K (??) Amateur Cycling Club

[barkmadly]

I picked up a fantastic early '50's Cecil Walker racing frame today at the FYXO swap meet. Clearly hand painted on the top tube is "J Porter, KACC".

Does anyone know of a Victorian amateur cycling club from that era beginning with K?

I can guess at Kew, Korumburra, maybe even Koo Wee Rup.

And if anyone has heard of J Porter, even better.

Mark

[cycles gitane]

I picked up a fantastic early '50's Cecil Walker racing frame today at the FYXO swap meet. Clearly hand painted on the top tube is "J Porter, KACC".

Does anyone know of a Victorian amateur cycling club from that era beginning with K?

I can guess at Kew, Korumburra, maybe even Koo Wee Rup.

And if anyone has heard of J Porter, even better.

Mark

It was a very nice frame you scored.
Trove is the best place to search........

http://trove.nla.gov.au/

Pictures???


cycles gitane....... a Trove regular

[tedsbikes]

My guess is Kensington, but Kew also had a club in 1930s-40s.

Ted

[scratchman]

hmmmm.....that's tricky, I thought of Kyabram cos my Dad lived up there for a while and I know there
was a cycling club, but of course a track bike needs a velodrome to race on, so that may tie it down to
a suburban area like Kew as there was/is a track at Hawthorn, I know cos I raced there in the 60's.

It is a pity that there's no actual history of cycling clubs, I know there was moves to start some history
and I offered help, but nothing has come of it http://www.vic.cycling.org.au/feedback/ ... sp?ID=6705" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'll have a look through my old programs to " refresh " my memory on clubs of that time ( 50's , 60's )

[tedsbikes]

Browsing through some old Australian Cyclist mags from 40s & 50s I found the Kensington club news, which mentioned, among others, a J Porter in "this bunch is going really well" (AC Sept 1948).


Ted

[brentono]

Kilkenny Amateur Cycling Club
Adelaide S.A.
February 1946

At the annual' championships carnival held yesterday at the Hanson Reserve Oval, Woodville North,
by the Kilkenny Amateur Cycling Club...

Two mile open senior and Junior handicap (J. Rogers trophy).
— Final — R. Backshall (460 yds) R. Hale (440) J.Porter (370); len., 3/4 len.: 4 min. 38 1-5 sec.

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/74626664

Cheers

[barkmadly]

Tedsbikes, I think that was you I sold the Carnegie Star frame to early this year?
Nice primary source research. Kensington ACC sounds like the one. I should have mentioned its a road bike. That strengthens the link more so. Fantastic bit of provenance uncovered. Cycles Gitane aka Adrian, I will check Trove too. The Sporting Globe maybe in the archive. Many thanks all.

[brentono]

Kilkenny Amateur Championships 11th September 1943. (The Mail - Adelaide, SA)
10-Mile Junior Unpaced Championship. — D. Whitehorn (25.24): J. Porter (26.40) E.Francis (27.53 2/5).
Sealed Handicap- J. Porter (24.25 2/5) H. Till (25.3 3/5) S. Arundel (25.20 4/5).


S.A. had a Kensington Cycling Club that raced from Glynde, in the 30's... so Ted you may be right.

[barkmadly]

Thanks for the additional responses. The frame was 'rennoed' by someone in Williamstown and that was when the name and club were added so this supports the Victoria connection. This is quite an exciting little detective hunt. Cheers

[tedsbikes]

Tedsbikes, I think that was you I sold the Carnegie Star frame to early this year?
Nice primary source research. Kensington ACC sounds like the one. I should have mentioned its a road bike. That strengthens the link more so. Fantastic bit of provenance uncovered. Cycles Gitane aka Adrian, I will check Trove too. The Sporting Globe maybe in the archive. Many thanks all.

Yes, Mark, it was I who got the Carnegie Star. Its slowly being transformed into an old fixie with a 3 speed Sturmey fixed (when I can source the right sprocket).

Found a bit more on J Porter. In AC for Nov 1954, the Kensington Club Notes list him as 3rd in the 50 mile senior Club Championships and also that John Porter won the Melbourne to Shepparton.

Also, saw a list of Victorian amateur clubs from that time. Kensington and Kerang were on the list but Kew wasn't. Remember racing at Kerang c 1959 on a dirt track.

Ted

[stevendavid75]

Perhaps kyneton acc as was this prior to Macedon ranges ?

[tedsbikes]

The end of Kensington ACC??

In Australian Cyclist (Dec 59, p 16) Roy Ward wrote:
"Sid Patterson's old club - Kensington - looks like becoming defunct. Seven riders have transferred to Coburg, and two each to Brunswick and Footscray in recent weeks. The transfers are attributed to lack of a track."

Looks like they didn't make it in the 60s.

Ted

[barkmadly]

Thanks Ted. An interesting story of the club's demise.
Provenance is great to have with old bike but hard to find.
The bike is nearly complete and will be on the road in a week or two.

[johncrimeen]

I refer to an earlier comment regarding K A C C and J Porter. I was a Member of K A C C. (Kensington Amateurs) from 1949 to 1954 (In the reign of the Dedman Family) Sid Patterson was a Member in those years however we didn't see that much of him as he was generally away defending his many titles. John Porter was also a member in those years although he spent considerable time touring overseas. My last recollection of John was about 1952 or 53 when we rode off the same handicap in the Melbourne to Bendigo and after the race he stayed with me at my parents home in Castlemaine and we went to the local dance in the Town Hall and from memory we had a wow of a time. I don't remember John riding on the track (Our Club shared Keilor Oval with Essendon Club), but he trained hard and raced hard on the road.

[barkmadly]

That's tremendous information about John Porter. Thanks for supplying the information.
I have rebuilt the bike period correct to late 40's - early 50's spec. It's "train spotter" accurate and a great legacy to this champion rider.

[Clydesdale Scot]

I have rebuilt the bike period correct to late 40's - early 50's spec. It's "train spotter" accurate and a great legacy to this champion rider.

Pictures???

I like 'train spotter' accurate builds, particularly from that era.

and John, a warm welcome. Please contribute often. I look forward to reading information from someone who was there, rather than someone who looked it up on the internet (like me)

[barkmadly]

Now that I have claimed the bike is "train spotter" proof, I hope forum scrutiny proves me correct.
Polite corrections welcome.

I thinks this will work.

http://s1296.photobucket.com/user/barkm ... t=3&page=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[barkmadly]

Bugger. Didn't work.

Try this. Password is youripper

[Tinker]

Thats a cracker of a bike Mark. Out of interest, where did you get those brake cables from? They look a suitable colour for my bike.

Cheers

Jason

[Clydesdale Scot]

Mark,
I would like to see a list of the components used.

I'll start: a close up on that rear derailleur please.
a close up of the bottle cage mount attachment on the stem.
I'm feeling a little squeamish about the saddle clamp position.

And I think the trainspotters would be having a chat among themselves about the use of crimps at the end of the cables.

(you can do the same back when I think I have finished my Hobbs)

[barkmadly]

Here you go:
Cinelli steel bars and stem
BSA fluted cranks
BSA chain wheel with 3/32" chain
As pictured a Cyclo Benelux derailleur
Three speed cluster
Fiamme 32/40 singles rims
Hubs - I can't recall right now.
Lynette saddle
Universal brakes and levers.

Crimps - well spotted.
I used two jap cable clamps to secure the bottle cage to the bars. Tut tut.
Saddle clamp. I need to check. "Bolt at the back" is my chant when assembling.

I have since rissoled the gears in favour of a single speed- freewheel.

[Clydesdale Scot]

looks wonderful. The paint is in amazing condition.
How does it ride?

the issue with the saddle clamp is that you have the rails lower than the centre of the clamp. This means the top of the seat post is sitting very close to the underside of the saddle leather, making it problematical on a bumpy road
The derailleur looked to be a bit too modern.
And losing the derailleur means the downtube name isn't obscured by the lever or the cable.

Where did you get the single speed freewheel?

[silentbutdeadly]

[barkmadly]

Saddle clamp point noted.
Freewheel is pommie and came off a wreck, like a lot of my parts.
Jason aka tinker - the cable came from a bike shop in Adelaide - long story.

I have met some actual trainspotters and they are amazing.

[tedsbikes]

Mark

Nice job.

Did you mean a Lycett saddle? (My tablet defaults to Lynette too).

And what pedals did you use?

Ted