Originally Posted by Road Fan (Post 20991824)

gster, Go to a local cheaper tool store (Canadian Tyre?) and buy a cheap roofing angle finder - should be about $10. My Rudge angles are 71 deg seat tube and 73 deg head tube, and the Raleigh/Rudge original sales documents say the same thing. It's really not hard to measure them well enough. Relaxed seat tubes were a feature of the times, on roadsters and sport bikes as well as Clubman types. I think I read spec printed 15 years earlier, and there were 67 degree seat tubes. Yours looks steeper than I think mine is.

I use "Club" or "Clubman" the way Raleigh used it and in turn Peter Kohler used it in his blogs on British bikes of the middle-ish 20th Century. There were actual models, really numerous models and variants called "Clubman." Raleigh's patter said they are designed for the discerning customer like club members and other aspirational cyclists who wanted a bicycle with the potential for higher performance than the norm. Sounds to me like the difference between a Peugeot PX-10 and a Peugeot UO-8, no? The 1970's and later trend in USA was for light weight, a lively feel, comfort and stability, long distance comfort, and excellent durability. It sounds like what these Raleighs and other brands offered in the late '40s and '50s (and yes, they had drop bars). And I think the earlier higher end road bikes from Raleigh in the early '60s, like the wonderful gold-colored Grand Prix of the early '60s, were a design evolution from the earlier Club-styles, like the Raleigh Super Lenton (sibling to my Rudge). The Raleigh Competition and International from the 1969-ish time frames were also very similar the geometry of my Rudge. Both models were later transitioned to more upright geometries.

Recall Peter Weigle converted a few Raleigh Comp's of that era into his first 650b bikes. The trail figures for my Rudge calculate out to about 39 mm for the 27 x 1 ¼ for my Rudge, and will probably be in the mid-30s with 650 x 42b tires. But once you have measured your angles and made a best-possible measurement of fork offset and wheel diameter, you can calculate your own trail.

What are the names on your mystery bike?

Link:
The Raleigh Lentons: 1948-1961 - ON THE DROPS


https://on-the-drops.blogspot.com/2016/12/the-raleigh-lentons-1948-1960.htmlNumerous articles on that blog.

Originally Posted by BigChief (Post 20991970)

What I think of as club bikes were the higher performance English bikes of the mid 20th century. They lacked some of the endearing features of the roadsters like chain cases, chain guards and those wonderful stylized chainrings. They had higher cost materials and more business like styling. Nice features like Bluemel mudguards, fluted crank arms, unsprung seats, wing nuts on the axles, rat trap pedals and drop bars.

Originally Posted by gster (Post 20992259)

Good advice on the roofers tool.
My friend, Dan, down the street probably has one.
Despite my appreciation for the Mystery Bike
I can'y really ride it, and I don't want
to swap out the bars for uprights.
it has a metal tab on the rear fork for
a derailleur option that appears unused.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fff9814d5e.jpg
perhaps designed for one of these...
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7def47a55c.jpg

I'm going to use it as a prop in a movie I'm working on
and hang it on the wall of the main character's apartment.

Originally Posted by Johno59 (Post 20992347)

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...79cb694e8f.jpg
Or one of these

Originally Posted by Road Fan (Post 20992572)

Can you share a picture of the headbadge on that red bike? Based on the angle and the derailleur tab, I'd guess 1950 or earlier. Any idea what the BB shell threading is? How about the seat tube and stem diameters? Here we need a decent quality caliper, $30 at Harbor Freight.

Originally Posted by gster (Post 20992353)

That looks cool.
What is it?

Originally Posted by Johno59 (Post 20992750)

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3f39674e30.jpg

It's a 1954 Resilion derailleur. The lever is to the left in the foto. It bolts onto the bracket braized in the original foto.

Originally Posted by Murray Missile (Post 20993090)

Raleigh Sports, guessing late 70's? '77-ish?

Originally Posted by clubman (Post 20993185)

It's a bigger frame, bonus!

Originally Posted by BigChief (Post 20991970)

What I think of as club bikes were the higher performance English bikes of the mid 20th century. They lacked some of the endearing features of the roadsters like chain cases, chain guards and those wonderful stylized chainrings. They had higher cost materials and more business like styling. Nice features like Bluemel mudguards, fluted crank arms, unsprung seats, wing nuts on the axles, rat trap pedals and drop bars.

Originally Posted by gster (Post 20992779)

1930 Hercules
Before
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...60b80448b2.jpg
After
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c7f985d56c.jpg
The little pinch bolt fit the brake rod..
It still has a 16T S/A freewheel on the back which makes it a bit
of a dog but will find something bigger in time.
I still plan to make some transfers as well.

Originally Posted by BigChief (Post 20993639)

That's looking great. From what I see in the 1930 catalog, the only transfer is the round head badge. Pretty sure this one from Lloyd's is a perfect replica. https://h-lloyd-cycles.myshopify.com/search?q=hercules
Are you planning on painting the black center stripe on the rims?

Originally Posted by BigChief (Post 20993650)

I'm still amazed you found the correct short grips. Those, the shallow mudguards and the L shape seat post are the features that stand out as pre war.

Originally Posted by gster (Post 20993700)

The bars and lever array are actually Raleigh and came with the
short grips.
In truth all that's really left of the original bike
is
-the frame
-the brake parts and linkages
-the spindle and cups
-the headset

Originally Posted by browngw (Post 20993437)

When I think of a club bike , my 1958 Sun Cresta always pops into my mind. The 5 speed Benelux derailleur even kind of shifts with a chain indicator. Slim simple and lightweight (for the time)https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ee416618fd.jpg

Originally Posted by 3speedslow (Post 20992711)

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...015f6435f.jpeg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ab11f1874.jpeg
Working on the Phillips 67. I’ve never had these models before even if they are Raleigh made. I am pulling the seat and taking out the seat pin, I release the bolt clamp give it some lube and pull. It does move a little then becomes easier. I continue pulling and it comes out, and out, and out. I have never seen a 15” seat pin on these bikes. Heck, I’ve never seen a 15” 25.4 English pin period!

Originally Posted by Johno59 (Post 20992750)

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3f39674e30.jpg

It's a 1954 Resilion derailleur. The lever is to the left in the foto. It bolts onto the bracket braized in the original foto.

Originally Posted by markk900 (Post 20994021)

@Alloyboy - yes it was a great day yesterday and the mosquitoes are horrible. Got to take 2 of the three speeds out for a jaunt: the 49 Humber in its first “official” ride since the repaint this winter - all
went well though I think the new paint allowed the axle to move just a hair as the wide Col de Vie tire started running on the bottom of the fender (fixed).
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...9554f704d.jpeg