A couple of new Brit bike projects
12-12-21, 03:38 PM
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A couple of new Brit bike projects
A local friend, who has deep knowledge of and love for British steel, sold me a couple from his herd today:
1938 Maclean Featherweight: I was interested in this one because it does not have the slack angles I usually associate with pre-WWII frames. Seat tube is 72 degrees. Rear spacing is 115, so built for an internal hub gear. 23” frame:
1974 Mercian, modified some time back for canti brakes, under BB cable routing, and a few other doodads. Wheels are just placeholders for the pics:
1938 Maclean Featherweight: I was interested in this one because it does not have the slack angles I usually associate with pre-WWII frames. Seat tube is 72 degrees. Rear spacing is 115, so built for an internal hub gear. 23” frame:
1974 Mercian, modified some time back for canti brakes, under BB cable routing, and a few other doodads. Wheels are just placeholders for the pics:
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12-12-21, 04:03 PM
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The Maclean's looks very nice and that original paint is in great condition for its age - pretty rare for a prewar find. Looking forward to seeing it built up! And yes, it was around 1935 when the high-end frame builders started using more "modern" frame geometry on some of their models, and by the time the war broke out some builders had completely migrated away from the slack angles.
-Gregory
-Gregory
12-12-21, 04:05 PM
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thanks very much for sharing these two new arrivals
Mercian appears it may have begun as an Olympic model
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thanks very much for sharing these two new arrivals
Mercian appears it may have begun as an Olympic model
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12-12-21, 04:14 PM
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Originally Posted by nlerner
A local friend, who has deep knowledge of and love for British steel, sold me a couple from his herd today:
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If someone tells you that you have enough bicycles and you don't need any more, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
If someone tells you that you have enough bicycles and you don't need any more, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
12-12-21, 04:37 PM
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Both nice pick ups. The Maclean is a special bike, very cool. I would not mind finding a 40s or a 30s era bike.
12-12-21, 04:48 PM
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Originally Posted by gugie
For a sec I thought that was Bob's, went back to look at some pics from my visit a few years ago, his isn'y a two-tone paint job.
12-12-21, 06:16 PM
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^ That’s neat, thanks! I’d imagine that given the head clip, this one would have come with a stem without a center bolt.
12-12-21, 06:31 PM
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Originally Posted by Kilroy1988
By the way, in case you are unaware and get curious, the stem you have there was made by Presto.
Here's the album of pics I took at the shop. I'm pretty sure it sold long ago, so this isn't a For Sale notice!
Mark B
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