Well, today I took the plunge and purchased an old Rudge roadster. Below is a link to the images. I did a bit of research and if you will indulge me a bit , I will take a guess. It seems that the Sturmey Archer hub is the first place to go to date one of these old girls (there must be a hub/pub joke in there somewhere) anyway, the hub was stamped poorly (I would guess an in-process tooling failure, knowing a bit about manufacturing) and there is no numbers, only "AW" and the second company logo. ( I have seen the first gen on that Arrow). It doesn't say "three speed" either. I would say 1936, first run of the AW. The frame number is "AG 76875" and the bike has black cranks. I have read that the black cranks were war-time so that would be '39. The last year of Rudge whitworth (proper). The "A" prefix on the frame number is also said to be a true Rudge. I guess it could be a "sweepie" that was built after the material restrictions began and used whatever parts were available. Hence the mis-marked hub? How did I do?
Anyway, the bike is in good shape with only a broken chain pull on the left side, some missing brake parts and it once had an odometer mounted to the fork. The tires are Dunlop and the rims are stainless steel. I haven't dated the shifter yet so that is next.
I tried to inflate the tires to no avail but the tread is in great shape. The shifter worked without effort and it made one shift.
I apologize for the photos. I was so focused on the details that I missed getting a shot of the whole bike.
I don't own the Golden Arrow. I have made an offer and been allowed to move it in-doors and examine it. The device on the downtube is at this time unknown. It is my belief that it is a center stand and a one leg is missing. It has a long arm that clips on up near the top of the downtube. The cylindrical part is steel and has two long slots going around the circumference with notches at the ends that would engage the rods in a full down position. It looks like that would have the end of the rod, now near the headset touching the ground. really poor design. I think it is a 21-35 model with a K series hub.
Rudge Roadster
http://www.flickr.com/photos/frankth...7623848852622/
and the Raleigh Golden Arrow
http://www.flickr.com/photos/frankth...7623849022336/
more to come on both these bikes.