1951-52 Sun Manxman road bike
 

This my 1951-52 Sun Manxman. This frame/fork is no stranger to the forums. It was first offered for sale by redcaymatt in October of 2015. I inquired about it then, and it was eventually purchased by daf1009.. You can view the link to daf’s purchase and the discussion of his future build here.

I purchased the frame/fork/headset from daf in December 2016. Armed with some information about suitable components (a dangerous thing), I was immediately stymied by the threading of the Cyclo Benelux shifter braze-on. Turns out, I wasn’t the only one with that problem and I was in good company. You can view an entire thread about the uniquely threaded shifter braze-on here.

Parts were procured at a snails pace, and this sat on a back burner as I ran into some issues that I won’t even mention because collectively, we have probably all been there on a build (missing that one last little bit).
Enough back story, here it is, country, period and condition appropriate to the best of my ability.
Many thanks to those that helped me along the way. Very generous C&V forum members advised, inspired, answered questions, gifted missing bits to help with this build and I thank you.
Headset: TDC Continental J 1" BSC
Pedals: Strata Engineering Co.
Saddle: Wrights W3-N
Freewheel: Cyclo 4 speed 14T-20T
Rear Derailleur: Benelux Mk7 with shifter
Seat post: Mory 26.8mm with Sun seat post binder bolt
Crank: CU Williams
Bottom bracket: Bayliss Wiley
Stem: Titan
Bars: M. Kint - Maes bars
Hubs: Airlite 40 fixed/free and 32 front
Brakes: GB Hiduminium Side Pull Brake Calipers and GB Levers
Frame Pump: Britannialloy

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b27669a479.jpg
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https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...879ee11251.jpg

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a7a6dbc42c.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1b53ca071a.jpg
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Beautiful bike and great build.

Wow! You did an amazing job....

You have done justice to a wonderful frame.
I have a few British bikes from that same period, so I can appreciate your perseverance in getting the parts.

If you wanted the cut away saddle, then Rudi could easily do the trim and tie for you.
Are there any other parts on your wish list?
That catalogue page is very tempting.
I have made a mould and recently cast some Shockstop handlebar end plugs for some of my bikes.

I think a Titan stem with Maes Kint bars is quite possibly the coolest stem/bar combo made. I do also like an Ambrosio girder stem, the stupid rarity of a Giotto Cinelli or Cinelli Firenze, but what you have is all that.

OTS It turned out wonderfully! I had a Sun Wasp Massed Start frame from just about the same period that I sold some time ago. When I purchased the frame I also collected some period Sun literature including the 1951 and 1953 catalogs, which I no longer feel an obligation to keep around considering I have no Sun bicycles. I paid a rather hefty sum to get them all over here from England but am willing to part with it for the price of shipping if you're keen on having it to go along with your bike.

I made a post about the stuff that didn't attract much attention. You can see it below:

A bit of Sun fun! - Bike Forums

Let me know if you would like these documents and we can work it out. Cheers!

-Gregory

Gregory, thank you and thanks for the kind offer.
PM sent.

Fabulous job! Great looking frame.

That looks really great. How many teeth are in your chainring? The original finish is in decent condition. This may be the earliest bike I have seen with factory braze-on pump pegs under the top tube. It appears Sun was looking ahead. I hope you get some great miles out of this bike. Can we get a close-up of the Strata pedals?

I see you got your Mk7 shifter hooked up. Did you get the threading issue on your shifter boss sorted out? When I bought my Grubb, the shifter boss was spinning free and could not be threaded, so I had to have a new (Huret) one welded on.

OTS Curious: what rims did you use? They look a lot like the Alex DM18s I am partial to using in my wheel builds (because they have a somewhat vintage profile and are relatively inexpensive compared to CR18s and the like). I'm always looking for good alternatives.

Thanks, chainring is 48T. This one is a rider and a keeper. As far a s the shifter boss is concerned, I had read some not so great accounts about the Benelux, and of course decided to go Campy Gran Sport without trying it.
Well that idea quickly died when I found out a Campy shifter wouldn't thread into the shifter braze-on. On to plan B. I asked around in PM's but couldn't find definitive answer and the build stalled until this thread popped up.
I finally had some answers.


https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...96724984dd.jpg
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Rims are Velocity Synergy

Love the crank 😍

OTS: Thank you. I had not seen (or heard of) Strata pedals. I have a Strata seat-pin on the Grubb.

I hadn't heard of Strata pedals and didn't know they existed until I saw them for sale.
I had heard of Stratalite bars like these

Yep, they were pretty big at one time, rivaling GB, Webb, Powell, Terry, etc.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...294de20a14.jpg

Thank you for this thread -- quite an education for me, even though I have ancestral ties to the Isle of Mann.