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

Monday morning whisky is a bit punchy. Been entering the world of period correct bells, another vintage rabbit hole to fall into ... I quite fancy one of those nos Ricspur ones on Ebay - I see they are in the 1952 Browns. Not quite exciting enough though, can’t pull the trigger. That’s the bell you’d get if you walked in to your lbs in 1952 and said “just give me a bell”.

Edit - I would be happy to be talked round :) A lot of them have sold, I guess a few to peeps here!

The sweet spot in the Venn diagram of humanity where love of vintage bikes and Excel overlap 🥰

That would actually be good. We'd know what each of us were looking for to finish builds that way as well, which would allow us to swap/offer parts we have going spare...

one of those nos Ricspur ones on Ebay

looks a bit utilitarian to me.
Roadsteresque

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Adie-flick-bell-NoS-GOLD-Ping-ping-NOS-totally-shiny-mint-/274555157900?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286 ?

Yeah I like that one. I reckon that’s 50s pushing 60s though. Still a little tempter...

Ha ha very good @veloham.
And all served up in a hand crafted sourdough loaf...

Ah nuts I thought my long association with (difficult to say love of) Excel was keeping one leg out of the hipster overlap. Don't say the hipsters have got to Excel too?! My wife made me do a 'proper' dance on our wedding and I'm still mocked for putting it in Excel to get it to make sense 😂

Don't worry @veloham about 'Excel' the hipsters have been and gone.
A couple of pages back @clubman was talking about ensuring your pedal straps were correctly fitted and how to be effective they were tightened up by pulling on the strap and pulley and then loosened again by opening the grip.
I did try this but found it difficult, its only since I purchased the straps in the picture that I realise the problem was that the straps I had were all to short, leaving me little to grip on to while moving.
these straps (See Picture), which incidently are now finely fitted correctly, are a revelation, I love them and find it very satisfying having to strap myself in for a steep hill or fast road and then having to loosen off the straps when back in traffic again.

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Watch out though, they seem at the end of their life :-/

Then you cut, bevel, dye, and rivet on new leather.

ok, anyone have a chainset going spare, circa 50-54, suitable for running doubles that they would be willing to part with? Open to most things, be it Stronglight 49d/3pin, (alloy or steel) gnutti, durax, etc? Open to cottered or square taper as well, and frankly scruffy is not a problem, as the frame is certainly scruffy-no chrome is ideal! Anyone have anything? Also looking for a stem of similar period...Thanks.

this is what I'm building up at the moment-a bargain (of sorts) from Muswell Hill Cycle jumble. I'm going to keep it scruffy and as is, as I rather like the faded transfers and last vestiges of paint, and I want a frame I can use and lock up around town, at the pub etc. That said it will, naturally, be pretty much period correct. Its number suggests 1952 and interestingly the braze on for cables, downtube levers etc seem original-pretty early for a UK built frame I think (I'm sure one of you will correct me if I'm wrong!) Oddly- the are the remains of two rivets in the correct place for an Ellis Briggs 50s period head badge in the head tube -but also a Head tube transfer underneath where the head badge would have been...

I have some parts that came off my RRA that will go on, a simplex 'suicide' rod front changer, some nice old pedals and Catos adjustable toe clips, and some Reynolds Pelissier Handlebars with GB Hiduminium brakes (a bit early, but still.) I spent a few hours this afternoon cleaning and lacquering the frame withe a matte lacquer, to stop the paint/transfers etc getting worse but to keep the overall 'look'. It seems to have worked surprisingly well!

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Possibly someone added a badge at a later point ?

Nice looking frame.
I have a Durax crankset (no rings) you can have for postage- I’ll dm you a pic tomorrow.

My ‘52 Gillott has down tube lever braze on, not uncommon after the war, I don’t know much about pre war bikes but they were on better bikes then too.

That'll be good, I'll look forward to the pic. I see about the lever-more common than I realised I guess. I'm torn between getting a Simplex Tour de France or Juy 51/53 or a possibly more practical (and easier to set up I think) early Campagnolo Gran Sport rear derailleur. I'm leaning toward the simplex as I can't help but feel that if someone in '52 had invested in a Gran Sport rear they would have the front equivalent as well and not some old-fashioned rod changer.....possibly this is taking 'period correct' too far !

I guess it's probably that, yes. It's an odd one, that's for sure.

Nice! Looks like a Superbe. Here's mine from a few months later:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Pq7XOXDJj6kVInP52

Rather shamefully I've still not finished rebuilding it...

For my 1952 EA Boult I went with a Campagnolo Grant Sport. The very early ones with the drilled wheels are out of my budget. I have a period-correct Huret front derailleur operated by a Cyclo bar end shifter, also period-correct.
Front derailleurs were a mix in 1952
see photo and photo
It was a period of mix and match rather than groupsets. So you can choose components based on what was the best and the designs were quickly evolving.
The GB Hiduminium ("Standard") continued to be marketed well after the Superhoods were released. So still period-correct.

good to know. Yes, the drilled jockey wheel ones are far out of my price range, especially for this build where I want to keep the costs down, but the later 50s ones seem fairly 'reasonable'. I think I will go for one of these for ease of use and set up. Do you know if they require a specific Campagnolo down tube lever, or will anything do it as they are friction levers? (I have no experience of early gearing except hub gears really)

Yes, I think it's a Superbe, just a very few numbers earlier than yours. Was the gold on your an original colour? - it looks close to mine in every way-the headset is certainly the same, and that's the front shifter I will be using. I Will be interested to see how you build it up now it's painted.

I think any Campagnolo friction lever should work. But points are awarded for the 'open C' version.

The braze on is different for Campag.
The Huret/Cyclo/Simplex braze on has a specific pre ISO thread (M5 x1.0mm) and a different shaped boss.

Juy 51/53 Will need a right side double shifter which are scarce and fetch £60-100 (or more, I hope -I’m going to sell one shortly).
A 51 with suicide changer would be right.

What you have is the Simplex etc braze on, like on my frame. The campag braze on has 2 flats and a different thread.

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This is the double I’m selling, I’m keeping the NOS one. I need to make the bolt and bushing for the patina one to sell it- when I get my arse in gear (pun)

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