Repco roadster
Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 4:48 pm
I posted this in the Repco Appreciation thread, but that seems to be more about resurrecting 80s-90s vintage fluoro-beasts than the older machines like I have, and I fear the audience I want to talk to aren't reading that thread. So forgive my multiple posting.
I found this one in a hard rubbish pile on the weekend. I'm interested in people's opinions, advice, or any history you might be able to suggest on this bike.
Hiding in the undergrowth at the back wheel is a coaster brake wheel, mounted in rear-facing horizontal drop-outs.
Chainstays bolted on at both ends - dates it as somewhere in the oldenoughtobeinteresting period. Guessing 60s? 50s?
Inner-spring moulded rubber saddle is interesting too.
Definitely says "Repco" on the seattube, and the cast "R" head badge and fork crown match my understanding of old Repco branding.
Some patina adds character, some is more of a problem.
The bits that are supposed to move all move, to an extent, and the frame looks structurally intact.
--
I've now had a brief look at some more details on the bike. Interesting things to note.
Rear hub is a Renak:
Inscription reads "Renak 24 A 40 Made in Germany East GDR":
Reference to "Germany East GDR" at least dates the hub as post-war. Do we have any Renak experts here? Any suggestions what the numbers mean? Unlikely to be a date code, I think, and googling doesn't clearly show it up as a model number.
As best I can tell, the front hub just says "Made in Germany", which I thought was unusual for a post-war part to not specify which side of the wall. There's a flat steel spring clip around the hub (why?), so there might be more markings hidden under it.
The number "846" is cast on to the BB shell:
Stamped on to the side of the seatpost clamp are the digits "7 4 7", widely spaced. There's a bit of blistering rust in the area, but there doesn't seem to be any other numbers there. A serial number perhaps?
The seat tube is 28.8mm OD. There's not much seatpost protruding from the frame, but what there is, I measured at 26.6mm. That surprises me - my understanding was that right up to the 80s, "regular" bikes used a 1" (25.4) seatpost, but more exotic frames used thinner tubes of the same OD, so required a bigger seatpost. I would have assumed that this was a basic workman's bike, so would certainly have a 25.4mm seatpost. Could it be something more?
The BB shell has a lube port on the non-drive side:
The front tyre (or what remains of it) is an Olympic 28 x 1 3/8. Having now read a few tyre sizing pages, this appears to be a 642mm rim size - peculiarly Australian. I noticed the other day that the rear tyre is Chinese, but didn't take any notice of the size because I assumed it was a bog-standard 27" wheel. A Chinese tyre probably indicates that the bike was in regular service up until at least the 80s.
A friend has already suggested that it looks very much like a Robs frame, of which he has two samples from ~1960. I can see a lot of similarities with ldrcycles's Healing from this thread. I guess several independent frame builders were making similar frames for all the brands at the time, so they're all going to have details in common.
So, historic bike people... what do you think? What is this disheveled piece of technology that I have stumbled upon?
tim
I found this one in a hard rubbish pile on the weekend. I'm interested in people's opinions, advice, or any history you might be able to suggest on this bike.
Hiding in the undergrowth at the back wheel is a coaster brake wheel, mounted in rear-facing horizontal drop-outs.
Chainstays bolted on at both ends - dates it as somewhere in the oldenoughtobeinteresting period. Guessing 60s? 50s?
Inner-spring moulded rubber saddle is interesting too.
Definitely says "Repco" on the seattube, and the cast "R" head badge and fork crown match my understanding of old Repco branding.
Some patina adds character, some is more of a problem.
The bits that are supposed to move all move, to an extent, and the frame looks structurally intact.
--
I've now had a brief look at some more details on the bike. Interesting things to note.
Rear hub is a Renak:
Inscription reads "Renak 24 A 40 Made in Germany East GDR":
Reference to "Germany East GDR" at least dates the hub as post-war. Do we have any Renak experts here? Any suggestions what the numbers mean? Unlikely to be a date code, I think, and googling doesn't clearly show it up as a model number.
As best I can tell, the front hub just says "Made in Germany", which I thought was unusual for a post-war part to not specify which side of the wall. There's a flat steel spring clip around the hub (why?), so there might be more markings hidden under it.
The number "846" is cast on to the BB shell:
Stamped on to the side of the seatpost clamp are the digits "7 4 7", widely spaced. There's a bit of blistering rust in the area, but there doesn't seem to be any other numbers there. A serial number perhaps?
The seat tube is 28.8mm OD. There's not much seatpost protruding from the frame, but what there is, I measured at 26.6mm. That surprises me - my understanding was that right up to the 80s, "regular" bikes used a 1" (25.4) seatpost, but more exotic frames used thinner tubes of the same OD, so required a bigger seatpost. I would have assumed that this was a basic workman's bike, so would certainly have a 25.4mm seatpost. Could it be something more?
The BB shell has a lube port on the non-drive side:
The front tyre (or what remains of it) is an Olympic 28 x 1 3/8. Having now read a few tyre sizing pages, this appears to be a 642mm rim size - peculiarly Australian. I noticed the other day that the rear tyre is Chinese, but didn't take any notice of the size because I assumed it was a bog-standard 27" wheel. A Chinese tyre probably indicates that the bike was in regular service up until at least the 80s.
A friend has already suggested that it looks very much like a Robs frame, of which he has two samples from ~1960. I can see a lot of similarities with ldrcycles's Healing from this thread. I guess several independent frame builders were making similar frames for all the brands at the time, so they're all going to have details in common.
So, historic bike people... what do you think? What is this disheveled piece of technology that I have stumbled upon?
tim