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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-
I thought the lugs looked very Chapter Lea like, particularly the rear drop outs and the fork crown. I could of course be mistaken.
My local LBS suggested I buy a modern sealed BB unit, to alleviate the problem of water ingress in the BB shell, but I feel that would be cheating somewhat, so i will see how the mudguards work out.
falconvitesse
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.