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

You are welcome, first time I've been able to help someone identify a frame!

Funnily enough I moved the Clubweight on when I got hold of the other two - which are both Criteriums. If you don't know already the Criterium had a 1 1/8" oversized top-tube, I think from 1948 onwards. I got one that had been overpainted and then another in original paint I had oggled on the interweb for a while showed up on Ebay. Both for something like £150 with delivery and no useful / sellable components.

I feel like the original paint one was a bargain, the other about right. Hard to know though as the original paint Blue Ribband track model on Ebay still hasn't sold for £550, nor the other original paint lugged model for £400.

I think it's quite hard to tell the models apart, as far as I know you could get any model with lugs or lugless. So without lugs, an identifying feature like the oversized top tube or a special paint scheme there's not loads to go on. I wasn't sure on my Clubweight, so checked with Peter Lowry and he was sure :) I think I bought it for < £200 a few years ago but it had a Lytaloy headset and seatpost clamp and that nice badge. Think I sold it for ~ £80 without the headset and clamp, which are both pretty ratty but hard to come by. Sooo I don't think your frame is worth much I'm afraid, but probably good to ride. Worth building up to see if you like it before spending money / time refinishing as you will spend more on it than you'll get back! I liked that a standard colour in the 1952 catalogue was a magenta flam - that's what I had planned :)

I guess the oiler port in the back of the head tube is an after market addition. Don't think I've seen that on any Hobbs in all my oggling.

Bruce's Bike's has an original paint Superbe barn find http://brucesbikes.blogspot.com/2015/09/1948-hobbs-barn-find.html

Here's another lugless thread https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/1948-hobbs-super-course.341552/

Peter Lowry's original paint Super Course is possibly the nicest bike on the internet, if you haven't seen it http://www.hetchins.org/hobbs-01.htm

I'm not sure how long the special paint schemes lasted, I think they were dropped by 1950.

I'll start a build thread on my Criteriums at some point, I've gathered quite a lot of material! Attached are a couple of pics of the one in original paint.

2 Attachments