1947 Hobbs of Barbican Clubweight Build and many other old builds

A few more things purchased this week. Some really lovely '30's Cyclo Oppy toe clips and I have a matching 32H Bacon Slicer heading to me from Aus.
I have a question regarding rims. Anyone know what they would have been using at the track in the early' 50's? Tubs or clinches? Some of the sprint rims I've seen are 36H and these are 40/32. I'm confused.

36H was an option
Harden hub catalogue held at the V-CC library
and another Harden catalogue also at the V-CC library)
and quite clearly it was to accommodate those wanting to use the Continental rims

this is from the article at Classic Lightweights on Harden hubs
The CL article has useful links to the bearing replacement and an informative technical article

If you stole that hub from us in Australia it may have been part of the single shipment of the hubs

With the hub spending some time in Australia, and the Oppy toe clips, this has a hint of a True Blue Riband

Have a look in the pre-50s rides thread because I asked the same sort of question and the links that @BigBlock put there are also dead useful. To sum up, tubulars, 1" wide.

Probably stating a lot of the obvious now... 40/32 spoke combo was a very British thing and I'm pretty certain they rode 36/36 spokes on the continent. Fiamme sprint rims seem to be the most common, or at least loads of them have survived anyway. Just check you get them with the logos that are correct for the era you want. Essentially, the rims remained pretty much unchanged for 20 years, but the logos and stickers changed. You also had the wood filled Scheeren rims which were impossibly light. I've got a 40H rear but I've never found a matching 32H front.

Thanks gents for your comprehensive responses. Tubs it is then!
I'm pretty much stuck with 32/40H with the bacon slicers. I've just sent Hilary an email to see what he has and will report back!

Awesome! Looking forward to this!

So am I!
Just ordered what Hilary describes as an "excellent pair of earlier Fiammes with valve hole ferrules and Brevatto Longhi logo". They seem to be the right age. 32/40.
Are old tubs like old clinchers in the fact that they perish with age?
I know nothing about tubs. Any names I should be looking out for?!?

Yeah you won't be able to use old tubs unless it's just for show. The only issue I've found is trying to find them wide enough (not such a problem now everyone rides on 25mm tyres) and trying to find them that look convincingly like an older tyre. Most tubulars look very modern.

Tubs do perish yes, in my experience. I had some relatively old 7o's ones on some Fiamme rims for a bit but they leaked everything-air, water, bits of old rubber and thread. Did not last more than 2 or 3 rides in the dry.
Incidentally, will you be building this up as pure track or road/track. I have a bluemels alloy spearpoint that although a bit bent and battered is of the right era I could be persuaded to part with. This is it on my JA Holland a few months back

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Incidentally, will you be building this up as pure track or road/track.

This will be getting the full track treatment.
The Fiamme Sprint rims have arrived super light. Can't tell if they have a braking surface but assume they're for track only?
Plenty of old glue on them. Off to read the tubular rims thread to school myself on all things tubular.

I think there pure track ones, yes, the earlier type with a bit more rounded profile.Hilary Stone's selection should give you a clue http://www.hilarystone.com/CCrims.html

There were track-specific Fiamme rims and the catalogue shows them as having quite angled sides. I haven't seen any in real life and the road ones are also quite shallow, so it's difficult to tell from your pics.

My one, attached, is definitely a road one.

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Yep, mine aren't as deep as yours. My other hub has now arrived. Matchy matchy.

They are FIT. I'm starting to sound like a fanboy on this thread but they are, lol.

So, I've been blessed by the vintage bike fairy (aka @ElGato ) and have a GB 531 Merkens stem, some deep drop track bars (may potentially be early unstamped Cinellli), some NOS Wolber tubs and a Brooks B17 Sprinter saddle on the way.
Now the question remains, to inch pitch or not to inch pitch?

Those are some cool finds! Can't wait to see it finished.

I think I hate you I'm so jealous. Inch Pitch i'd say-I think it's just within the timeframe before the change from inch pitch to 1/2 inch

yes to the inch pitch. Reasons

Ooh, those tubs.

Hi
Great read and thanks for the inspiration.
I'm new on here, found your thread when googling for Hobbs information.
Hope you don't mind me posting
My dad 85 decided he wanted to sell his bikes and I couldn't bare to see them go cheap as his racing was always a part of our growing up, kind of defined him, always on his bike.
Long and short of it is I bought them off him with the promise he could have them back if he changed his mind. I've now got 5 more bikes and multiple wheels in my shed hahaha.
I'm about to start with the pick of the bunch to get them back on the road.
I now have a Hobbs Blue Ribband track tandem from late 40's, early 50's which my dad had re-enamelled in the 70's and added fram attachments for derailleur etc (done by Roberts of Croydon) which he then raced on the road.
I'm hoping to use period parts, some of which I'm sure are in the box of extra bits and pieces but I'd be interested to know of any suppliers of period parts, bars, bar tape, decals and badges etc
Other bikes include a Hetchins 70's, a Carpenter early 50's, an Allin plus a couple I can't identify.
Just hope I can do as good a job as you and start my own thread.
Cheers for any advice anyone
N

Hi Nigel and welcome to LFGSS. The friendliest forum on the Internet! It's great that you have the want to save your dad's bikes. Are you able to share a pic of the tandem?
Cheers
Pete

Here is a photo of the frame on Dads garage floor. Excuse the mess in the background hahaha.
Will get a better one when I get it back out of the shed.

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Same colour and transfers as my track bike, I wonder if it once belonged to your dad?

mother of all chainrings? How many teeth if I may ask? Looks like a great Project!

Oh my! As above, that's a huge chainring! Looks lovely, what did your dad use the bike for in the above guise? Looks to have a derailleur but can't tell as in phone? Would have to be time trials?

Hi
Thanks for comments.
I will get her out tomorrow. Take a couple photos and count the teeth lol.
He bought it from a guy called Ron "Pinky" Baigent who raced it in the 40's & 50's I think. Dad was initially mad on the track (Carpenter frame in background) then moved on to time trials. Yes added the derailleur braze ons etc in early 70's so it could move from track to road.