I am in possession of a frame that I cannot Identify...help please.

[Rahul Sapariya]

All I know about this frame and forks is that it says tour de france on it and it is made by hercules. Judging by the weight of the frame (which is really heavy for steal), I judge it to be a 50s or 60s frame but I am no expert when it comes to finding the age of a frame. It says 'Tour de France' on seat tube, it has a few countries names on the top tube (France, Germany, Italy, Great Britain, Belgium and Spain). On the side of the down tube, it says 'Hercules'. Also on the down tube is a bunch of small flags of different countries. This frame is really pretty for what it is. Though the frame is nothing special, the age of it and the artwork are really something. Why they can't make frames like this anymore, I don't know why.

 

[Rahul Sapariya]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/75540296@N06/sets/72157629098039012/

 

[Rahul Sapariya]

Hopefully you guys can see that. First time I am on this forum and the first time I have used flickr...today has been a whole bunch of first for me Anyway, if anyone can help me then please do.

 

[Rahul Sapariya]

WP_000291 by moosey1989, on Flickr


WP_000289 by moosey1989, on Flickr


WP_000287 by moosey1989, on Flickr


WP_000286 by moosey1989, on Flickr

Figured out how to do upload the pictures. Help on identifying it please.

 

[biggs682]

hercules i am sure were based in Birmingham but got swallowed up by Raleigh at some point not sure when , but nice looking frameset either way .
if you want rid of it throw it down a county to me

 

[Rahul Sapariya]

Well it has the badge saying it is made in Birmingham. I am really annoyed right now that I can't find anything about this frame on the internet. I'm sure it's not a rare frame. Get rid of the frame? You must be having a giraffe. I have big plans for this. To get transfers made of the artwork, powdercoat it the same colour, apply transfers, make into a single speed until I am rich enough to add mint condition period parts like turn it into a period 5 speed or 10 speed. I have a feeling this frame may be a 50s frame shortly after TI bought Hercules. Again, I am no expert when it comes to older frames so I could be wrong but it feels very over engineered and heavy for what it is. I like it because you just don't get frames like this anymore. If you want the frame, I'll accept a cheque for £2000 I honestly wouldn't sell the frame unless it would be for a ridiculous amount of money because I have fallen in love haha. There should be some more pictures coming up shortly. Please, anyone who can help me identify it, please reply.

 

[Scilly Suffolk]

Here you go: Hercules. Looks like your steed dates from 1955, so you were on the money there.

Good luck with the restoration and keep us updated!

 

[ColinJ]

Here you go: Hercules. Looks like your steed dates from 1955, so you were on the money there.

Good luck with the restoration and keep us updated!

Ha ha - you beat me to it by a few minutes! I just found the same webpage.

 

[Scilly Suffolk]

Ha ha - you beat me to it by a few minutes! I just found the same webpage.

I win!

Not much info there though; I'm sure I've read more elsewhere as the name was immediately familiar.

 

[ColinJ]

I found various articles talking about the British 1955 Tour de France team featuring, among others, Brian Robinson who comes from this neck of the woods.

 

[raindog]

Keep us updated on this. I'm quite interested to know how you're going to reproduce those transfers.

 

[Rahul Sapariya]

My aim of trying to identify it is purely for my own curiosity. I talked to my boss about it and he mentioned some stuff about TI and how it could be from around that era. If this frame is from 1955 then it is over twice my age. The only thing older than that is my dad haha. In regard to the transfers, I originally was thinking about getting someone to handpaint it again but that would be incredibly difficult and it wouldn't look the same. So instead I am just going to get someone to take pictures of the transfers, fill in the missing parts on a computer or something and then they can create the transfers. All I will be doing is applying the transfers, which I'll probably make a right job of it and put it on backwards or something knowing me.


WP_000443 by moosey1989, on Flickr


WP_000460 by moosey1989, on Flickr


WP_000453 by moosey1989, on Flickr


WP_000452 by moosey1989, on Flickr


WP_000468 by moosey1989, on Flickr


WP_000466 by moosey1989, on Flickr


WP_000464 by moosey1989, on Flickr


WP_000461 by moosey1989, on Flickr

Hope these pictures help. The more and more I try to search for it online, the more and more I think it is rare, as if only 1 of these were made in the world. Maybe it is...but probably isn't.

 

[raindog]

Those photos are much better and I can now see that some of the transfers are in pretty good nick, especially the one on the seat tube - seems a shame to get rid of it. Maybe you could just clean the frame up and try and retouch the paint where necessary? Or even mask off the parts where the biggest transfers are and leave those areas as slightly different bands?

 

[Rahul Sapariya]

I hate rust so I really want to get it sandblasted. After that, I have a few options. I can get it powdercoated and then apply transfers, I could get it painted and then apply transfers, or I could get it painted and get someone to actually paint the transfers on so it wouldn't actually be a sticker sort of thing. Ideally I'd have option 3 but I guess it would be expensive.

 

[bobcat]

Handsome looking frame, good luck with the refit, I have a similar project with an old BSA.