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

the Coloral bottle is a different size to the original and... "The 2018 version has been reengineered [sic]: the 14fl.oz bottle is now made out of food-grade stainless steel, with a brushed, muted finish. Its also ben [sic] vacuum insulated, meaning it will keep cold drinks cool and hot drinks piping hot – perfect for those balmy spring/summer rides or those more chilly jaunts in the winter months. The old cork cap might be gone, but there is a nostalgic nod to it when you turn the bottle upside down. With some slight changes to the dimensions, Coloral bottles now fit most modern bottle cages"
from http://velocitygirl.co.uk/coloral-cycling-bottles/

For the Chater Lea pedals, there has been an interesting discussion on Classic Rendezvous group, particularly looking at the design from an engineering perspective. There are concerns.
"“It’s for people who really care about materials, design, manufacturing,” says Andy Richman about the Chater-Lea bicycle pedal, launched today in Bristol.
“The analogy we use – and we think about this a lot – is high-end watches.”
The Grand Tour bicycle pedal is not your ordinary crank-arm appendage. It’s precision engineered, hand-crafted in England and sports a laser-cut “CL,” the signature flourish that once decorated many of Britain’s upscale custom-built bicycles."
from https://www.forbes.com/sites/carltonreid/2019/05/03/chater-lea-reveals-first-product-in-50-years-artisanal-bicycle-pedal-built-like-upscale-watch/#5cb348021097

So both are reinventing brand originally designed to service racing cyclists needs, but offering to a different target market.

I wonder about their market research.

In reply to Sideshowbob, post 1549:

The advertiser is happy to tell us the Macleans frame has a Chater headset, he doesn't mention the bottom bracket - if this is the Chater oversize bearing (which was quite common for quality frames like this) then the purchaser will have trouble finding suitable cups and spindle.

This a serious problem since there's no easy way I know of to fit a standard size bearing. If only the new Chater Lea people could be persuaded to turn out some replica BB's, I would forgive them any other faults they may have!

It's a pity that whoever applied the Macleans transfers to this nice looking respray didn't know that the downtube transfers should not go on the middle of the tube, but should almost touch each other at the top of the tube. This because when the machine is assembled anyone looking at the bike looks down at the logo, so if it's on the centre of the tube only the top part can be seen by the viewer.

A donor bike, but on closer inspection some interesting aspects.
Fillet brazed bb, stamped with six figures, Zeus Competition rear dropouts, reasonable lugs, lug lined in red. Came with some rather nice Mafac centre pulls with stylish quick release adjusters and on the rear wheel a drilled(?) five speed block (can’t see a name on it yet) and a Pelissier hub
Any clues? Or just gaspiping?

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Good post BB.

“The analogy we use – and we think about this a lot – is high-end watches.”

Lol, I'm out. Seem to be alienating most of the customer base.

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Oh dear, just went over to the CR forum.

Richman won’t reveal how much the Chater-Lea pedals are going to cost but, then, if you’ve got to ask, you probably can’t afford them.

I was at Bespoked, bumped in to the CL stand and had a pair of the pedals in my hands. They are nice looking things, but big and on the heavy side. Possibly foolishly they had a pair of Tommy Bar and a pair of Sprints on the stand and the new ones suffered in comparison. IMO the Sprints are one of the most aesthetically pleasing pedals ever made. I think the watch analogy is probably a good one, and agree that turns me off rather than on! Anyway, they’re nicely made, big platform, good on an upmarket commuter.

I do like that Coloral bottle though 🙃 Call me a ponce but I don’t mind drinking out of something that isn’t 70 years old and also isn’t plastic!

Hello all, fyi just posted a 1947 ROH in the current projects forum. Thanks @SideshowBob for pointing me to this thread.

I don’t like those new CL pedals. I think they look clunky, clumsy almost.

Coloral bottle - not sure I’d use it as a bidon. I’m quite tempted to get one for my everyday carry-around water bottle because I’ve been looking for a nice all-stainless bottle and I like a nod towards cycling with most of my things. But it’ll look out of place on a vintage bike and won’t fit old bottle cages so it’s no good there.

I've now seen a picture of the stand and yes they don't look so good in comparison to the originals and the new version does look much bigger.

on the CR forum: £220 a pair for the pedals.

Crikey.

I'm ignorant of this:

CR forum?

I always thought the original CL pedals were a bit on the big side - the Lyotard no. 23 platform being my preference.

Holdsworth La Quelda

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F173893832440

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CR forum?

Classic Rendezvous, I assume.

http://www.classicrendezvous.com/

(The 'forum' is a Google Group that you can subscribe to for e-mails to be delivered to you, or you can read it in your browser formatted as a forum, link near the top right.)

That's the one.
https://groups.google.com/forum/m/#!topic/classic-rendezvous-lightweight-vintage-bicycles/j1eZIivJ6cI

Very nice!!

Thanks, Oliver.

I'll have a look .

The 'La Quelda'

Some people seem to have been very careless with their front forks! This is yet another example of non original forks - these are obviously inferior in quality to the frame, and the headset includes an extra bearing race under the locknut. I guess the thread doesn't go far enough down the steerer and the cowboy who fitted them didn't have a die to extend it.

So this frame may well have the wrong length forks with the wrong rake. Anyone bidding should be aware of this.

I've just found this (not very good) pic, and it occurs to me that this thread may be interested in this bike.

It's believed to be a Ron Cooper frame (1970's probably). It was my training bike for many years, although I have raced on it and done some rides I was pleased with. It now lives in France - I use it there because it has some French kit on it. I think I must have done at least 40,000 miles on it, and I should warn anyone who comes along after my departure - it's pretty nearly clapped out!

If anyone is interested, I'll try to did out some more photos.

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Claud Butler Jubilee Special.
9 day Auction at £50 currently and collection in Cambridgeshire.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F192909957516

Well used condition.
Research on this model appears to show that it was one of the best fillet brazed frames produced by CB.

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@SideshowBob nice.

That reminds me: 1954 claud butler new alrounder under a lot of black paint herehttps://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F143238758509

Looks like it would good under all that paint, I'd like to own a Bi-Laminate CB one day.

these came in the post today. really please, been after some for ages. Constrictor Conloy sprint rims. Just need to build them up now. Either with a hub gear rear, maybe a close ratio or ASC if I can find one at all affordably, or with some Harden gear sided hubs I have to clean up. Talking of which, does anyone have any ideas how to remove a very stuck 5 speed screw-on as settle form a hub that is no longer in a rim. I stupidly cut out a rear harden from a defunct rim, and now can't remove the cassette and realise I may have cut of my leverage. (I don't have the correct tool either) . Any advice anyone?

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Talking of which, does anyone have any ideas how to remove a very stuck 5 speed screw-on as settle form a hub that is no longer in a rim

Yeah, best thing to do is lace one side into another rim so you can get some leverage. Put the freewheel tool in a big vise and use the rim to undo it. If you can get any spokes in the freewheel side as well, all the better.

Edit: if it’s a 2-prong freewheel and it’s really really stuck, you’ll probably find the tool rips through the prongs. You’ll have to weld it to get it off it’s like that.