crank_addict

Outstanding! Even if short, always neat to read a firsthand ride review. More pics please

1989Pre 

I am amazed at the "index" shifting and the derailleur type! I've never seen this type of thing before.
This bike is the cat's @$$!

obrentharris 

You certainly have great taste in bikes!
This is another great one.
Brent

Wildwood 

Great acquisition. Nothing to add to the above compliments.
Your collection is unique. Congrats.
We need a western WA / Puget Sound C&V gathering in the Spring.

79pmooney

I took a spin around the Marymoor velodrom in Seattle once on a probably late '20s Schwinn (I think) track bike. The frame was burdened with very heavy clincher wheels and was way too small for me, but it was obvious from the first pedal stroke that the bike was all race; that with good track wheels under a rider that fit it, it would fly!

Thanks for your post and pictures! (This bike has a beauty that was missing or hiding on the track bike I rode.)

Ben

icepick_trotsky 

Those dropouts are fascinating. I've never seen anything like it. I googled additional photos, if anyone is curious.



Also, the drop on those bars is serious! They look like old timey pista bars.

rhm

Mudguard stays. But now I see, there are eyelets on the rear dropouts, but on the fork legs in stead of the front dropout; I'm not sure I've ever seen that before. Most bikes have either the eyelets on all the dropouts, or on both the seat stays (see the photo in the last post) and fork legs.

Does the fork serial number match the frame serial number?

Big Block

see Alexander Von Tutschek's 1936 Hobbs Continental

Hobbs 'Continental' 1936
He dates his frame number 1390 as 'circa late 1936'

His head tube decal is different to yours as is the downtube and seat tube decals

If you post the details on
https://www.facebook.com/Hobbs-of-Ba...2394153513954/
you might get some more information on it. The guy who runs that FB page is the Hobbs Marque Enthusiast for the Veteran Cycle Club.

I agree with iab that those handlebars were generally restricted to track bikes. See the 1938 catalogues
https://veterancycleclublibrary.org.u...20Library).pdf
https://veterancycleclublibrary.org.u...20Library).pdf

more detailed photos please, wonderful bike.

dddd

I was also not "getting" the style of bars with the sharply-sloping ramps, but, at least in the context of the rubber-hooded brake lever era, means that the rider can achieve a more-aggressive forward lean while sprinting or attacking steep grades. Not much intended for riding along with hands on the hoods though, which I can get along with.
I too don't much like very narrow bars, and took a couple of hours last week replacing my Super Course's 37cm bar with a suitable 41cm bar. It didn't make any difference for riding while seated though, which seems to be what this Hobbs was built for.
Noting also that when riding off of the saddle on a bike like this Hobbs, that one's hands definitely don't rest on the hoods like with modern bikes. So, with the rider's hands perhaps atop the upper curves of the bar and thus much closer to the steering axis, much less handlebar width is needed to control steering heave while riding out of the saddle.

As for this fantastic old bike being ridden, the less-than-sharp indexed shifting response could be entirely the result of using modern, bushingless chain. The original chain would have been much less laterally flexible, likely allowing crisp indexing even with such generous chain gap.
If the derailer can be moved rearward, the response should improve, possibly to where no overshift movement is needed to briskly complete each shift, even using this modern chain. The rest of the bike's set-up detail certainly looks first rate, really, really well done.

When I think of a long-wheelbase bike with sharp steering, I immediately think of the pre-1979 Peugeot UO8.
An E. Merckx owner comparing this bike's handling to an E. Merckx, wow, that is better than expected and seems doubly impressive to me, as I have been riding an E. Merckx of late, which has razor-like, low-effort, yet very stable steering.

Also, much thanks to The Golden Boy for taking the time to inform me how, and that I should, change my "message editor interface" setting to "standard editor", which finally allows me to type here without always having to use the "Go Advanced" icon first. Typing speed is no longer limited as it was before!

dddd

Having the mudguard eyes further up along the legs is a safety feature which helps prevent the fender stays from pulling tight against the front tire in the event that debris on the tire causes the finder to collapse.
I've locked up a rear wheel when such happened, but I might not be here to say as much if had been the front fender! Modern fenders use pull-apart mounting points to limit pulling force in the front fender stays, but these old raised mounting eyes effectively prevents a self-energizing grip on the tire from developing in the first place. As well, these old English bikes just about all have most-generous under-crown clearance.

Big Block

perhaps not with these bars, but the British term for out of the saddle (and holding the brake levers) was 'honking'. The name became synonymous with the Shockstop rubber cushioning to make it more comfortable to grip the brake levers.

iab

For a prewar bike. Post war, they seemed to be all the rage.

1947 Masi.



1948 Legnano



1949 Bottecchia




1948 Frejus

1948 Frejus 004 by iabisdb, on Flickr

northbend 

All, thank you for your comments. I was apprehensive when doing the original post because I am simply a guy who loves to ride bikes, I am no expert on any aspect of bikes. I get things that appeal to me in one form or another.. I bought this one knowing the seller had put it together as a rider with a mix of some new parts which I think is rather cool because I plan to ride this thing. For example, he modifed the shifter from a 3sp to a 4sp, drilling a 4th hole and adding a stop. He modifed the freewheel, taking a relatively modern 5sp and carefully modifying that to make it 4sp. To improve shifting he hand profiled the cogs. He is quite a gifted craftsman.

The bike has some oddball things - the rims are mismatched both in color and profile but he built them up true and properly tensioned. It is puzzling to me that one brake lever is mounted lower than the other. That is one thing I will change.

The saddle and bars may not be age appropriate, perhaps the chainring too but they are staying. This is not a museum piece.

I like that it is so different than my other bikes.

I also know the frames' provenance (the seller bought it as a frameset from Norris Lockley - you can view closeups of it in his Flickr Album. https://www.flickr.com/photos/cyclec...57625457226105

I found out about this bike on Classic Rendezvous where I learned Norris bought it from the daughter of the original owner.

As far as my subjective riding impression, I stand by it. It has a modern feel to it. I thought is would handle like a truck but it doesn't. If I don't overpower it, the bike ramps up to speed and holds a line nicely with a solid feel to it. I was very surprised by that.

Lovely bikes BTW, iab....

iab

I completely agree with that. An old racing bike is still an old racing bike. A professional racer and bike from the 30s magically transported in time today will drop me and my 10 pound wonder bike like a bag of wet sand. Matter of fact, I like the geometry of a 1930s bike so much, I plan on making a custom bike with a very similar geometry. But I do find it surprising directly comparing bikes separated by fifty years. Both are fun/exciting/etc., but in their own respect.

rootboy 

If that thing rode like crap it wouldn't matter to me. That is the coolest thing I've seen here in some time.
Great acquisition, Matt.

Can we please see some more detail shots of the frame and decals when you get the chance? Thx.

The Golden Boy 

Awesome, awesome bike!

Congratulations and enjoy!

seypat

Awesome thread! We need more thread like this with ride reviews. I want to know what those wheels feel like. Please give us the scoop.

Duke7777

I thought I would chime in here as I'm the guy who built this bike and sold it to Northbend. As he said, I bought the frame from Norris a few years ago and spent a couple of years gathering reasonably correct parts for it. I bought the bars from Hilary Stone, who I think described them as pre-war, but he could have been off. Someone commented on the derailleur position and chain selection, and he could be right. Setting up this derailleur system is an adventure, and there are many variables and quirks that may not be immediately apparent. It shifts very well as it is currently set up, but there are still a couple more things that could be explored. I bought the rims from Wheel Fanatyk when they were selling off their remaining stock of very limited profiles and drillings. I bought two 32s in one profile to use on the front of a couple of bikes, and two 40s in a slightly beefier profile to use on the rear. I didn't realize when I ordered them that the two profiles would be slightly different colours, so the Hobbs and my 53 Hetchins ended up with mismatched rims.


As Northbend said, this bike has a surprisingly modern feel to it, partly due to the light weight I suspect. I have a few French and British racing bikes from the mid to late 40s, also with very light frames and wheels, that ride similarly.
The paint and decals on this frame are truly amazing. There are some close-up photos in my Flickr album here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/577760...57630004071254

non-fixie 

Thanks, @Duke7777, much appreciated.