Say hello to my new best friend :D

[shadaboot27]

Very nice.... I got a mudguard sticker (listed as n.o.s.) from the bay £5ish? think they still list 'em. My lamp bracket was the same as yours btw but that may mean nothing as the bars had been changed.

Thanks Daddybus! I found some for sale on ebay. They will look great i think

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RUDGE-WHI...051508?hash=item258948fb74:g:VyMAAMXQVERS8PPF

 

[shadaboot27]

ooooo I found some genuine NOS ones too, Little more expensive but should look more original as they are original!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RUDGE-VIN...hash=item4d07135053:m:mtmkEyZRH8NUiUY-EddSb4w

 

[Daddybus]

Plenty of spares there then ... Got mine from ebay seller 'Universalcyclecentre' & it was a proper original transfer £5 +£1 postage ...I'm sure they've listed them since, maybe they've all gone- the metallic ones look a bit wrong to me :$

 

[shadaboot27]

Plenty of spares there then ... Got mine from ebay seller 'Universalcyclecentre' & it was a proper original transfer £5 +£1 postage ...I'm sure they've listed them since, maybe they've all gone- the metallic ones look a bit wrong to me :$

Yeah the repo's don't look right I would much rather get some genuine ones. I am very strict about everything on the bike being exactly as it was when it was made, down to every nut and bolt, a "purist" I think is the term but the problem with that is that it makes me scared to ride it in case I crash it and break something because its not easy to find genuine original parts. But to be honest this is more of a collectors piece than something I am going to use and ride daily. I have a van so I drive everywhere anyway but it will be nice to get the bike out on a hot summers day and cruise round some country lanes.

 

[Daddybus]

I can relate to that, I probably get more buzz from the tinkering .. I have bought more bikes than miles I have ridden this year .. ha

 

[shadaboot27]

I can relate to that, I probably get more buzz from the tinkering .. I have bought more bikes than miles I have ridden this year .. ha

I agree, I really enjoy cleaning them up and trying to find rare replacement parts, but riding it is just a satisfying bonus.

 

[robsa]

ooooo I found some genuine NOS ones too, Little more expensive but should look more original as they are original!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RUDGE-VIN...hash=item4d07135053:m:mtmkEyZRH8NUiUY-EddSb4w

I bought a set of these for my ridge and in my opinion they look terrible, they are a sticker whereas the originals where transfers ( like you used to get on model aeroplanes)

 

[robsa]

Plus, the diamond that goes on the seat tube should say high carbon, those ( and the one on mine) say high cansun. I think there's a firm called h.e Lloyds does original decals

 

[shadaboot27]

Plus, the diamond that goes on the seat tube should say high carbon, those ( and the one on mine) say high cansun. I think there's a firm called h.e Lloyds does original decals

yea i have used them before. They are not original decals but they are exact copies of originals and they look great. I will definitely be looking for decals rather than stickers.

 

[shadaboot27]

I got a little work done on the Rudge today. I removed the old knackered tyres, removed the old rust stained cloth rim tapes, wire brushed all the rust out of the inner rims, replaced the old rim tape with some NOS ones I bought which are exactly the same as the originals, cleaned the rest of the wheels up and put new tyres and period correct woods valve inner tubes on. I can't believe how good the condition of the original Dunlop rims are, normally they would be rusted beyond repair but these are great! And I couldn't believe my eyes when I took the inner tube out of one of the wheels, its the ORIGINAL Dunlop Sprite tube, WITH NO holes or repairs, AND it still holds air! I couldn't believe it! I couldn't wait to take the other one out to see if that was original too, then I'd have a matching pair of original tubes which would of been quite valuable to collectors as they are near enough impossible to find, but sadly the other one was not matching and it had loads of repairs on it oh well its still nice to have one. I'll be keeping it off the bike, it's just a nice thing to keep and save with the bike. Next job is to strip the rest of the bike down, clean it all then re-build it all with new bearings and grease.

 

[rhm]

What a beautiful bike! Congratulations!

There is an eBay seller in Massachusetts, I think ebay name is funthingsfound or something like that, who has original John Bull diamond grips for sale, and reproduction Britannia grips. The John Bulls are a rusty rubber color, the Britannias are black. I got the black ones.

I have a pair of Dunlop 26 x 1 1/4 tires that are basically sound. They must be 50 years old, but show very little wear, no cuts or tears. The tread is black, and the side wall is gum colored. The black part is in excellent condition, but the side walls have some kind of heat damage --left in a hot garage in the sun, I imagine. So they have a blistered, diseased look. Not pretty. I believe with the right solvent one could take that side wall rubber off, and replace it with something.... but I don't know.

 

[Spokesmann]

Not too much to do to bring that old classic back up to a rideable mount. by the looks of it. Very, very nice iron.

 

[shadaboot27]

Not too much to do to bring that old classic back up to a rideable mount. by the looks of it. Very, very nice iron.

Your right, I could easily have it done in a few hours. It's just working up the courage to go out in the cold to do it!

 

[shadaboot27]

Okay so I have totally striped the bike down and thoroughly cleaned each part and removed all the surface rust then rebuilt it back up again with all new bearings and grease throughout. The original gear lever was missing so I did some research online to figure out exactly which one it should of had then I managed to find a very good condition one for sale on ebay with it's original cable too. I also put some black grips on it which I got off an old Humber bicycle I had laying around. They don't match the originals but I think they look pretty good still. The bike can now be ridden and it rides like a dream. Its about 95% finished now I just have a few more finishing touches to do.

 

[shadaboot27]

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