As promised, here are some photos and history of my “Eddie Soens”. I have had it since 1972, having bought it second hand for £40 from Mr Bill Twiddle’s shop on Lawrence Road, Liverpool. I lived in Underley Street until 1971, about half a mile away, and remember him and his shop fondly. I think it’s a beautiful and elegant frame.
Note the wonderful decal on the head and down tubes. I am trying to source copies of this without success so far.
www.hlloydcycles.com tell me they have an original and can recreate it, but they want to charge me over £70 for 2 including the set up costs. The name ”J Dorian” is sign-written on the left side of the top tube. I have failed to discover who this was – maybe a Liverpool club cyclist in the Sefton Park or Edge Hill area - Merseyside Wheelers perhaps? The original equipment (or rather, as I bought it) was as follows:
A badly worn Zeus Chainset and rings; Campagnolo Record gears and shifters (still working perfectly after all these years); an unnamed cassette; Fiamme sprint rims on FF Atom hubs, with Wolber Junior tyres; a Wienmann stem; no-name handlebars, heastock bearings and seat pin; an Evian seat bolt; a Brooks Professional saddle; and Universal Model 51 brakes with Wienmann levers.
After several years of neglect, in about 1990 I replaced the wheels with Mavic MA2 rims on Shimano 105 hubs, with a 105 chainset, cassette and headstock bearings. The original Campagnolo pulleys were also replaced with Shimano. I also replaced the saddle - an enormous mistake. Huge. I have regretted that since.
I have no idea when it was made, but if it is a proper Eddie Soens, given the frame number 331, I suspect it could be pre-1960. Any advice on what it is made of would be appreciated - is it likely to be 531? Also, what should be the diameter of the seat tube? The photo shows deformation in the lugs and the bolt is bent, so does that suggest the seat pin is slightly under size?
Its obviously time for another full renovation. If I can source the decals (and I want to use the same, rather than any other), I will have the paintwork done exactly as it is now. I have spoken to C&G Finishes in Liverpool and they will do the job for me - they almost certainly did the original. The name on the down tube is beautifully sign-written - a lost art, I think.
I hope all this is of interest. Its turned into a bit of an essay, but I thought I would try and get it all down in one place.
