swin1

Hi everyone,

I recently picked up a vintage road bike - a Cecil Walker made in Melbourne, Victoria. I'm interested in what the lugs are if they are known to anyone? I'm certain they're not Nervex or Prugnat and I'm not familiar with other lug designs of the 1970s.

I've attached some pictures that show the lugs. The frame is 56cm top tube with forged Zeus dropouts front and rear, and I am guessing it might be 531 straight gauge tubing - there is no seam in the seat tube, and it weighs 2.4 kg (5.28 lbs) mainframe and 0.88 kg (1.94 lbs) forks. It takes a 26.8mm seatpost.

It came with some decent components - first generation Dura Ace gears, crankset, shifters and typical Weinmann 610 brakes, but also Cinelli Mod 65 handlebars (with the knight logo on each side) and A1 stem.

Should be a fun bike to bring back to life, I've built some 27" wheels for it (the old ones were just horrible) and procuring a seatpost and saddle.

Thanks!
Andrew

unworthy1

never seen any like them before. I suspect custom-cut from blank lugs, maybe Nervex blanks but more likely from EKLA or Haden...? Some brand that British builders would have used, since I'd assume that's where Cecil Walker would have sourced his materials in the '70s. The BB shell looks a little "worked" as well, any stamping on it?

swin1

Hey thanks for your reply! I've had a careful look over the frame and the only identifying marks are "75008" stamped on the bottom of the bottom bracket shell and also on the fork steerer. Thanks for the other lug type suggestions, I've had a look at those and EKLA is most similar but I don't think they are the ones. The fork crown on mine is flat across the front and back. The front frame lugs have a point in the middle on the front of the head tube and are straight on the sides, not curved like EKLA or Haden. Let me know if you have any other suggestions.

Thanks again!

swin1

On a second look at some of the Haden lugs I think you're right! They look exactly like the Polaris/Firefly lugs in this catalogue page:

Haden advert for Firefly and Polaris lug patterns

The bottom bracket shell looks a little different on mine, and not sure about the fork crown.

mississippimud

Love these kind of finds ! NICE

unworthy1

all those lug-makers (Nervex, EKLA, Haden) used to supply builders with blank lugs so they could cut their own distinctive flight of fancy into them, but the Hadens you showed in that old advert look pretty close so this might be a stock pattern on at least the headlugs. Are the tubes flattened at all where they enter the BB shell or is that an illusion in the photo?

Big Block

did you look at this thread?

swin1

Big Block: yes I saw that more recently I admit, thanks for the link (also my account isn't working on the local forum at the moment).

Unworthy1: No the tubes aren't flattened, just an illusion I guess. Yeah pretty sure head lugs and seatpost lug are the Haden shown, I've seen the bottom bracket shell on other frames but not sure what it is, same goes for the fork crown.

Next challenge is getting it "tripleized". The derailleur is a Crane GS with a 14-28t Shimano freewheel. The crankset is ready (original Dura Ace with Willow 50/40/30 combo), just need to figure out the bottom bracket length, it definitely doesn't fit on the original 112.5mm spindle! I'm going for a 118mm cartridge type and may need to adjust with spacers.

I'll be seeking views on an appropriate seatpost for this bike - Nuovo Record? Zeus copy? Sugino copy - although I think these weren't available until the 80s?

Thanks again

swin1

Hi again. Thought I'd put some pictures up of this bike I restored.


It sat rusting in a shed for who knows how long. As mentioned it features Dura Ace first generation gears, cranks and Weinmann brakes. Also Cinelli 1A stem and Mod 65 handlebars with the original knight logo. The headset was badly rusted and the freewheel was completely stuck.





I got rid of the wheels which didn't look original (had a flip-flop hub on the rear), and built up some replacement wheels with period Weinmann rims and high flange Shimano hubs. Added a 14-28t Shimano freewheel. Replaced the heavily oxidised Weinmann brakes with a pretty much exact same set from a Schwinn Paramount I'm also restoring. Put in a new headset and longer cartridge bottom bracket to accomodate triple chainrings, which are brand new Willow 30-40-50. The old combination was a 45-54, not very practical. There was no saddle or seatpost so added a Brooks B17 copper saddle and Thomson Masterpiece seatpost.


I cleaned up the frame with white vinegar and scotch pad, as well as turps, then put a clearcoat on to protect the original paint left. It actually brought back some of the sparkle in the purple, but there are a lot of dark spots and some sun fade on the top tube.






Now just need some handlebar tape, I have some in black but makes the bike too dark so thinking about a natural colour like the Cinelli cork tape. If you have any suggestions let me know!


Cheers
Andrew

swin1

I've finished restoring this bike but have decided to sell it to fund other projects. If you're in Australia you might be interested. It's listed on ebay - Vintage Bicycle 1975 Cecil Walker 10 Speed 56cm | eBay