it went into voluntary liquidation last year, but it's just been snapped up by BETD Cycle Components which promises to keep the range of components going.
Royce UK
Cliff Polton founded Royce in 1980 to make beautifully-finished cranks, hubs, bottom brackets and chainrings, and the operation is still ticking away in Hampshire. Chris Boardman used a Royce titanium bottom bracket axle when he won on the track in Barcelona in 1992, and more recently the Royce has supplied parts to Liverpool University's Orion human-powered vehicle team, which holds the UK speed record of 75mph.
Bikepacking might be all the rage right now, but for years the go-to choice for the discerning cyclist wanting to carry luggage in a lightweight form was a Carradice saddlebag. The company has been making saddlebags by hand in Nelson, Lancashire since 1932. They're made from 100% waterproof cotton duck fabric with leather straps and metal buckles and fastenings. They are beautifully made and last pretty much for ever.
Review: Carradice Nelson saddlebag
There's a healthy UK framebuilding scene and it's blossomed in recent years, but Rourke has been offering handbuilt steel frames longer than most. Brian Rourke started building frames in 1972 and they continue to be a popular choice among touring, leisure and racing cyclists.
One of the slightly newer frame builders is Shand Cycles, based in Livingston, Scotland and turning out some lovely frames since 2003. They've got a nice range of bikes that stand out and some that tap into the growing market for adventure, bikepacking and disc brakes.
We expect we'll hear a lot more of Shand in the next few years after the company was recently acquired by Indian entrepreneur Sanjeev Gupta's Liberty House group. Gupta began his working life selling bicycles on behalf of his father's Indian manufacturing firm, and has pledged to bring bike manufacturing of significant scale back to the UK.
Engima Bicycle Works
Enigma is based in Hailsham, east Sussex and has been specialising in titanium and steel frames for the best past of the last decade. During that time it has been driven to bring more of the manufacturing in-house. Recognising the lack of frame building talent in the UK, in 2014 the company introduced its Frame Building Academy where people can learn all the skills required to design and build a bicycle frame. While it does sell a range of frames produced in the Far East, its Signature collection is hand-built in the UK, with both titanium and steel frames available.
British handbuilt frames
We've picked just three standout British framebuilding companies above because really there are too many to name since the explosion of the bespoke framebuilding scene. There's so much choice now but what they all have in common is steel. It's a material that is easy to work and therefore allows easy customisation, a big draw for cyclists wanting a bespoke one-off bike.
Check out the article below to get a taste of some of the UK brands building frames in this country, and without wanting to give them a plug, the upcoming Bespoked UK Handbuilt Bicycle Show is a ruddy good place to see some of the finest British framebuilders.
- Great custom handbuilt frames — from makers who can craft your dream frame
David has worked on the road.cc tech team since July 2012. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds.
23 comments
How about Ellis Briggs. The oldest UK frame makers still in existance.
These "made in UK" articles are terribly researched. Couldn't Road.cc just have a little tab for UK made products, so people could support our home grown industries? There's loads of UK companies manufacturing for the bicycle industry.
Vélobici (Clothing)
CRUD (Mudguards etc)
Fenwick's (Lubes - not the sexy kind)
+ loads of independent UK based framebuilders.
+1 for Ellis Briggs in Skipton - still making and repairing frames
+1 indeed, but you'll wear out the sturdiest handbuilt tourer looking for Ellis Briggs in Skipton. Try Shipley, they have moved recently to:
28 Commercial Street
West Yorkshire
01274 583221
Brooks of course have made bags and panniers almost since they started, but they were mostly, IRC. made of pretty crap ruberoid and plasticcy materials that were completely outgunned in everyway by Carradice. Also they have made helmets for a very long time. Originally from leather for motor cyclists mostly I think, then also streamlined (it's an old idea) types for tt racing.