BFisher

@bikemig, I'm currently in the process of turning my '73 Super Course into a "club" style ride with an IGH. Easier on the budget than most of the earlier machines.

This is a fantastic thread.

bikemig 

agreed it’s a fun thread. Are you using 700c or 27 inch wheels? I have a 70s era Viking frame that I could turn into a drop bar 3 speed. I dunno what the tubing is on the bike but it can’t be too bad as it has campy drop outs

BFisher

I'm using the stock 27" wheels. They're Aluminum Weinmann rims, and I'm lacing a Sturmey AW in the rear. Just got my spoke washers in the mail today. Still waiting on a few other parts to arrive.

The Viking could be a good candidate. How's the paint?

bikemig 

The paint is good. This is a later Viking frame. The company went out of business and then moved to Northern Ireland. Most of Viking bikes from that era are inexpensive but this must have been a bit higher quality given the drop outs. I've tried to ID the frame without too much luck. Info on the northern Ireland era Vikings is scarce.

threespeedmafia

1953 Claud Butler Jubilee

1953 Claud Butler Jubilee

1953 Claud Butler Jubilee

1953 Claud Butler Jubilee

BFisher

'73 Super Course three speed style:




I have some SKS P45s on the way. The red tape looked like a different shade in the vendor pick. Not too bad, but maybe another color next year.
The hub is a '72 Sturmey-Archer AW and I laced it to the original Weinmann hookless rim using Wheelsmith double butted spokes with no.2 brass washers under the heads. That's a 49 tooth chainring, and a 22 in the rear.

BFisher

Post fender install follow-up shots:




I was surprised to receive the fenders only two days after placing the order, what with all the delays going on everywhere. REI had them on sale. The bike comes in at 28 pounds as built, including full saddle bag.

schwinnderella

Hercules Super Club circa 1950.

browngw 

Times slips along and there have been changes in the lineup of bikes at One Brown's Lane. The lovely old 1958 Sun Cresta (Birmingham) was sold to a friend and fellow collector who made a generous offer. Unfortunately the bike sat idle most of the time as the gearing was not suited to my riding style (old and slow). Because it was such an original bike I just could not seem to modify with more modern gearing and it never felt like "my" bike.
So now the 1971 Robin Hood Sports Model is continuing its duty as my "English Club Racer". Who knows why but this old bike has always just been ready to go on all day rides with me. The original very narrow steel bars have been replaced with some 38cm that seem just right. The short Raleigh stem has been replaced with a Sunlite aftermarket one from the parts bin. The broken in B67 is back and some new cork bar tape installed. New gray Kool Stop pads help with stopping on the shiny chrome rims. The addition of pump brackets (ordered from England) and a French Tornade pump make sure I'm self sufficient. An old school strap mount has worked well to hold my water bottle. The S/A AW with a 46T chainring and a 21T replacement cog seem to work well for an old guy.
Until another opportunity, the Robin Hood will suffice as my "English Racer".
Some updated shots.

BFisher

@browngw, that's a nice looking bike. Well done.

1989Pre 

1963 Freddie Grubb Routier. 8-speed. Super Champions on BH Eurekas.

niliraga 

have you tried going over the tape with amber shellac? I've had some success moving "modern bright" colours to a more deeper "muted retro" shade with a couple of coats of shellac. also gives a leather-like sheen which may or may not appeal to you, but if you're planning to re-wrap the bars this may be worth a shot...

BFisher

I wish I liked shellacked tape for reasons like this, but I just can't stand how it feels. Tried it a few times in the past, going with light coats and heavier, and could not get past the feeling.

niliraga 

gotcha. Deda makes a darker "chianti" red tape that's maybe worth a look at? (i have some - one snowy night this winter i'm going to try a barber pole/candy cane two-colour wrap with some of that on a candy-apple red Bob Jackson)

BFisher

Thanks for that, and post that Bob Jackson after, please.

The tape is already darkening with grime a bit. I may go with another color next year. Interested to give Green Grips tape a try.

BFisher

@1989Pre, fantastic Freddy Grub! Especially that crank. Wonderful!

DQRider 

I built this up as a "patina-preservation" project. The frameset was essentially a barn-find, with crusted dirt in all the nooks and crannies. It won Best English Custom at the All British Cycling Event in 2019.





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1989Pre 

Thanks, BFisher. It was fun to build and is very rewarding to ride. I'm about to have it painted. It'll be the same light blue areas, but instead of midnight blue prismatic, it will be cobalt blue prismatic. The crank is a Nicklin 46-49T that came from a '62 Raleigh Gran Sport.

Arbutus

I’ve long lurked admired the fabulous builds of this thread, so I may as well finally contribute to its continued longevity.

Here’s my 1951 Raleigh Clubman. It wasn’t mint when it came to me, but considering that it appears to have been salvaged by a trash picker (for more info there, search “Raleigh Clubman” on YouTube to find this very bike featured on a prolific bike picker’s channel) it has survived in a remarkably close to complete state. Thankfully the Sturmey Archer FW is in impeccable shape.

Changes before I got it:
-Replaced original saddle with 70s Brooks
-Added foam and fabric bar sleeves
-Lost original pump
-Original Raleigh-badged plastic fenders/mudguards (not Bluemels) were present but cracked and missing hardware
-Original tires possibly present but beyond use or repair

Changes I’ve made:
-Added aluminum Bluemels fenders/mudguards
-Swapped damaged original pedals with period appropriate replacements
-Swapped front wheel (still have it) for 1950s/60s era SA Dynohub wheel
-Added SA lighting set converted to LED (was badly rusted so had to repaint it)
-Shod in Panaracer Paselas
-Added modern pump copy
-Added NOS leatherette saddle bag

Still to do:
-Swap bar wrap for cotton
-Find dynamo wiring clips to clean up top tube wiring
-Address badly frayed original cloth cable housing for both the brake and shifter cables (made difficult by the proprietary and rare brake cable ends)
-Ride more!!!

The Photos:

AZORCH

Really a neat bike. I’ve always wanted one of these myself, but have never come across a tall one in any sort of condition at all.

Arbutus

I just finished this one. It’s a Claud Butler Tour of Britain from September of 1956, just weeks before the brand (in its original configuration) went belly-up. I didn’t get the frame with any of the original parts (as far as I can tell) although the previous owner had already brought it about 65% of the way towards a drop-bar 3 speed build. The rear wheel came from a previous purchase—an alloy SA AW laced to a 27” Dunlop rim built in a bike shop in LA c. 1959 by the guy I bought it off of Craigslist from! I’m also a vintage stove collector, so I was delighted to finally get a Terry’s stove clip to round out the full RSF / CTC dress-up game. I feel so lucky to have found such a beautiful English lightweight frame in my size here in California!







And about the shifter: The frame has a single French-threaded shifter boss. I filed the clamp off of a SA trigger shifter and enlarged the bolt hole in order to fit the round shifter boss. My friend here in Sacramento (who does business as “Cycle Cats”) then brazed the shifter onto an anti-rotation fitting that I had from a similar Huret clamp-on shifter. It shifts beautifully now and I think he did a perfect job with it. As a kludge, I think it has a real well-done home-made quality that fits in with all of the odd-ball shifting arrangements of these English club bikes.

jish1969

Did you have to get a shorter BB? I'm doing the SRF-3 conversion on my Charles Roberts and thinking I need a 107 or 110...

tiger1964 

That is SO cool!

romperrr 

Wow, all these beautiful bikes are giving me some ideas... thanks for posting everyone

AZORCH

They are available in a couple different OLD. I don't recall for certain, but I think mine is 121 maybe. I can check when I get home tonight.