OMGosh! hard rubbish: how i love thee....

[winona_rider]

it is hard rubbish time in my neighbourhood.
I made this awesome pile of hard rubz outta an old microwave, some misc wood, some old pallettes and the hand-me-down mattress i had had since i was 18 from my parents (incredibly gross if you think too much about it). I also chucked out the rusty old 28" wheels from the 2*.
The pallettes lasted less than 24 hours, the wheels just a bit more. The guts of the microwave were pilfered soon after. (the dude came with a screwdriver, took his time, and eventually left with only what he wanted.)
But then my next door neighbour chucked this out: (OMGosh!)



and i scooped! Perfect bike for the GF!
so KC: what do you think?
it's a single speed, coaster brake, the handlebar grips are newish. the chain guard is too rusty to salvage. the tyres are flat but i'll probs replace them with road tyres (they are studded like a mountain bikes) Are they 28"?

the seat looks great, but i have a new brooks bought especially for her..
the rims look painted white! cause the valves from the tyre look half painted white. weird.

The chainwheel is exactly the same as the 2*s. It's probably even ridable - i just haven't tried pumping the tyres....

the decals are just the same as i have seen on ebay...

[stryker84]

Do you mean 27" wheels? Never knew 28 inchers were common, or even available...

[ukalipt]

nice find. im going to have to empty the trailer before our local hard metal time.
now ... you both [GF and you] have malvern stars, and what looks to be like a book on traveling in europe.
2 + 1 = european bike trip? - coinciding with all the hard rubbish times through out europe?

just a thought

[Kid_Carbine]

My guess is that it's an early to mid 50's frame from the looks of it & probably the original wheels too. A serial number, probably on the right rear lug, could help.
They look to be Westwood rims & they came in two tyre sizes, that being 28x1-3/8" as well as 28x1-1/2" Make sure that you know which one before you buy new tyres which should be available, although you may need to shop around. I'm guessing it's the 1-1/2" size
In the old standard it was the outside diameter of the tyre that was 28" & the height of the sidewall that was the smaller measurement. This means that as a result of the taller sidewall, the 28x1-1/2" tyre needs a smaller diameter rim than the 1-3/8 tyre & as a concequence the two will not interchange.

The back pedal brake [as they were widely known] is probably a Perry unit although this same brake wears many brand names as it was licenced to several manufacturers. They are a good serviceable unit & were made for many years. [decades] If it is faulty then I would be not at all surprised to find that several older bike shops still have spares for it & it's a simple enough unit to be home repaired or serviced.

This chainwheel type was the most commonly seen design & was made by many producers for decades. It should have 44 teeth & if your GF is not particularly fit, then install the largest rear sprocket you can find. [20t?] Speed will be 'dignified', but riding will be easier & braking improved. As fitness improves, return to the smaller rear sprocket to improve the road speed.

To see a number of young ladies on these things gracefully traversing the urban path network, giggling & chatting as they go was a joy to behold when I was a little kid. Ahhhh, life in the 50's most definately had its good points.

Properly serviced, this bike should provide many years of pleasant leasurely cycling in an urban environment, but as with any single speed roadster bike, particularly in a hilly area, it must be remembered that they were called "push bikes" for a very good reason & to see people walking their bikes up hills was as normal as geting up each morning.
Cycling was as much a social affair as it was a utilitarian one & these ladies frames allowed easy, casual, & dignified dismounting.


Stryker.
27" wheels didn't even exist before the mid 30's & 28"s were the norm. This basic size was used on everything from the most utilitarian of bush bikes right up to custom built racers. I suspect that it's still the most widely used size on roadster/utility bikes in many Asian countries.

In the mid 30's you could get an extra narrow Westwood rim known as the 'Pacemaker' for club or sport bikes, that would take the 28x1-3/8 tyre, but Dunlop made a lovely whitewall "Dunlop Speed" tyre in 28x1-3/8x1-1/4.
This meant that they were made to fit the standard 28x1-3/8 rim diameter, but were of a narrower cross section to match the new 27x1-1/4 tyre & these were ideal for the Pacemaker or the flat sided Endrik rims, however I have seen a lot more of the tyres than I ever have of the Pacemaker rims.

[stryker84]

Cheers, thanks for that KC. I've only been looking at bikes up to about 50-60 yo, so always been 700c were "new", 27" were "old".... looks like it varies even more than I thought!

[mikesbytes]

They look like 28" wheels in the photo, the rims don't have the side braking edges.

The bike shown has a rear drum brake. Examples like this with a front brake. the pads would of been pulled upwards beside the spoke nipples.

[Kid_Carbine]

They look like 28" wheels in the photo, the rims don't have the side braking edges.

The bike shown has a rear drum brake. Examples like this with a front brake. the pads would of been pulled upwards beside the spoke nipples.

It's not a drum brake, it's a Perry [or similar] back pedal, or coaster brake.

For this time frame a rear drum brake looks like this. Where it is just a rear brake only, it would be a model BR but this
particular one is also a 3 speed hub gear so it's an ABC [A= 3 speed, B= Brake, C= Cable operated]

The Westwood rim is this style.