Senior Ryder 00 

Hi folks,

A few months ago I finished the mechanical work on a late 60s/early 70s English touring bike. I’ve put about 400 miles on it while sorting it out and settling on the proper components. It’s badged as a Don Farrell, but most likely it was built by one of the sub contractors he used. The workmanship is exceptional with Nervex Pro lugs and 531 tubing. It also has a very smooth and stable ride.

The forks and stays are plated about 2/3 the way up from the tips/dropouts. This plating is in bad shape, but I’m curious as to what it might be. It doesn’t have the brightness of chrome, but is quite smooth. I’ve polished it with Blue Magic and it is shiny between the pitting and worn spots. The color is darker than usual for chrome. I’m wondering if it might be nickel.

Does anyone know what some of these old English road bikes may have been plated with?

Since this is a regular rider, I may not be able to justify saving the plating, but am curious as to what it might be.

Thanks and regards,

Van

Bad Lag

The outer plating is usually chrome. It's usually a nickel flash, some copper, then chrome.

If you are interested in preserving the original aesthetic of the bike, it's worth saving the plating. There are a few different ways to do that, one of which is to re-plate.

T-Mar

The plating process for chrome is typical copper, then nickel and finally chromium. Chrome plating became commercially available in the late 1920s and most manufacturers in the bicycle industry converted from nickel to chrome plating during the 1930s. Nickell plating is generally slightly duller with a yellow tinge, while chrome plating, by comparison, is slightly brighter and blue tinged. Sometimes, depending on the stripping process used for the repaint, it's possible to remove the chromium, leaving the underlying nickel intact.

randyjawa 

The chrome is most likely covered with a clear coat of paint(very common situation on vintage road bikes). It can, usually, be scraped off with one's finger nail. Give it a try and if I am correct, that chrome underneath will be close to pristine.

Doug Fattic 

When I was visiting various frame builders in the London area in the early 70's, I stepped into Don Ferrell's shop. I remember the guy behind the counter said Don must have been born with a brazing torch in his hand. I assumed from that comment Don must have made his frames himself. Of course it was common that bike stores would subcontract frame making to other builders and rebrand them to the shop name. Do you know if any Ferrells were actually made by other builders? Of if Don actually did build himself?

Lascauxcaveman 

If you're mainly interested in that, just wax it a couple times a year and it won't get any worse.

Some extreme close up shots of the problem areas might be helpful in determining what you have there and what's going on with it.