Not quite a SJH but close.....

[cludence]

A friend of mine offered me the following bike this week as it is one from the local area I live in. He had bought it at a garage sale for $20. Though it is not a SJH, it was made by Jeff Way and Bob Jones in Auburn which was next door to to the suburb where SJH was. Bob Jones ended up owning SJH so I have yet to ascertain whether this was actually sold at the SJH store or prior to him acquiring the store. Either way, it is a great one for the local history behind it and will be one I will clean up and put on display. I wont be repainting it in any way. Just annoyed as I wanted to take it for a mini ride around the block (not far given it needs a service and has a bit of a bend in the front) and it has a busted tube! Too late to fix it right now (dinner to cook) so maybe tomorrow....

For the price it should have included a repaired tube!

[Mulger bill]

You know some interesting people Karen.

Any chance of a close up of the brake please? Looks interesting.

Shaun

[GaryF]

Hi Karen,

I really admire the shape of the handlebars. To me that shape is prefect; a lovely flowing bend and completely functional.

Your knowledge of the local bike building industry of yesteryear is very impressive. I have really neglected going to that step when I've come across an old, locally built bike. It really wouldn't have taken much longer for me to have inquired a little deeper into the history of a bike when I have found one.

Thanks for sharing your bikes and your knowledge.

Gary.

[cludence]

Hi Gary, one of the ends of the handlebars is bent unfortunately, still functional though. I have been able to find info on these bikes only because of knowing several people who grew up and/or worked with bikes in this area back then. If it wasnt for this, I would have no idea on the history.

Mulger I will get some pics later today of the brakes and post them up for you.

Karen.

[mikesbytes]

Another nice find Karen.

The handlebars look like track ones, just rotated upwards.

[ukalipt]

yeah i would agree with mike. they do have the track curvature .

i am with gary as well. all bikes i purchase in the future will be accompanied by a lot of question trying to find out the history of it

once again another amazing score karen

[cludence]

I keeping looking at the bars thinking I should turn them back round but I cant bring myself to do it. I'd like to have this one how it was last ridden.

I know who made it but unfortunately not so lucky as to who owned it. The origins I always ask people as I know how hard it can be to trace it back once these people have all passed on.

I am going to put all these bikes in a public display area at some stage so when it is done, we'll have to have a Sydney forum meet up. Then you will see how insane I am as there are many I have not posted on the forum.

Karen.

[stevendavid75]

they look like philco brakes?

Nice find Cludence!!

I do wownder sometimes, How many NICE old bikes are still haging around rusting away in sheds around Australia,
It would be great to try to account for all the 5 stars or sometihing, see how many were produced, how many are currently accounted for by collectors/ enthusiasts or whatever and how much change there is,
Obviously quite unreaslistic but you know where I m coming from

[Kid_Carbine]

A friend of mine offered me the following bike this week as it is one from the local area I live in. He had bought it at a garage sale for $20. Though it is not a SJH, it was made by Jeff Way and Bob Jones in Auburn which was next door to to the suburb where SJH was. Bob Jones ended up owning SJH so I have yet to ascertain whether this was actually sold at the SJH store or prior to him acquiring the store. Either way, it is a great one for the local history behind it and will be one I will clean up and put on display. I wont be repainting it in any way. Just annoyed as I wanted to take it for a mini ride around the block (not far given it needs a service and has a bit of a bend in the front) and it has a busted tube! Too late to fix it right now (dinner to cook) so maybe tomorrow....

For the price it should have included a repaired tube!

Well after studying the picture & reading the text Iwould agree that it's another good score.
To add to Karens story, it would seem after further research that Hilsden [SJH] sold his shop to A. Ross in 1949. I do not yet know what the 'A' stands for, but I believe he may have been the father of Jock Ross who rode with the Penrith Cycle club in the 30's. Jock ran a bike shop in Penrith in the 60's & was the source of my new Speedwell 'Flash' in 1963.

I have part of an SJH frame with A.Ross' name on it. It was common in small bike shops for the bike builder to have his/their name/s on the frame & this has proven to be an invaluable aid for historians & colectors.

A. Ross then sold the shop to the partnership of Way & Jones, presumably by 1955 & probably earlier, so Karens bike, built by Way & Jones, but with the Columbia brand name would date it pre c1955.

Way eventually left the partnership at SJH & the business was carried on by Bob Jones untill his death in the 80's, aged about 90.

So when Karen says "almost an SJH" she's right on the money.

The two pictures are of an SJH, recently discovered, showing the typical 'signatures' that bikes from small shops often had.
It originally read, "Built by Way & Jones Parramatta" but the 'Parramatta' part has deteriorated to be almost illegible.

[cludence]

Here you go Mulger, a pic of the philco brakes.

[winona_rider]

hey cludence - i got these with the malvern - do u want em? free!
they appear in very good condition... that spring needs to be re-attached...even the cable is good and there is a lever (not in such fine form) as well.

d

[cludence]

Hey Winona, yes please. They are in much better condition than what I have here. I'll PM you. Hopefully I have somethign here you need so I can send it in return.

Thanks heaps.

Karen.

[Mulger bill]

Thanks karen, an interesting design, looks like it should be pretty powerful.

Shaun

[Kid_Carbine]

These were most likely the most widely used brakes on the planet for decades, & they had a number of things going for them. These features included, ...

A. Universal mounting. They did not need a hole in the brake bridge. Even the front one mounted to the fork blades, not the fork crown.
B. Ease of adjustment to suit the wheel size in use. The lack of a fixed hole mounting meant they could be moved up or down on the seatstay or forks for alignment.
C. Affordable price. This is always a popular feature.
D. Ready availability of spares. Every bike shop in Australia serviced these with replacement brake blocks, cables & springs.
E. Acceptable performance. Not the most powerful brakes around, but they did the job quite nicely none-the-less.

These things were used on everything from basic Roadsters up to 'Goulburn to Sydney' race bikes & were available from at least the late 20's & were still seen new in bike shops in the 60's.
If you have an oldie [a real one] then these really are the universal brake for the period. I think I might even still have a partial box or two of original brake blocks. Black for steel & red for alloy rims.

[WyvernRH]

[quote="Kid_Carbine"]These were most likely the most widely used brakes on the planet for decades, & they had a number of things going for them. These features included, ...

Yes, I'll have to back KC up on this one, the brakes worked OK and did the job but.... did they look cool (or the equivalent in the 1950's..) hell no!
I don't know about Australia but every old guy I talked to in the UK remembers these brakes and said something to the effect of " Yup, they worked but they were heavy, ugly and used on commuter bikes". Which was the kiss of death to the trendies of those days....

Cheers

Richard