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

The seatstays and chainstays look wrong for it to be a HOB IMHO.

Cool back yard.

^ let me check it out when there...weather & owner permitting ;)

Thanks for heads up, put a bid in and won, will let you know more about it when collected. Seat stays look bit iffy , otherwise rest looks kosher to me. Will send it to Waz brothers for spruce up...and sort (thin down) those seat stays

Now how can a bike looks like that after 3/4 of a century? I think to challenge Mario on this one showing what can be done 😁

http://www.hetchins.org/hobbs-01.htm

Another prewar ride. FW Evans 1937/8

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That yours?

Yep, picked up last Friday, out on Sunday.

Very nice!

No worries, hope it's up to scratch in person!

Yeah, that’s right on the money, lovely

Note, the front light bracket lug is on the near side. Whats the thinking behind that.?
Oh and smashing bike.

Well spotted, have not noticed myself to be honest. Now you had me thinking. Looking at the advert for the above machine it does not feature on the drive side either, was it added later or was it like that originally? Who knows.

This is a S type, as it has SA 3 speed gearing,

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Iirc old bikes has the lamp on the left to illuminate the kerb. That's what I was told by the old mechanic I used to work with....

Thanks for explanation Shaun.

Ah yes the days before parked cars were a thing.

I thought the lamp bracket on my 1938 Parkes was on the pavement side, but I just checked and it is on the road side.

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The Evans

That's a very attractive bike.

The lamp bracket - The catalogue picture shows a bracket in the then conventional position under the headset locknut. I think it's likely the nearside boss was specified by the original purchaser - I believe this was a pre -war fashion.

The wheels - Just like my Sunbeam, The Evans looks very 'gappy' with its original 26's. If you do any serious riding on this bike you will find 700's a big improvement. The Schwalbe tyres fitted are the best available 26's, but they weigh half as much again as a good 700. You also have the problem of stopping in the rain with chrome steel rims (also heavy).

Of course, this comment is irrelevant if your aim is originality

Ah yes the days before parked cars were a thing.

Also the days when acetylene lights were common. These really did give a lot of light and with relatively dim street and car lights they were a useful aid to seeing the kerb (among other things!)

Thank you. You are also absolutely right about the wheels & tyres. The bike is no lightweight and those heavy tyres do not help it move faster either. May swap in future or rebuilt existing hubs on 700 rims.

In addition, the handlebars may also be swapped for something less challenging, they are ok for short journeys, but more than an hour in the ride you do feel the strain, especially someone with iffy hands like me.

Appreciate your input, always good to hear from someone with more experience.

In addition, the handlebars may also be swapped for something less challenging

Yes, I thought that also, but I didn't want to be too critical of your lovely new acquisition.

I'm not sure when the change came but it seems that in olden days, in England anyway, there was an assumption that a rider would hold the bars in just one place - at the ends. By the 1950's (probably earlier) sporting cyclists realised that you could put your hands anywhere on the bars - the bottom of the drops, the top of the bars, on the brake levers etc. Some of them had been reading But et Club and they copied the French style, which was a lot more practical.

As your Evans is set up, you can only really hold the bottom of the drops; the way the bars curve away from the stem may look nice to some people, but it doesn't allow for a comfortable position on the tops. Obviously you can't hold the brake lever hoods!

My daughter's Evans (looks very similar to yours) has Lauterwasser bars and Mafac brakes (that was how it came to me). This set up seemed to work fine for her.

Got a bike with the bb stamped on the underside with 4562 on the drive side and a ‘O’ on the nds
BB has an oil port, lugs look like Oscar Egg
Anyone have an idea where to start looking at the frame builder/ id?
Powder coat has destroyed any underlying decals, can’t yet see any dropout stamps
All suggestions welcome :)

The wheels - Just like my Sunbeam, The Evans looks very 'gappy' with
its original 26's. If you do any serious riding on this bike you will
find 700's a big improvement. The Schwalbe tyres fitted are the best
available 26's, but they weigh half as much again as a good 700. You
also have the problem of stopping in the rain with chrome steel rims
(also heavy).

A lovely Gillott has appeared on ebay and looks like from the 50s to me. On paper the frame is my size (22"), but it also takes 26" wheels (so I guess it would actually be lower than 22") and there is no clearance I would think for 700c wheels. I personally have no experience of 26" wheels. I read that they are good for touring and off-road, so to see such heavy and small wheels on a racing bike like that light Gillott seems an odd choice. Still, the thought that it could really go for a mere £29,50 seems absurd. Perhaps someone else here is interested?
ebay link

think they are 27.1.1/4" alloy weinmann rims not 26", If not they are 700c i very much doubt they are 26"as this is a later gillott model from the late fifties early sixties.
Possibly an italo model.
nice frame i did put an offer in but it was rejected.

Appreciate any help identifying this :)
https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/385396/#comment16934741