Michael Angelo 

Hello Guys, I was trying to keep from getting another bike, I swear I was really trying....Then this early Armstrong Moth Professional showed up for sale and I just had to have it. For one, I have never seen a High End Armstrong, early from what I can tell, and seems to be custom Ordered. My guess, it's early 60's Forged Campagnolo Dropouts, Reynolds 531, Nervex Professional lugs, 27.2 seat post. All threading is standard English. Built for barend use. Doesn't seem to had been built for Center Center pulls. Original paint lots of patina, no dents, chrome on the forks is a bit weathered. 24" frame. I plan to clean and wax the frame and fork, no paint touch up. I also plan to do a period build, depending on what year this bike is. Any additional help would be appreciated.

rhm

That frame was on eBay a few years ago and I was very tempted. I resisted because it is so similar to my 1959-60 Allegro.
I suspect this frame was part of a last gasp effort for Armstrong to earn a reputation for high end bikes so as not to get shut down in the upcoming consolidation of the British bicycle industry. Carlton won that battle, Armstrong didn't.
It would be lovely to see this frame built up with the high end UK components of that era, GB brakes, bar and stem, Williams cotterless crank, etc. But I'm sure Campagnolo Gran Sport gears, record hubs, Stronglight crank and Weinmann Deluxe brakes would be equally suitable and a lot easier to find.

Michael Angelo 

And it's built for 27" Wheels. Not my favorite.

Michael Angelo 

I have early "no record" large flange hubs I plan on using. Also I have GB super Hood Levers, Looking for a good set of GB Courier Plus Brake Calipers. Like These.



I have 2 Cranks I could use. Williams Cottered Crank set. Or a Gran Sport steel crank.

rhm

That Campy crank is one of the prettiest. Probably not quite right for this frame, but oh, what the heck!

Wheel size is a function of brake reach, and vice versa. If you want to use 700c wheels, get longer brakes.

Finding any complete set of GB calipers is difficult enough; I'd go for whichever one I found first. The venterpulls are well regarded, though.

nlerner

That very frameset was in my hands not long ago. I had it built with 700c wheels and GB Sport brakes, which had plenty of reach. I went for an approximation of period build: Stronglight 49D crankset, Campy bar ends, Campy Gran Sport RD and NR FD, GB stem and bars:

MJD9

Interesting, very interesting... When I was 15, back in 1964, I rode a special Armstrong road bike made in 1959 made by Billy Gameson as a bespoke frame for Armstrong. When Armstrong wanted a good frame, for a custom buyer, they went exclusively to Billy Gameson. There are a few particular characteristics of his frames; first they are flawless, another being the right chainstay does not usually have the dimple...round-oval-round, and specifically the lugwork, Gameson's lug work was very good, thin and really cleaned up, and he only used silver. The standard Moth was not so great, and really rough. Looking at the images you posted, It does look like Armstrong tried to make a last ditch effort to jump the quality of the Moth...Do I see a "G" stamped on the bottom bracket?
I have a lot of information on Armstrong of Birmingham as I still have that amazingly fast ride, and at age 67, have completely restored it. It is very fast, and a wonderful part of my stable... Rossin, MkV, etc...

obrentharris 

Pictures please!
Brent

MJD9

I am currently not holding any web space for images... I need a few more posts so I can send you a pm
The pictures I have are very nice... please be patient

MD

Kilroy1988 

@Michael Angelo

What ever happened to this project? Any progress?

MJD9

PM me I can send you images that way - I currently do not have any hosting setup... so PM me m.dempster9@comcast.net you will not be disappointed, it is beautiful.

juvela

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thanks for sharing this fascinating frame. had never known there were quality Armstrongs.

regarding searching for the GB brake calipers -

for best results you'll want to get the name correct. it is Coureur rather than Courier.

have NOS set complete in carton but costly. carton pale yellow with blue printing. transmissions are wonderful. the casing is clear with white fabric lining.


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Kilroy1988 

I just found this bicycle posted by Mr. Angelo over at Velocipede Salon. He finished it and put some photos up in a ride report thread. It looks rather lovely! Not sure why he didn't provide any updates here...

https://www.velocipedesalon.com/foru...a-45396-5.html

Please scroll about 1/4 way down that page to find it. Cheers!

-Gregory

Chombi1 

Only the British can nams a bike "Moth" and get away with it.....
Stiff upper lip and a dry sense of humor kinda deflect any attempts of auestioning ridicule on such, I guess. Dang, if only the Japanese had a "Mothra" bike to counter!

Fidbloke

What's odd about the name 'Moth'?


On a slightly different tack, we also had the De Havilland Gypsy Moth and Tiger Moth aircraft before the War. My family bought me a ride in a Tiger Moth for my 40th birthday - which was nice...

tiger1964 

First thing I thought of. Post-war, Armstrong-Siddely named various models of their cars Lancaster, Hurricane, Tempest, Typhoon and (really?) Whitley, so why not?

Chombi1 

"Moth" for the aircraft always made sense as it flew and was not much of a plane weight/armament wise like......but just to make a point here's another strange name that the British came up with, this time for a car.... "Jowett Jupiter" For a country that also produced the Jaguar....the Jowett was definitely something unexpected to say the least, unless maybe you don't find it weird to be eating something called a "Spotted Dick" ........
But maybe the Jowett deserved its name because it wasn't very pretty, outside maybe, to most non-British eyes......

tiger1964 

Probably would have been the star of the 1948 auto show if it wasn't for the debut of that pesky Jaugar.

Back to the bike -- looks nice to my eyes even if the color is halfway between Carlton slime green and Legnano slime green.

rhm

There's another Armstrong Moth for you, a very lightweight frame from about 1950 with Ekla lugs and either 531 or Kromo tubing. The frame is quite nicely made.

nlerner

And, fwiw, both of the Armstrong Moths in this thread were in my possession at some point!