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

It's sold ,Did you get it

Nope. Would have made for a fun and challenging build though.
How's the hunt for wheels going for the Hurlow.

Still looking at the moment, Seller on eBay -goldenagecycles often has great parts

This person has some great bikes for sale
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F183945888544

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Tidy small Hawkes of Stratford F&F currently £30. Ends this afternoon. Seller has some other nice parts too.

Holdsworth Cyclone (?)

Lugless SWB claud butler late 40's(?) tandem project £99 BIN

This made an appearance at work today. Lush!

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Very nice

Nice! Have you been tempted to sneak over and slap a bit of Proofide on that saddle?

If you have the oppytunity to take some more detailed photos, there are a number in Australia who are keen to know more about this bike.

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Wonderful

For sure. Might see if they'll let me take it for a ride :)

I have decided to sell this:

https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/308881/

Any interest here?

Any sign of a frame number?

The components are obviously of later origin.
GB Hiduminium calipers are post-war, the saddle does not have the oval Brooks stamp, the headclip arrangement is suspect, the handlebars do not have the distinctive pre-war swoops we associate with Oppy, (as seen in this poster)
In a most uncharacteristic fashion, there are no photos of Oppy's feat in Australian newspapers.
They referred to his bike as a Malvern Star.
It has been suggested that it was a BSA branded frame that was used when in Britain.
One identified backer was Cyclo Variable Gears and in the catalogue found on Disraeli gears has this image

Bruce Small, who ran Malvern Star was also trying to secure BSA supply contracts, and this may have influenced the branding.
I will ask to see if there are any known photos of the epic ride to clarify the brand name on the frame.

Hobbs on gumtree
https://www.gumtree.com/p/bicycles/bike-vintage-hobbs-of-barbican./1351661759

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Does anyone here have a pair of those William Lennon Arturo leather cycling shoes?

The insoles on mine are made of a kind of compressed cardboard or something and it's disintegrating. It's similar to the crappy insole material at the toe end of a Doc Marten boot. I was thinking of carefully removing it, using it as a template and replacing it with 2-3mm thick leather.

Edit: I've peeled one of them back. On closer inspection, the inside of the sole itself appears to be leather and it has a thin compressed cardboard insole bonded onto it with a thin crappy textile liner which has come off. I think I'll carefully remove the cardboard bit, scrape the leather inner free of debris and bond on a fresh leather insole using the old one as a template.

As per @SideshowBob request here's some pix of my Gillott.
Not strictly pre-1950s (it's 1954) but hope it's still welcome here.
It's been sitting in my shed for a couple of years and the shed is about to be replaced so the bike either needs to be used or sold.
I bought it from former Olympian Charly McCoy via Bill Soens. It was Charly's timetrial/track bike before he was sponsored.
I've included a pic of what Bill thinks is Charly riding the bike at Herne Hill back in the day.

The Gillott now has a gash green paint job and has no original parts.
The plan is to get it rolling and see if the geometry works for me.
If it does I'm hoping to use it as a winter bike with mudguards + rack.
I have a lot of period correct parts but the main issue at the moment is wheels.
Old 700c track wheels just about fit in the rear dropouts but the front dropouts are too narrow to accept anything other than old thin axle hubs.
I've tried filing the dropouts gently but there's a lot to take off and the shape is awkward and easy to mess up. I have some decent condition old front hubs I could get made up into a wheel but am reluctant to spend if the bike doesn't work for me. Another option is to file the axle of an old front track wheel...

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Some more pix of bike and of Charly in action (not on the Gillott).

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File the axle, not the dropout!

On a track hub, you don't need to take off too much. You should only need to file it to the bottom of the threads on both sides and it should drop in, so you shouldn't lose any strength in the axle.

Thanks. I've got an old wheel it should work on.

Great frame with history as well, very nice.

You might know this already, but look for the Gillott user group on Facebook, it was created and it is actively maintained by Mark Stevens. The authority on Gillott frames. I'm sure he'd be interested to know re this frame.

Thanks I told Mark as soon as I got it. It's a bit ordinary for him!

Hi @nankatsu
Lovely frame, it is large what size is it 24"
I'm assuming your fairly tall otherwise your right it's not going to work out. If your having to file down the axles to fit the frame then you have the wrong hubs/wheels. Invest in a decent pair of vintage wheels even if this frame doesn't work out you can use the wheels on another frame.
I have a similar Gillott which I use for commuting and have fitted 27" rims, I tried sprints and 700c rims but it came up a little happy to be honest.
Is yours built for sprints or 27" or both?

Early Saxon twin-tube track. Could be very nice if restored....;

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Saxon-Twin-Tube-bicycle-frame-with-track-fork-ends/143391166099?hash=item2162c78e93:g:D2kAAOSwtEldh6Mh