Kilroy1988 

Hello!

A recently acquired frame may end up taking a few of these bits, but in fact over the last two or three years I've been collecting components from England without any particular build in mind. Today I took some of the finest examples out of the storage box and photographed then for the first time. Some nifty things I thought seemed worth sharing. Hope everyone is having a good weekend... Cheers!

-Gregory


Harden alloy sealed bearing track hubs with Harden alloy wingnuts.


Reynolds faux lugged alloy stem with Reynolds "hiduminium" alloy Continental deep drop handlebars.


GB "hiduminium" alloy brake levers and calipers.


First generation alloy-bodied Cyclo Benelux 3-speed derailleur and shifter.


Gold Coloral double bottle cage with all matching clamps.


Chater Lea 7" chainset with one inch chainring (I have a matching Chater Lea 7-tooth cog as well).


Constrictor BOA pedals with post-war adjustable ends.


NOS Bluemels spear point front fender extension.


NOS Romac 6 1/2" handlebar grips.


Terry's No. 399 1" chromed spring steel top tube clamps.

iab

Great stuff. I look forward to seeing it on a bike.

OTS 

Lots of "tasty bits here"
Wow !
Good work

PilotFishBob 

Great stuff, really digging the hubs. I'm interested in seeing what you wind up putting this all on as well.

I've also been busy pulling together Brit parts for an upcoming build, a 1950 grail that I finally acquired after years of searching. I have the GB Hiduminium brake set you have with first-generation Superhood levers and a nice set of Airlite hubs. Was asleep at the switch and just missed out on a Chater Lea crankset ($#@!) but found a nice unbranded set that will do until another one comes along.

Be careful what you wish for as they say. I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

Kilroy1988 

Yes, indeed! I have another complete set of cool stuff like the GB Coureur calipers and Superhood levers, Brampton B8 pedals, GB spearpoint stem, Williams C34 crank, etc. That'll all go together very soon on a 1954 Carlton Super Python.

I assume you'll let us in on what your frame set is when the time comes?

I've collected just about enough stuff for three full "classic lightweight" builds from around 1950, and also have three frames now although I'm uncertain if I'll use one of them or not... A big part of what I enjoy about the process is the research, and I am never in a rush to get these things done by taking shortcuts. I spend many a morning reading through old issues of Cycling and The Bicycle from right around 1950 that I've gathered up in recent years, and of course I joined the V-CC so I get some cool ideas from other collectors and such. Super fun and inspiring stuff!

-Gregory

PilotFishBob 

Reading material too! You're definitely up and then some on me, all I have are the interwebs. I'm planning a build thread on the bike at some point soon, just trying to make sure I know where I'm going with it first, I've had a couple of course corrections. Of course when it's time I probably will not be able to shut up about it.

nlerner

I have a Brit frameset from the late 1930s coming my way soon. I’ll likely build it up with parts on hand, which are mostly late 1940s, early 1950s. I want to make it rideable before I might get serious about period correct.

PilotFishBob 

Also, of course, we really want to see the Carlton!

Kilroy1988 

There's a thread on it if you search for Carlton Super Python, although I'll be starting a new one for the complete bike since there was some rather off-topic posting in the last one and it got diluted...

@nlerner That's exciting! I really want to do a 1930s build as well but I need to do something with all of these later components first. Also, at 6'1" most of the 21-22" frames from that decade seem a tad small, so I'm waiting for something really worth the while. Ha! What sort of frame are you receiving?

-Gregory

PilotFishBob 

Ah, thanks, found the thread, nice-looking bike! Look forward to seeing how you revamp it. And now to sit down and read through that entire thread of course.

bulgie 

Maybe everyone knows this, but I recently found out that Hiduminium is a real thing, not just a GB (Gerry Burgess) marketing term. It's a high-tech (for back then) alloy with some impressive properties, developed by Rolls Royce for auto-racing engines, and later aircraft engines. It's short for High Duty Aluminium. Some of what makes it great may be moot for bike parts, such as retaining its high strength at high temperatures — more important in an IC engine piston than in a bicycle part. But notably stronger than the typical cr@p that lots of alloy bike parts were made from back then (or now?)

Snippet from the Wikipedia article: "In time, the post-war Reynolds company, already known for its steel bicycle frame tubes, would attempt to survive in the peacetime market by supplying Hiduminium alloy components for high-end aluminium bicycle cranks and brakes."

Good article here about GB Hiduminium brakes, by Hilary Stone

Kilroy1988 

I'm sure not everyone knows that even if a few of us do, since there are only a handful of really dedicated enthusiasts for this era around here! Thanks for taking the time to share. The Reynolds handlebars I posted above as well as a Reynolds seat post I have are also made from and marked hiduminium - the alloy was not used exclusively by GB among cycling component manufacturers.

-Gregory

iab

You are so much smarter than me. I do similar to you, except with Italian bikes, bits & bobs and publications. But I don't speak Italian.

Kilroy1988 

I think 1960s Italian racing bikes attracted me before the British, and language was a big reason why I crept over - that plus the accessibility to knowledge about obscure builders and component manufacturers via websites such as Classic Lightweights. After absorbing most of that information I had to turn to the original publications, which really is quite fun!

-Gregory

iab

I think the reason I stuck with Italian was the races and racers. The UK with their food, landscape and non-mass-start time trial racing is OK, but for me it is not bad ass like all things Italian.

bulgie 

I hope any Italian speakers reading this, who maybe aren't fluent in English idioms, know that "bad ass" means very good!

Food can be very good in England too, for instance if you go to a Pakistani, West Indian or Italian restaurant!

Mark B