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

oh yes, definitely. go for it. Lovely bit of 60s colouring that. If not, I'm having them-I'll buy a frame to go with them later!

I think they could work.

I always mean to buy Daniel Salmon guards when crop up, They look very nicely designed but I've not got a bike for them https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/174541632608

Algurn - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265066277183

Not a great deal online about Algurn but
H E 'Doc' Green built for them - https://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/classic_builders/green-h-e-doc

http://www.classicrendezvous.com/British_isles/Algurn.htm

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Carlton Professional - I haven't seen one of these before:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Carlton-Professional-Frame-and-Fork-1948-1952-Reynolds-531-B16/233901015228

That will make a pretty penny! very rare carlton indeed

I can’t think why there weren’t more of them made.
🙄

Pretty crude but I have seen one restored that looked very nice!

Can't figure out why Carlton bothered with this design when many of the other designs were far nicer/more elegant and better finished. They only made this design for one year so I think so they are very rare, so it will probably sell well.

It’s certainly not a looker.
Collecting/collectors are weird.
I get wanting something that’s cool and rare - but not something that’s rare because it’s ugly or a bit shit.
‘Yeah they’re really scarce, they only made them for a year because they all developed cracks right here and failed catastrophically’

Although beauty is in the eye etc.

If those lugs were chromed and inlaid with colour, I could see that looking quite nice. I feel sorry for the workshop junior, who presumably they got to drill all those holes by hand in a blank lug!

That ‘Cloud’ Butler is really lovely.
Chainstay mounted derailleur is unusual on a 40’s British lightweight no?
It’s got some European parts that it probably picked up on its travels - posh Dugast tubs, Italian brakes and French stem, are those Lefol levers?
Hubs look like Airlites but have QRs, I guess the wheels are later?
I’d love to know the history of this bike, it hangs together really well and looks legit and like it’s been loved over time.

Yeah it’s great isn’t it? Those are modern tubs - without looking weren’t they FMB? Either way they’re cool. $$ but if I win the large flange Blumfield hubs and get to build the sprints I’ve been dreaming about for a couple of years I might get some :)

Agree the hubs are Airlite, I think it was common to put in Campag or Gnutti hollow axles and skewers. They fit in the older 5/16” barrel front Airlites - I had one I serviced to find a Campag axle and ‘53 date stamped locknuts. The stem is a nice touch. Could all have been put together last week obviously but certainly tells a romantic story.

I’m probably spending a year in Switzerland from August and have been debating what bikes to take. Pretty sure the R O Harrison is going so maybe at some point someone will wonder how that got so far from home :)

Agree it could have been assembled at any point over the last 70 years - it sort of feels right though somehow. If it’s been living out in Italy for decades it would have been primo exotic.
‘What is this Chater Lea?’
😂
Didn’t know those Dugast tyres were being made still/again (FMB?) they’re pretty cool.

Now you mention it, I remember hearing that about retrofitting QRs in Airlites, I wonder if Brits started doing that before BHC started making them.
I’ve been looking at Gnutti or FB hubs and wondering how early their (under license from Campag) QRs appeared over here.

Having been out of the buying/selling old bike toot game for some years I’ve noticed there seems to have been a big L’Eroica effect in Italy - certainly in the optimistic pricing on eBay anyway.

Also Cloud has a Stronglight competition headset - always a posh touch - the prototype for all those toothed headsets - the TDC and Brampton Alatet that copied the Gnutti and Magistroni that copied the Stronglight.
They go for silly money in good condition.

Sorry, you're right, Dugast. You'd never imagine that cream rubber tyres would looks so good! I like the FMB though, got a nice French flag on them too :)

The FB hubs in the 1950 Fonteyn catalogue are solid axle, the 1954 Holdsworth Aids is the first one with the Campag quick release hubs and BHC were advertising theirs in the 1955 catalogue. They definitely rushed them out, the quick release front hub just re-uses their rear barrel to accommodate the thicker drilled axle. Interesting looking at the Stronglight 1957 catalogue yesterday, talking about the 57 cranks their advice for cyclists upgrading from their 49 cranks was just to replace the right crank and rings. Pretty sure people were jamming Campag qr skewers in their Airlites as soon as they could get their hands on them!

I've got a feeling the Italians themselves don't pay those optimistic prices on Ebay. I suspect the 20% vat will bring prices down a bit, although no change for US and Asian buyers >.<

I got a nos Stronglight Competition headset a couple of years ago for £90 and thought I was splashing out. Amazing the inflation in prices in the last 18 months. There are a couple of nice Magistroni headsets on Ebay at the moment courtesy of @Nbenja3!

I just bought one.
From Italy 😖

It matches the Magistroni BB going on my Gillott (Nik Crom) it’s really beautiful, quality gear.

I’m having an eBay purge to fund the respray/finish the restoration.

I’m having an eBay purge to fund the respray/finish the restoration.

Let us know what you're selling, Could be interested.

At the moment I’ve got some cool 80/90s Mavic stuff (SSC rims and whatnot) and 3 50s headsets.

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-53481-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=2&pub=5575378759&campid=5338273189&customid=&icep_item=254876853719&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229508&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg&toolid=11111

I think the sprint rims will pay for my respray 🤞

I might list some of my 50s swag but I find it an emotional challenge.
😂

I’ve been looking at Gnutti or FB hubs and wondering how early their (under license from Campag) QRs appeared over here.

I had some early Campagnolo branded FB hubs with QR. These were a bit of an oddball because they were ~1952 shape FB low-flange hubs but engraved with Campagnolo, not FB. Memory is a bit hazy on this but there were some distinct differences in the shape of the barrels and caps which gave away the year and whether it had been made by FB or Campagnolo. They were drilled 32/40 so (as I understand it) they were from the British market, not the continent. I didn’t have the skewers unfortunately; they’re mega rare but I would have liked to have seen them.

1952 shape FB low-flange hubs but engraved with Campagnolo, not FB. Memory is a bit hazy on this but there were some distinct differences in the shape of the barrels and caps which gave away the year

That’s exactly the kind of obscure difference I like to know about.
Especially as my frame is 1952, there were a lot of changes those few years in the early 50s.
I knew FB made the early Gran Sport hubs, I’ve just done a bit of reading
https://www.flying-scot.com/miscellaneous/bicycle/components/pages/fb_hubs.html

This suggests FB made all the hubs for Campag until ‘58 when they started the one piece Record hubs.
I’m guessing that Gnutti and Airlite and all the other 3 piece hubs were influenced by/ripped off from FB if not actually made by them.

I’d like the low flange Gnutti with QRs - cool logo and the typography on the levers is great.

👍

Ha! I just bid on those Mavic bars! Would you sell them to me?

You’re not getting sucked in to the Tout Mavic Madness are you?
(It almost broke me)
I’d consider it, DM me with an offer?

(My off topic pic from before I built my Cougar)

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Ha ha, too late, have caught the bug! Will check my messages now. That little collection you amassed is amazing!