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

Anyone have a Sturmey Archer 3 speed trigger /shifter in very good condition for sale?
Late 40s - late 50s age wise.

Lucky you ! That looks like a brand new Cyclo Standard.

I note the long chain tension spring is missing (it fits into the slot next to the larger jockey sprocket).

You will also need to find (or make) a bracket to fit the mech to the chainstay.

Be careful to follow the information about aligning the cable at the mech end. It's easy to wreck the cable and hard to replace it

long chain tension spring is missing

Balls.

I knew this was going to be a steep curve.

It’s going to do light road duties I suspect, allotment trips and the like.

If that's all the tandem is going to be used for, I would have thought the Sturmey it came with will be perfectly adequate.

By the way, those mechs come as two, three or four speed. I wonder which one you have. The difference is in the length of the shaft on which the jockey wheels move.

As mentioned above, the problem with these gears is to find a block which will give you anything like the gears you need. Since gearing is more critical for tandems (difficult to honk when climbing), I'd be inclined to keep that Cyclo for a suitable solo - my experience is that they are a sweet running piece of kit, they are tough and actually work well, within their limits.

The limitation of available sprockets means that they are not really suitable for any serious tandem use, unless as mentioned above, they are combined with a Sturmey.

Which takes you back to square one !

Is the direction of travel I'm moving towards...

In terms of gearing for the sturmey on an old tandem, my Grubb is running a 48t ring with a 19t sprocket at the moment. This is fine for gentle hills but I have a 22t sprocket as well, which I would fit if ever going further afield or with luggage etc. You’ll spin out sooner with the latter but unless you’re planning on beating any speed records it’s better to have the lower gear available for when you need it: I think it’s inadvisable to submit the power of two people honking on an old sturmey hub in case it suddenly decides to hit that infamous ‘intermediate’ gear (and down to the ground you’ll go!)

Now this all starts to sound a lot easier to get to grips with, thank you!
Anyone need a Cyclo gearset with added missing pieces?

1956 Claud Butler. 23" frame but hard to say what model under all the grease - Avant Coureur Special maybe? Ends today (pick up from Tamworth):

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224135834291

Ha ha because really I’ve so much time on my hands and no other projects why could I not give this a home...
Not sure exactly how old but it’s quite nice. Pumped up the tyres and rode it round the garden. Hilarious. Excellent town bike.

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Anybody fancy a dual-toggle 5speed Sturmey Archer? Only hub, no bits.

Where does this guy get all these bikes from ?? Must be a lifetime collection he's getting rid of.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Unique-Vintage-NOS-Hetchins-Magnum-Opus-Bicycle-50th-Anniversary-Campagnolo-MINT/193651324913?hash=item2d1684b7f1:g:BAsAAOSw5d9fVMHR

Wonderful Hobbs from 42'
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254711911541

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£1695

Woah!

Clauds:

23"er with clip headset and what looks like Harden hubs in Horley
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254708561060

21" lugless project in East Grinstead. Ends today currently less than £2
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/184422161504
22" 1954 Avant Coureur with nice chrome fork ends in Newcastle
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/114391725221

Anyone know the make /model of this hub. The only markings are - Made in England. Pat No 698124

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Anyone use 26x1 1/4 wheels on here?

Guilty as charged.
Tyres are tricky to source.
Are you after any specific information?

Got some vintage Dunlop inners and rim tape, If any interest to you?

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Bought a very oily H/S thinking it's 50s, I still do but it has no makers marks anywhere.

Anyone know what make it is?

Thinking it could suit my 47' Holdsworth build.

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TDC?
Had a h/s similar to that once but it did have “T.D.C” stamped somewhere from memory

A note on headsets

Almost invariably it's the bottom end of a headset that gets worn (the races become pitted), so
that's all you need to replace. As long as the races fit the frame and fork crown they'll be fine, but nobody will know or care what make they are.

As for the top end, it's best to use a spacer which fits the locking arrangement on the steerer thread- this is normally either a little 'spur' on the ring which fits into a milled slot in the steerer, or the steerer has a flat which fits a corresponding 'chord' on the washer. The locking system makes the critical adjustment of the head bearing easier and so, if you really do have to change the top bearing it's best to retain the original spacer.

Why is the link broken ??? Should show a £3,500 Hetchins frame !?

This guys collection is just amazing !

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/pastis_et_pies/m.html?item=193651359773&hash=item2d1685401d%3Ag%3A4iEAAOSw%7EIte9Edr&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562

Thanks @clubman

Interesting Cyclo retro direct gearing -
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/143736619120

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I have a funny old mech. Anyone recognise what it is or what shifter is supposed to be used with it?

It’s a plunger type mechanism operated by a lever and looks like it takes a long spring underneath the stay to make chain tension. All steel, including the jockey wheels. 1/8”. Looks pretty early but low end.

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