KonAaron Snake 

That's pretty dope (really wanted to use that word) - where'd you find that?

photogravity

To be exact, according to the badge that was on the bicycle he owned, it came from 136 Southend Lane, London UK. The gentleman owned a Holdsworth, but his name was Norman. Below is the CTC badge with his name and address. I love stuff from England during this era. I came across this on eBay.


CTC Badge by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr

KonAaron Snake 

It definitely is...British. I take it that it was a parts bike.

rhm

You guys are very kind!

What Photogravity did not explain is that when Norman was in full industrial swing in the early 50's they had saddles made for them with their name. These photos are from an a chromed Invader with a bent fork that comes up on Ebay every now and again with an unrealistic starting price.





I recreated the relief of the Norman soldier as well as I could by starting with a pencil drawing that I converted to a bitmap and embedded in a vector graphic and had the stamps 3d printed. I'm not thrilled with the result.

These are some of the previews I got from Shapeways, the 3d printing service, as I was working on it:

auchencrow

Brooks had better watch their backs with @rhm !

auchencrow

Where'd you get that thing PG? That looks like it could be a piece of King Arthur's personal ride!

photogravity

Aaron asked about it in one of the above posts, but I definitely do not mind repeating it.

The guy who owned the bicycle this came off was named Norman. Norman did not own a Norman bicycle but, instead, a Holdsworth. I suppose he thought the Norman chainring would make his ride more identifiable among the sea of Holdsworth bicycles over there. The date stamp on the chainring is AP (1952), so assuming it was put on when the bicycle was new, that gives you an idea of the age of the bicycle and possibly the age of the gentleman who owned the bicycle. The fellow selling off the bits from the bicycle may be able to give me more information on the fellow who owned the bicycle as it appears he knew (or knows?) the guy personally. I also obtained the CTC badge, Phillips pedals and GB Hiduminium brake calipers from the seller, all from the Holdsworth. So Norman Phillips had a bicycle with a Norman chainring and Phillips pedals. Sounds like an interesting fellow.

crank_addict

C&V at its finest. This thread just keeps getting better.

I must mention again the recognition to Rudi's talent and generosity. That Norman saddle is amazing.

photogravity

The fact of the matter is that I'm thrilled with the saddle. I'll be riding it so, if it wears at all like a Brooks, I'm guessing it'll probably wear down to a point where it is nearly unrecognizable over time.

LeicaLad 

Although we may presume that may take a few years.

That new bike hauler, btw, is fabulous. How many tandems can you carry at one time? Or is it one tandem and a bed? ;-)

Still negotiating re: the Cirque. I may only make Sunday. sigh. I'll look forward to seeing you there.

photogravity

It's set up for maximum flexibility at the moment, we can haul tandems (my rack will accommodate four bikes on skewers) with a row of seats in place. On the other end of things we can handle taking a total of ten people with all the seats in place. I'm managing an average of 24 MPG since buying it last July.

For Cirque, it looks like rhm will be there as well as KonAaron Snake and his wife. I'll be there all 3 days, but I think they'll be there only Sunday by the looks of things. I look forward to seeing you at the show, even if it is only Sunday.

schwinnderella

Chrome Norman on ebay.
April 1952 Norman Cycles "Invader or Rapide" All Chrome 27 inch Bicycle | eBay

KonAaron Snake 

Wow - shame about the fork!

rhm

That chrome Invader, with the bent fork, has been on ebay many times. The first time, I'm guessing four years ago, the starting price was $125 and I set a snipe at $200 or so and mentioned to the seller that the fork was bent. So he took it to a bike shop where they said they could fix the fork and that a collector would pay $600 for the bike. So he believed them but didn't have them fix the fork but raised the starting price to $400. Consequently my snipe failed, and he kept the bike.

photogravity

He's referring to it now as an Invader or Rapide. I personally think it's an Invader with 27" wheels and not a Rapide. The lugs appear to be the older style as on my red Invader. It is chrome and looks to be in good condition other than the bent fork. Frankly, the threat of him parting out the bike has me concerned. I'd hate to see another piece of cycling history lost to the lure of money.

rhm

That's why he's doing it! He wants you to bid! Or at least submit an offer.

The bike is definitely an Invader, not a Rapide. Chrome Invader frames are known from the 50's. Though the lug style is earlier, they used this style of lug on Invaders a little later. His 1952 date is probably correct (for this one and your red one as well).

Bizzy78

Looks lovely.

cycleheimer

I can't believe how time flies. I remember posting the CL ad on the "are you looking for thread". Nice!