What do I do with this?

[Kid_Carbine]

Well, this turned up in the mail today.
I must have done something rash, like bid, ... when I was having a rush of blood to the head last week.
The packaging contained a frame, forks & handlebar with stem, ... probably the originals but exactly the same as the original ones from my 1951 5 Star.



I had a quick rummage through the parts bin & added a few bits to it just so it looked more like a bike.
It's an early to mid 50's frame & is currently mocked up with Stronglight steel cranks wearing a new Hiduminium chainwheel & Brampton B8 pedals. The Campagnolo Gran Sport low flange hubs are holding the forks apart while a pair of GB Hiduminiums fill the brake mounting holes & clamp to the bars. I found a scruffy, but period correct alloy seat pin of the right size & stuck a new saddle on it. It too is the same as the correct one for my 5 Star.
The rims are Dunlop alloy & are the only pair I have ever seen from this era.
[Hiduminium = HIgh DUty aluMINIUM, developed by Rolls Royce aero engine division in about 1929. They built the Concord with it.]



The rear fork ends are Cyclo road types & while I have the correct type Campagnolo, Simplex or Cyclo derailleurs for it, I don't [yet] have the correct nut that goes on the inside to secure it. [the hole was never threaded] It was intended to be a 3, 4, or 5 speed bike as the position of the lower pump peg precludes the use of a more conventional type of clamp-on FD. This was not at all uncommon in the late 40's & early 50's & in fact this particular bike was built new as a 3 speed.

It will go into storage for a while untill I complete some others & then I will see if I want to keep it.

[kukamunga]

Ok. I'll be the first to ask. How much did this whippet set you back?

[mikesbytes]

Was it originally a 5 speed? where did the gear leaver go?

[Kid_Carbine]

Ok. I'll be the first to ask. How much did this whippet set you back?

Ahhhh, now a wise man never asks a woman her age, .... nor does he ask the price of hardware in a forum, however I will say that it was quite affordable. Almost a pittance.

Was it originally a 5 speed? where did the gear leaver go?

MIKE
Have a look above the last 'T' in the name in the third picture & you will see a bright orange/red band. It bright because it's unfaded, so there must have been something around it to keep out the light, [like tape] & it looks like the right place for a friction shifter to me.
As per the last words of the second last sentence, "in fact this particular bike was built new as a 3 speed."
The seller told me that he had removed a Cyclo Benelux 3 speed derailleur from this frame.

[stevendavid75]

when you say bid....where exactly did you bid for this?
I have a very regular look on ebay, some other online auction?

Nice find there looks like it will quite at home with its adopted brothers and sisters in the background

SP

[Kid_Carbine]

when you say bid....where exactly did you bid for this?
I have a very regular look on ebay, some other online auction?

Nice find there looks like it will quite at home with its adopted brothers and sisters in the background

SP

eBay.
Trouble is, ... I have too many bikes.

[Aushiker]

Was it originally a 5 speed? where did the gear leaver go?

According to the seller, it was a three speed:

The rear ends are stamped Cyclo Benelux, and it was fitted with a 3 speed gearing arrangement by the same maker.

.

Andrew

[cludence]

I see you have yet to post me that Speedwell Cycles bag! Looks out of place there. You better send it as I have a good home for it here.

Karen.

[Kid_Carbine]

Ahhhh, so glad that you spotted it as I had placed it there specifically for your benefit as a tease. As far as I know it's a pre war item [or the same as a pre war one] & it 'might' be available in trade, but remember I have a Speedwell or two as well. [I think]

[cludence]

NO! I am not trading my Lenny bag for the Speedwell one. The two belong together.

[GaryF]

Nice bike and a very interesting paint scheme. The red and green panels (with a hint of yellow?) are different as they appear to have been sprayed freehand - or am I seeing things?

Yes, a great old bike and a good addition to any collection.

Gary.

[Mulger bill]

Trouble is, ... I have too many bikes.

Heresy!
That piece of halibut WAS good enough for Jehovah.

Shaun

[Kid_Carbine]

Nice bike and a very interesting paint scheme.
The red and green panels (with a hint of yellow?) are different as they appear to have been sprayed freehand - or am I seeing things?

Gary.

The more I looked at it the more difficult it was to determine just how it was painted.
The main colour is blue while the decorative part of the down tube is red at the ends. The usual method of painting is to apply the main colour all over then mask off & paint the additional colours.

On this one, there seems to be no blue under the red, nor red under the blue, which one would expect to find in at least some of the many paint chips. The coloured bands seem even less distinct in the flesh & if it was a newer frame, I would say that somebody had used an airbrush, which I think had not been invented at that time.
None the less it looks to have been coloured freehand unless it was the largest & most complex decal ever applied to a downtube.