I'm a little weak on old British money, but that was 22 shillings and 6 pence, right? 20 shillings to a pound--wonder why they didn't write it as ￡1-2-6

That one sold. This one a friend found for me at the recent Copake meet. It has 28 x 1-1/2 tires on it. Overall it is not quite as nice condition-wise as the '63 I got from [MENTION=38859]SirMike1983[/MENTION] earlier this year. I have only ridden it on a 1 mile test ride in my 'hood. it rode well enough on that short ride. I plan to take it for a longer ride tomorrow in and around downtown Birmingham.

My impression is that both of those roadsters were "export" models. The recent one you came across is a Singapore export, and the one you got from me (as near as I could tell) came over from somewhere in Europe. The '63 came with deteriorated Austrian made tires (my guess was always an army or student bring back from 1960s Austria or West Germany, but it's speculation on my part).

Sure looks like a roadster. The bolted on seat stays say DL1 to me. Curious that it has both a dynohub and a bottle generator in front.

That would have been £1 2/6 back then.
2/6' was a Half Crown (Two Shillings and Six Pence)

Coins at that time were ('Change')
Farthing = 1/4 of a penny = 1/4d
Half Penny - 'ha'penny' = 1/2d
Penny =1d
Three Penny =3d
Sixpence = 6d = 'Tanner''
One Shilling = 1/- = 'Bob'
Two Shillings = 2/- = 'Florin'
Half Crown = 2/6
Crown = five Shillings = 5/-

One Guinea = 21 Shillings (a nominal amount, not a coin as such)

Notes:-
10 Shillings = 'Ten Bob'
£1 - 20 Shillings ='Quid'
£5 - 100 Shillings = 'Five Quid'
£10 - 'Tenner'
£20
I think there was a £50, but common folk never had one!

Being the generation that was introduced to 'Decimalisation' (£1 = 100p) simplified everything; at least to me!

Think I got that lot correct.

Entirely correct I think, I do just about remember using old coins.
I think I also remember holding a 10 bob note, according to the web that went out in 1969 and I do remember watching the moon landing.
I 'inherited' my childhood coin collection from my parent's house a couple of years back so I could check.

I think 22'6 is easier to say, and just maybe it sounds a bit like it's cheaper that £1 something.

Apparently 8% of Londoners still use rhyming slang for money :)

https://romanroadlondon.com/cockney-...g-slang-money/

Of course this is all off topic, but does add context to 3 speed history.

It was interesting to look at your 'small change' before Decimalisation and see all the Monarch's 'heads'
Queen Victoria
King Edward VII
King George V
King George VI
Queen Elizabeth II

Silver coins were 100% Silver until 1919
then 50% silver until 1949

When I left school in 1972, if you could get a job, an expected weekly wage would have been £5!

It has drum brakes front and rear, no dynohub. The bottle generator and headlight still work, but having trouble getting it to maintain sufficient pressure on the tire to operate. I have tried adjusting the position on the fork, but unless I manually press the bottle against the tire it won't spin consistently.


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...254395aeb0.jpg

My 'guide to Victorian Times' suggested one purchased ordinary things and paid a tradesman in pounds, but purchased quality goods and paid gentlemen in Guineas.

Alex Moulton fittingly, then, priced his cycles in Guineas. :) From 1965:

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0131feedf.jpeg

Point of Information :)
.
There is such a thing as a Guinea coin, minted from 1663 to 1814, containing about 1/4oz of gold.
.
From https://www.lbma.org.uk/wonders-of-g...the-royal-mint.
And now back to your regular programming

That should be corrected to....'Pay a tradesman in PENNIES!'

Watched a long documentary about Alex Moulton recently.

A man of many accomplishments. And so he should be.
Didn't realise he was so deep seated in the minor landed gentry, with all the privelidges that entails, plus a product of the British Public School 'Old Boy's' network.

Only the Posh and pretentious dealt in Guineas.

By the beginning of 20th Century a Guinea coin had become as archaic as a 'Spanish Doubloon' LOL

I might be wrong, but does that mean if I had a bag with 135 tuppence coins in it, I could buy these pedals?

Paul

Beautiful bike, as usual. Hope you got to break the speed limit just a little.

Yes, I think these Allez are as hard-to-find as the Webb. I'm aiming at putting some Brampton B8's on the Claud I'm building.

Not sure, am I missing the point here?
£2.70?
I wouldn't take them out of the box for that!

I was just having some fun with it. Math isn't my strong suit.

I looked closer at the generator side, and it looks to me that if you lowered the generator mount a little lower on the fork, and rotated it toward the back just a bit, you might have better contact for traction. Make sure it's square to the tire as well to minimize drag. Hope this helps.

My bad. I thought it was a dynohub.

3 speeds, drum brakes, chaincase--I see Dutch bikes set up like this even today, what they would call an Opafiets:
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...269e80a2e4.jpg

Nice cycle, worth sorting.
Drum brakes are good to have.
Interesting how main frame loops in one piece over BB.

I have a tandem with two cantilever brakes. Before we rode it, I wondered if they would suffice, and I find that they do. The bike weighs 50 lbs (23 kg), and together, my spouse and I weigh 280 lbs (127 kg). We have occasionally loaded down a trailer and the brakes were still good enough. We ride in a hilly area. I'm sure some tandems need more than two brakes, but we don't, and I'm pretty demanding of my brakes.

I recently got a similar Dutch bike from a Facebook Market sale. It is a pretty traditional set up with cable-operated Sturmey drums. It's something of a combination of a roadster and a city bike. It is one of two off-season projects for me to do.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.co...030_191221.jpg

..and a cafe lock.

The one i pictured is for sale nearby. I'm thinking of buying it, just to get the drum brake hubs.

Frankly, I think that Sparta would be a good candidate to refurbish and ride. It's almost too nice to be a parts bike. Looks pretty clean to me.

Agreed. But I have enough bikes, aka, my wife would kill me.

Recently refurbished 1957 Schwinn Traveler three speed. This one is from a brief period in the 1950s when Schwinn used simpler frame graphics. The graphics were ahead of their time in that they would not be out of place on a 1980s or 90s bike. After this style, Schwinn went to a much more ornate style again.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.co...104_201956.jpg

https://blogger.googleusercontent.co...104_202111.jpg

https://blogger.googleusercontent.co...104_202027.jpg