1947 R O Harrison Lyta

The equipment on it tells a story of years of use, and was filthy and is pretty knackerd. I guess the 6 3/4" double fluted Williams C34 chainset was original, but the LH crank has year code AD (1941), the RH crank and 34t small ring both AW (1956) and the 50t big ring ZF (1965). So a plausible story is the LH crank is original and the bike started with a single chainring, in the 50s it was upgraded to a double and the big ring having the most wear was replaced in the 60s. Or maybe it was all cobbled together in the 60s! The headset is a Brampton Alatet (without engraving on the toothed washer), the bottom bracket a Bayliss Wiley, but the axle has been swapped out for a Philllips double and the lockring is TDC. I think the pedals are Phillips Credalux but seems like there are a lot of similar looking pedals and they could easily be later. The alloy seatpost is unbranded but pretty sure it's Reynolds, the stem is an early Strata and the bars are the Reynolds alloy 'Jean Aerts' bend looking at the bends in the 1947 Reynolds catalogue in the VCC library http://veterancycleclublibrary.org.uk/library/ combined with the 16 1/2" ctc measurement. They have a lovely curve and flair to them not shown in the picture. It also had a pretty nice set of GB Hiduminium brakes with period correct levers, but fairly heavy wear on the lever pivot pins, where the springs rub on the callipers, etc. There’s a decent chance all that is original, I guess the Solite small flange 40h fixed/free rear hub is original, but the Weinmann Alesa rims and Maillard front hub are later. The Simplex Rigidex 35 rear derailleur the bike came with is mid to late 50s (according to Velobase) but may have replaced an earlier Simplex model. The seatpost clamp is Olmo branded and looks old, but I guess more like 60s, I don’t know the logo on the saddle (probably should) but I guess a similar date. The front derailleur is a Sachs Huret and band-on double shifters Suntour from the 80s.

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