Pre 1950s rides of LFGSS: old bikes, vintage rats, classic lightweights

'Oldest bike used regularly'

My current everyday bike is based on a 1940's Sunbeam frame, but the kit is very mixed and includes 700 rims and tyres, so I'm not sure whether this can be categorised as a truly 'oldest' bike.

In the 1980's I used a 1924 Saxon for some years as a hack. This does have some slight interest because I have a little history for the machine.

I bought the bike complete from its original owner in 1981. He had been given it as a sixteenth birthday present in 1924 - I may say I spent some time trying to persuade him that he should not part with something he had had for so long, if only for sentimental reasons. He was determined to be parted from it and eventually I handed over a small sum of money and rode it away.

The old boy had been a club cyclist (The Wheatsheaf CC - never heard of it before or since) and he had used this Saxon to commute all his working life - he reckoned the bike had done at least 200,000 miles in his ownership. I'm pretty confident he wasn't exaggerating.
Naturally, this raises the question of how much was original, and the answer was... ..very little.

All that was left was the main frame (it had had new forks) and the front hub. The stem and handlebars could also possibly have been 1924, but he did not confirm that. A few weeks later I happened to meet him in the street and I mentioned that although I was pleased with his bike, the bottom bracket bearing had proved to be completely worn out. "Really?" he said "Well, I am surprised by that since it was replaced fairly recently." "How long ago" I asked.
"Oh, about 1963." Time flies when you're having fun!

Although the Saxon wasn't really a great machine to ride, I used it for commuting and winter club runs for some years. I remember calculating that I must have done something like another 20,000 miles on it - still retaining that front hub (a Brampton).

It's shocking to realise that my Sunbeam frame is now older than the Saxon was when I got it, and that I am now just about the same age as the old boy was when he sold it to me.

Photos will follow if I can find any.