1950 Jim Guard Cycles of Southampton - Eroica Steed

Well, I fancied a locally built lightweight, and for me here in Southampton that meant Rotrax of course. Lovely bikes, not too common, well respected and usually the price reflect that ...
So I was surprised when the usual ebay search turned up an old bike called a 'Jim Guard'. Who the hell is Jim Guard ... ?

A quick google brought up next to nothing, which was intriguing. The bike had a few days to go. It looked complete bar the wheels, and I guessed it was worth £150. I bid £155 ... and I won it for £155, so I guessed I wasn't far off the mark. (A run of being the under bidder on several bike auctions was beginning to get me down)

So what exactly had I bought? The seller was local so I soon found out when I picked it up. It was minus the wheels and chain. I was more than a little miffed to hear the seller had chucked the wheels in the skip because they were rusty ... A quick look at the weird gear system told me finding the right set of hubs could be tricky and or expensive ...

Jim Guard lightweight by zombikombi1959, on Flickr

Still, I was seriously chuffed at the machines originality, it looked like it had never been touched since it was built. Original paint, transfers ... and all the equipment looked like it had been there all it's life, great!

Jim Guard down tube transfer. by zombikombi1959, on Flickr

Jim Guard by zombikombi1959, on Flickr

So what was left on the bike? A quick run through the parts soon told me I had something of a much higher spec than anticipated ...
Chater Lea 'Tommy Bar' Race Pedals
Durax Supercourse cranks and chainwheel
Reynolds stem and bars (Maes)
Brooks B17 on an alloy stem
GB Hiduminium brakes and levers

IMG_5313 by zombikombi1959, on Flickr

Durax Supercourse chainset by zombikombi1959, on Flickr

GB brake Hiduminium levers by zombikombi1959, on Flickr

GB Hiduminium brakes by zombikombi1959, on Flickr

Reynolds stem by zombikombi1959, on Flickr