Sixty Fiver

Got a message from a buddy who had seen an ad for an old bicycle that he thought I might be interested in with a contact number...

Just got off the phone after chatting with a nice fellow who has a complete but in need of restoration 1946-47 Rudge Whitworth roadster that he would like to see go to a good home rather than end up as a lawn ornament.

I will be that good home.

I'm stoked as he is going to be bringing the bike by the shop for me tonight and I might just have to post a few pictures for y'all.

Yes... this is just a teaser.

Sixty Fiver

Found a pic at where else... Bike Forums.

This is pitcanary's 1939 restored Rudge roadster...I hope he does not mind me posting it.

rhm

How can you be so lucky? Oh, never mind, it's a rhetorical question.

Speaking of old Rudges... there's an interesting (but to me, not tempting) item on ebay now:

https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...ksid=p3907.m29

Sixty Fiver

rhm - That is pretty heartbreaking to see... I can deal with a little rust but those poor bikes look like they've spent their lives parked by the seaside.

I have to be thankful for our dry climate here as it seems to preserve old bicycles fairly well.

Thumpic

The ad says they are restorable..........they look gone to me, but I'm new to this. Can they actually be restored? Would they be worth it?? If it is a sentimental issue and there is $$ to burn; maybe.......

Sixty Fiver

That is some pretty extreme corrosion and since bikes also rust from the inside the tubing may be severely compromised.

We do get some bikes like this at our shop and quite a few of them end up as lawn/garden ornaments since we cannot trust they they will be structurally sound.

One would have to be able to personally inspect these bikes to see how bad things really are.

East Hill

Those look to be in very bad shape. I would suspect quite a bit of money would go into restoring those bikes. A real shame, too.

East Hill

cudak888 

Pretty much worth it only if you are willing to sandblast/beadblast the frame and forks, repaint them, then have all the salvageable brightwork (bars, crankset, small fittings) blasted just the same, and re-plated. Still leaves you stuck digging up two sets of period Westwood 28" rims.

Cheaper to have some decent examples of the same era shipped on over from England.

P.S.: Everyone selling rusty "antiques" will claim they're restorable.

-Kurt

Sixty Fiver

Well... the fellow with the Rudge could not make it due to a call out for work so we'll be making plans to hook up in the next few days.

He did say the bike was ride-able.

So we all have to wait.

YoKev

Picture of the first bike on the eBay listing is just like the one I found on the side of the road once. It was deemed by me as a total loss, so after taking the chain ring, my friend took it and put it in her garden

Thumpic

I've always thought that decaying in a garden would be a fine and suitable end................

"And when I die don't bury me
In a box in a cemetery
Out in the garden would be much better
Where I could be pushin' up home grown tomatoes".....................Guy Clark..........

cudak888 

Speaking of Rudge roadsters, I took the '79 Curacao-export DL-1 out for a new photo shoot for this thread - figured I'd get Sixty Fiver all geared up in the Rudge spirit:









-Kurt

splytz1

Kurt did you get a new camera or something? your new pics are sweet.

Sixty Fiver

Oh my god that is beautiful !

cudak888 

Yes, but I purchased it quite a while ago. Canon PowerShot A620 (I believe East Hill can tell you some nice things about 'em).

The trick wasn't so much about the camera as to find just the right lighting and background (and taking 50 photos in various configurations until you find just the perfect one). The oversized photo helps as well, especially if you are running a large-resolution monitor - I'm at 1280x1024.

I still don't care for the background in the two "full" photos above, but the true Rudge Maroon color came out quite better then this shot. One might as well photograph a black DL-1 in this type of lighting:



-Kurt

cudak888 

P.S.: For comparison, here is a (sobering) photo taken with my previous camera - on the Rudge's first day of arrival. Flash made the photo worse then it is. One of the H/P 2.1MP series.



And yes, that is a severely bent front fork.

-Kurt

Sixty Fiver

You are killing me here dude.

cudak888 

Care to have a look at the AG 3-speed + dynohub?


Get a close look at the lettering on the tire while you're at it.

Excuse the dust. The Rudge doesn't leave the indoors for more then three times a year, usually - not often for it to have lots of the white fluffy stuff all over it.

-Kurt

sciencemonster

Do you have the little cover for the chaincase? Want one? I have a maroon chaincase from a BSA. If you promise to send it back if the color match doesn't work, you can have it. (I'd hate to break up the set for no reason.)

cudak888 

Been missing since I got it. Don't tell me you have one in Rudge Maroon...

(could use either - I'm missing a black one on one of my '51 Raleighs)

-Kurt

sciencemonster

It's BSA maroon, from maybe the late 50s? I have the the whole chaincase, but I'll part it out if the color works for you. It's way old/dirty, so who knows how it will look if you polish it up.

Send me your address. My email is mark (at) sciencemonster.net

cudak888 

Email sent.

-Kurt

bibliobob

That's a beauty, Kurt. Makes me want to leave work right now and go home and take my 3 spd. for a spin.

cudak888 

Same here - gives you the desire to take your Raleigh out on a scavenger hunt to locate unloved 3-speeds, eh?

-Kurt

cudak888 

Not to bump an old thread, but how did the Rudge go, Sixty Fiver?

-Kurt