Sid Mottram

[rogerzilla]

Fashions change. A 23 1/2" frame is correct for me in 1970s sizing; a seatpost of the time is right up to the minimum insertion mark.

These days I'd be expected to ride a 21 1/2" or 22" frame.

 

[pawl]

Hissing Sid !

I see spell check is working.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Blimey - cotter pins!!!

 

[woodbutcher]

Fashions change. A 23 1/2" frame is correct for me in 1970s sizing; a seatpost of the time is right up to the minimum insertion mark.

These days I'd be expected to ride a 21 1/2" or 22" frame.

Size matters.....so they tell me

 

[biggs682]

Size matters.....so they tell me

It certainly does

Had a bit more tinkering time tonight splitting the bars and stem , bars are GB items so another good British cycling brand .

Next job is to drop the forks out and check for stampings and rebuild with some fresh grease

 

[rogerzilla]

Blimey - cotter pins!!!

Evil things, unless you have a cotter press. Often fitted dry at the factory and utterly seized in place decades later. Fit them with anti-seize and they come out easily.

 

[raleighnut]

Old bikes often seem to be big, they get called garden gates in the trade.

Perhaps more large frames survive because they are less popular and get used less.

Or they don't get passed onto youths who take everything off and batter them to death like a lot of us did in the 70s riding on 'waste ground' or in my case the local quarry 'roads'

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Evil things, unless you have a cotter press. Often fitted dry at the factory and utterly seized in place decades later. Fit them with anti-seize and they come out easily.

For my sins I grew up in the cotter pin era. Bent and ruined many a thread even with the nut fitted for protection. No cotter press for this wee boy. Just a big hammer and a wooden block. The block would often split........ Not everything in the good old days was good

 

[biggs682]

Not everything in the good old days was good

Very true indeed

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

Old bikes often seem to be big, they get called garden gates in the trade. Perhaps more large frames survive because they are less popular and get used less.

Old bikes were usually correctly sized for the rider (apart from teenagers bikes with "growing room") The most common mens frames from the 50's and 60's appear to be around 22 1/2"-23", which is entirely in keeping with the typical inside leg measurement an average adult male around 5' 8" - 5' 9" tall would have.
The current, and absurd IMHO, fad for grown men to ride around on teen sized bikes with silly long seat posts looking like circus clowns, is only a relatively recent one. Not a fashion I have any intention of following myself.

 

[biggs682]

Quick update on this one , the front wheel has been rebuilt , Williams crankset has been replaced by an alloy stronglight one and the headset has been stripped clean and regreased . Whilst the fork was out i checked for any stampings and i am happy to report it's got the same 4 digit stamping so original forks .

 

[biggs682]

Did some more tinkering this morning .

A light t cut and polish .

Cleaned up a nice set of engraved bars and a Milremo stem which I think are Dawes ones .

Might swap the blue beaten up guards for a set of black one's ?

 

[Illaveago]

Yes ! I think the bars are Dawes Concorde .
A bit of Meguiars all metal polish will bring them up like chrome.

 

[woodbutcher]

Did some more tinkering this morning .

View attachment 491506

View attachment 491509

A light t cut and polish .
View attachment 491508


Cleaned up a nice set of engraved bars and a Milremo stem which I think are Dawes ones .

View attachment 491507

View attachment 491510

Might swap the blue beaten up guards for a set of black one's ?

Definitely a good idea !

 

[Illaveago]

It looks like it has the same Nervex Super Legere lugs as my Falcon .