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

Cheers. Yep, I'm gonna live with it. It was just that thing of putting it on for the first time and it not being what you imagined. I'm quite happy with it now. There's gonna be a lot of patina on the parts (I actually chose the colour with rusty parts in mind) so it's fine.

To be honest, I've not been very methodical and used different cleaning methods as I've gone along. At first the wd40 and tinfoil trick but I also soaked stuff in a citric acid and warm water bath and then rub them lightly a copper kitchen scrubber, which I think worked better with less elbow work (and less toxic). A lot of the parts weren't too bad under the layers of greasy dirt and the awful 70s 'gemtape.'

Cotter pins are the work of the devil. I'm am surprised they lasted as long as they did. Still if the pin does not fit, file until it does then hammer in place. Not point in making a square plugs for a round hole by force. Your not forging.

Hobbs pedals - High starting price -
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F123765281655

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Johnny Berry - Don't see many of his frames for sale.
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F153486027329

http://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/builders/berry-builder.html

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I applaud that they're actually doing something. At £250.00, no thanks.
At £100.00, maybe.
Lols at hewn too. Forged from the fires of Mordor.
Would be interested to hear testers thoughts on the design.
@mdcc_tester

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Would be interested to hear testers thoughts on the design.

What design? Your post tells me nothing.

New Chater Lea pedals going on sale soon
https://www.chaterlea.com/

testers thoughts

£250 gets you at least 10 pairs of Wellgo C015. Maybe only 5 pairs if you contracted for a short run with polished stainless cages in place of ED black.

The way the cage is stamped with a split and then joined by a riveted bridge at the inboard bearing looks like a potential point of failure, particularly as the rivets look small and soft and the bridge very thin.

Consulted the oracle as I'm visiting for Sunday dinner and he has this to say:
While Chater Lea pedals existed in the olden days, they were considered a bit shit because the shape of the cage gave poor clearance at the track and the cages tended to work loose* The hot pick for racers was the Brampton B8

*It will be perversely impressive if the new pedals retain this feature even after changing the design to eliminate the swaged joints which gave rise to it on the original ones 🙂

Funny, Hilary Stone just put the same one up for sale.

that looks helpful, thanks. Sadly, hideous tooth ache that is only now dying down a bit gads pout pay to removal efforts this weekend....The freewheel is a an old Regina Corsa 5 speed

That one looks good as well, Lovely Major Nichols on there too.

I think they are the exact same frames. Something fishy happening, same builder, same color, same size ?

Similar but not the same I think. The one on ebay has different decals to the HS one which appears to have different lugs and looks a better frame I think.

hot pick for racers was the Brampton B8

Is there any significant difference between the B8, Constrictor BOA and BSA quill pedals? On the lookout for a set and in the end decided not to bid on the recent pair of B8 on ebay. Went for £20 in the end >.<

The nos ones on ebay are too rich for me, but I'd rather those than the new CL :)

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BSA-RAT-TRAP-PEDALS-PRE-WAR-NOS-VERY-RARE/264244778541?hash=item3d8637562d:g:wZkAAOSwLqRcj7J7

rust removal

Evaporust looks good, thanks for the tip. I've had good results with Restore Rust Remover as well https://www.shieldtechnology.co.uk/restore-rust-remover-500ml-i27.htm. It's the only remover I've used, so I might give Evaporust a go as well for a comparison. As Peter Underwood says on classic lightweights http://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/hintsandtips.html a brass bristled brush is extremely useful, I usually use that after soaking unless I'm being particularly careful with chrome.

I've been using the Restore Pre Clean Degreaser as well, but haven't been that impressed by it. It also contains something that corrodes aluminium, sodium hydroxide or phosphoric acid or something. It does say on the instructions not to use on aluminium, I didn't realise the side plates of Lyotard m23 pedals were alloy until they started fizzing. Anyone got a tip for a good degreaser?

Not sure if anyone else was eyeing the Constrictor toe-clips on ebay, one nos and one rusty, but I kept thinking 'I wonder just how rusty that is'. Anyway both sellers gave me a bit of a discount, so I made a pair. I haven't done much yet except give it an initial soaking in rust remover and gentle clean. Planning on replating.

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I use kerosene for the degreaser and then treat the rust.
Due to the size, I have a Mansfield saddle frame currently having a mild oxalic acid bath. It is pleasantly surprising how it is cleaning up.

If they were my toe clips, I would do the clean and derust, then polish. Replating may see the engraving lessened.

Ok, no harm in trying a polish first and see how I get on, decide on the replate after. I've been meaning to have a chat with an engraving place near me that can use lasers based on a photo. Not sure if they'll be interested, if it's prohibitively expensive, or even possible, but I have a fantasy that I can get them replated and the engraving freshened up afterwards based on a photo of the good one.

Would need a jig to hold it perfectly level. Then you would need to be so accurate with the artwork to match the remnant engraving. High risk.

I would think they would clean up really well.

Is there any significant difference

I doubt it, there was basically one level of technology back then.

Surely the significant difference between one pedal and another is their condition. Aside from the obvious - rust, knackered bearings and cages falling apart, there is the problem that the spindles may be bent. It's only too easy to damage a spindle - I once ruined a Chater spindle by hitting a traffic cone (forced into it by a skip lorry). A bent spindle causes the pedal to feel as though it's twisting under your foot, but unfortunately you soon get used to the twisting and cease to notice it until you get on another machine with straight pedals - and then the 'true' pedal feels wrong. The same problem applies to cranks, and it can be hard to tell where the fault lies; pedal or crank or both.

Unfortunately your knees will not fail to notice that something is wrong, and this is a classic cause of cyclists' knee problems. Graham Webb (World Amateur Road Champion 1967) attributed his lack of success as a pro to knee damage caused by a bent but unnoticed pedal.

Another issue is the length of the thread. Pedals for steel cranks have a shorter thread than for ali. It's possible to use the wrong combination, but a steel type thread in an ali crank is thought by many not to be safe (failure of the crank at this point is not rare and can have disastrous results), while a long thread in a steel crank will result in an ugly projection which may have the potential to catch on the chain.

So my conclusion is: don't worry too much about the brand and don't pay exhorbitant prices, just try to find something that will work for you and your set up. Pedals are both critical and expendable.

Graham Webb (World Amateur Road Champion 1967) attributed his lack of success as a pro to knee damage caused by a bent but unnoticed pedal.

I must have had a bent but unnoticed pedal for a while :D

Ok great, that was pretty much my conclusion, just wait for the right set to show up. B8 in 1953 Holdsworth 15/9, BOA 27/6, must be the Conloy dust cap doubling the price! [Image from the 1948 Constrictor catalogue on VCC.]

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BOA 27/6

Don't exaggerate, it clearly says 27/- in the catalogue :)

Not to be a total weiner, but that's for the CL on the line above :D

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Back in the 1939 Browns catalogue the BOA were inline with other pedals as far as I can see. Maybe it was the adjustable width that justified the price jump after the redesign. New unnecessary features / grams shaved -> increase in price, surprising :D