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Very nice @clubman, the frame geometry certainly doesn't give away its age, however the lugs being Chater Lea certainly do as they were not so common after the war.
27" wheels were also more unusual., It is also lacking a lamp boss lug so it could have been used for time trial or possibly track work.
I love those Stronglight cranks which were around definitely post war albeit in very small numbers.
Talking of practical classics I have fitted my first ever pair of mudguards to one of my own bikes. Im usually not a fan but I have had trouble with water ingress in my BB on my commuter bike, so I thought fitting mudguards might alleviate the problem. We shall see.
falconvitesse-
Aussie Hurlen Frame
I've no reason to think the lugs are Chater Lea. When I referred to the 'bottom bearing' I meant the bottom of the headset, not the bottom bracket.
The oversize bottom headset bearing was a fairly common feature pre 1939. I think most Selbachs had one, as did Sunbeams. I don't know who made them, and I've got a feeling that Sunbeam made their own. It certainly seems a good idea since it is always the bottom end of a headset which gets damaged, so beefing it up ought to help.
Mudguards
Riding without mudguards can often cause water to get into the seat tube and from there it may well ruin the BB bearing or, worse still, sit in the tube until it rusts through.
Possible remedies include:
- sealing the bearing and drilling the underside of the BB shell to allow the water to get out.
- sealing the top of the seat tube, especially where the seat pin clamp has become distorted.
- buying a new frame!
-fitting a back mudguard.
- sealing the bearing and drilling the underside of the BB shell to allow the water to get out.
clubman
Another view:
I thought you might like to see this machine. The kit is eclectic, but I hope you can see some distinctly old components among the more modern bits like the saddle and the concealed brake cables.
An observant observer will have noticed the number '4' on the Sturmey trigger - the hub is an FM which gives a 33% decrease from direct drive. I find this very useful since the area is hilly.
Gearing is 48 x 18 which gives just under 71" direct and a bottom of 49".
Front hub is an Airlite QR which I bought new in 1977. The shopkeeper didn't know what to charge for it, so he looked up the price in the latest British Hub Co. catalogue he had. This dated from 1962, so the price seemed reasonable!
The frame is believed to be an Aussie Hurlen, a Liverpool builder and I'm fairly sure it is pre-war. It has round fork blades and what look like hand cut lugs. As can be seen, the clearances are close with 700 rims (the brake stirrups are Weinmann 500's), so it was either intended for 26's or for racing. The headset is a headclip type and the bottom bearing has larger than standard balls ( I think they are 1/4") which was not uncommon on quality frames in the 1930's. The seat tube is 20" which has shown me the limit of my personal move to smaller frames - this is the absolute minimum I can manage.
When I first got this frame I intended to use it with fixed, but for some reason I never felt at ease with it in that form, whereas with the Sturmey it makes a comfortable and useful machine.