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

Stamps on the steerer tube?

Had no intentions of stripping this down this evening, but oh well!

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January 1950?
https://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/classic_builders/hobbs-of-barbican/

Looks like it!

So it looks like it is actually a Blue Riband then. The fork crown is correct and the lugwork on the frame is consistent with other pics of Blue Ribands. That also means it’s quite a bit earlier than I thought.

Ha ha! Suspect you’re pleased you did though :)

Blue riband for sure, Thats a nice surprise.
Whats next.
Im looking forward to seeing this built up.
Does it take 27.1.14inch or 700c wheels

It’s going to have gears because it is going to be my geared commuter. It doesn’t need a massive range, but it’s for the days and rides when I don’t want to ride fixed. So it basically needs my daily 48-16 plus a bit to get up hills plus a bit to stretch out down hill. It has 120mm rear spacing. I think I might be able to squeeze 8 gears off a 10-speed cassette on a 6-7-speed hub on a 90s wheel with a spacer taken out and slightly re-dished. No cold setting needed. I have 10-speed downtube shifters but it looks like the shifter bosses might need modifying to suit. I have a black 10-speed Shimano 105 derailleur which will need stripping back so it doesn’t look out of place, or I’ve also got a silver 90s 6-7-speed Exage derailleur which will also pull across that range as long as it clears the biggest cog. Or might look for something older which has the same SIS pull ratio which will look less out of place.

I think the frame might be for 27x1-1/4”, but I’m going to try 700c probably with mudguards if it all fits. Kind of down to where the brakes reach to and how much clearance there is.

Quite a lot to be getting on with.
That brown colour on the steerer is that rust proofing, another layer of paint or the original colour.
I have some mafac cantilever parts if you need them.

The black underneath on the steerer might be bonderising / phosphate rust proofing.

Used quite a lot by Cliff Pratt BITD and others I guess ?

On the Stokes refurbishment, have a couple of hive-mind questions and a request first - anyone have a spare lever barrel adjuster guide like the one shown, then can anyone identify the rear bag support and the strange metal sprung clip thing, both which came in a bag with the bike…

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That's a campagnolo Gran Sport braze-on on the down tube though though, so likely mid 50s i'd say. They only seemed to be around for a few years

That's a campagnolo Gran Sport braze-on on the down tube

Interesting - you mean the shifter bosses? They could have been added later, I’m pretty sure it’s not in its original paint. They certainly aren’t ‘nicely’ brazed on like the rest of the frame is.

Regarding the maroon/brown on the steerer, it’s red oxide. Yellow spray goes about halfway up the steerer and the splatter size tells me it was a viscous paint that didn’t come out of a spray can. I think it’s enamel rather than cellulose, but no real way of telling without scraping some back and having a sniff.

I thought I’d spotted some evidence of the original colour, which is a pale powder blue behind one of the shifter bosses, but actually the close-up picture suggests that pale blue is on top of the yellow and not underneath it.

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Yep them. Could have been added later yes I guess. Could be useful though if you can get more modern shifters to fit certainly more compatible than simplex bosses, for example. I'd have thought quite a lot of friction shifters will fit

The clip is a Terry clip to attach a primus stove to the top tube.

https://smhc.co.uk/collection/terry-clip-for-primus-stove/

Now you can disappear down a rabbit hole finding and restoring a period correct stove (don't ask me how I know..😂)

Thanks for the link to the old Terry catalogue. I’ve come across all of them aside from the Primus stove carrier. I think I’ve got a couple of stopwatch clips (ex TT) and tennis racket clip somewhere. Every day is a school day as they say :).

No way! That’s amazing
Checks out with the background of the previous owner who cycled to John O’Groats on the bike
Right, off down the rabbit hole :)

Trial-fitted some parts to check what’s compatible. Took a bit of a risk on this because there was a chance a few things wouldn’t fit. So far so good and the only things that will need modification are the shifter bosses. That should be fairly straightforward.

27.2mm seatpost. Plenty of clearance for the guards and they’ll just need a small tweak to make them fit.

Couple of things need some attention. Drive side rear dropout was a bit closed up and needed a little tweak back open. One of the canti bosses is loose and spins. I’m hoping I can fix that by re-peening the joint, but worst case I can use some structural epoxy or permanent stud lock in the joint. Left-hand shifter boss is a bit wobbly on its mount. Again, a re-peen ought to sort that.

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It’s going to rather more than a beater isn’t it ;)

This looks rather interesting with nice parts, aside from what looks like modern paint and possibly the wrong forks ?
Maybe a Bates ??
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/116437984341?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-

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Hides behind sofa

?

I daren’t look, I’ll want to buy it :(

Ahh , I get it -You've recently got the lovely Stokes

Ha ha, only thing in the way of n+1 is no work lol

Chater Bottom Brackets

Those Phil Wood adapters look like the answer - as long as you want to use a modern sealed bearing, which I guess would exclude the use of cottered cranks. My bikes certainly have anachronisms, but not everyone else is so liberal about this and I think it's true to say that square taper cranks would be anachronistic on any frame with a Chater BB.

If you want to use cottered cranks, I think you will still need a Chater spindle as well as the cups and the 5/16th balls. In the photo below you will note that the Chater spindle (top) has narrower shoulders than the other one (TDC) which is the standard ancient British size and which, incidentally, is interchangeable with TA and Stronglight.

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