Post war nostalgia
 

To go with my other post (EF Russ), new addition, 1951 AS Gillott Spearpoint.

Original paint, unfortunately there is a small dent on a top tube..... thinking of making a leather sleeve to cover it and also protect from potential handlebars swing. What say you? Spec:
27 1 1/4 Dunlop Special Lightweights on Normandy LF hubs, Charter Lea 48t chainset, BW bottom bracket, Philips rat trap pedals, GB levers & GB Hiduminium caliper brakes, Mansfield Bath rd saddle on Stata seat pin, Reynolds Continental bars on Spearpoint stem and Apex Grand Prix pump. Simplex rear mech and DT lever stick out as not near appropriate, awaiting Campagnolo GS replacement.

Rides lovely despite narrow bars. Braking can and will be improved by some new pads and replacement cables.
Same spot for the image as te one of Erni :)
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6d25f123a4.jpg

This post is timely for me because that is the color scheme I am considering for my F.W. Evans. I'll probably go with a dark brown bar tape and Brooks B17 saddle.

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:thumb:

you just keeps a-findin' 'em!

are those Percy ends we see?

what manner of stern mech dost thee envision the fitment of?

be hubs be BH?

bb assembly looks like she may be Thomas D. Cross & Sons Co. Ltd. o' Birmin'ham ;)

the verdurous VELOX plugs be the moggy's meow


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Hm, timely answer too , as I'm about to pick up one of those myself, 1938 Clubman. There is also a 1939 Lightweight Tourer to be had, but one could only have so much - I enclose the pic latter for your colour scheme reference, that is so close to the Gillott above, hope it'll inspire you.


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8d69a93cf2.jpg

It's interesting how the fork design changed, industry-wide, when the 1950's appeared. A little more of a gradual taper, in contrast to your Russ. There are Simplex mechs and shift levers that will bring you closer to the y.o.m. I run an older Simplex lever and the Simplex 303 Touriste on the Barnard with a 4-speed, wide-range block. The 303 came out in the early '50's, it is said. That's a nice set of early-model Superhoods you've got on there, with the proper ferrules. I have a Strata seat pin on the Grubb. Very nice bike and good kit on your bike. I especially like the Brooks Swallow. Are those Phillips Apollo 83 pedals, and can you tell us what kind of bar tape that is? (looks green). How did you get that Midland bag looking so clean and nice? To answer your question, I think that putting a leather buffer ring (or two) on the top tube is entirely-appropriate. You could also go the route of installing a leather bag that rides under the top tube.

Thanks you for your comments. They are indeed Philips Apollo pedals, bar tape is green leather Brooks and with regards to the bag, originally it had a mahoosive Chossy bag on it supported by a small bag-support (you can see green tape on seat stays where it was attached to the frame. The on on it now is from another bike, recently cleaned.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1b27065a6c.jpg

Thank you as always. I recently stumbled upon a sell of an estate, whereupon the part of it was a large collection of classic British bikes. So I adopted some :)

Not sure what you mean by Percy ends? Rear mech will be either older Simplex or Campagnolo Gran sport, leaning towards former. Hubs are Mailard and rims are Dunlop Special Lightweights. Bar plugs are Brooks thhat came with green leather bar tape. BB is Bayliss Wiley.

Best

What a gorgeous bike. The second I saw it I was reminded of what must have been Rivendell's inspiration. What's old is new again.

https://media.theradavist.com/upload...200&quality=75

Thanks for the picture, that looks really nice! This is mine. My plan is to make it road-worthy and ride it for a bit, then to tear it down and repaint it this summer. Normally I hate to mess with original paint, but paint is wrinkled all over the bike. I haven't nailed down the exact age. Various clues point to it being somewhere between late 1960s to early 1970s. The decals are from the old shop on Kennington Road. I found it last month, hanging on the wall of an antique shop in Alabama. It is a mystery how the bike ended up so far from the shop where it was sold.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d2154f1974.jpg
1960's? F.W. Evans

That is the set that I have on the Barnard. I was lucky to find Catos, adjustable toe clips for them, but they are not matching.

When I was looking for my first British lightweight, about 7 years ago, I found a black Allin "Stan Butler Special" down in Louisiana, so some of the great British bikes, even some obscure ones, made it to the U.S. The ad disappeared, so I ended up buying the Grubb from a seller in southern France. Keep us up-to-date, if you will.

Someone on Facebook who said he worked in the shop in London said a lot of American tourists would come in and buy bikes to ride around the countryside. Some would sell the bikes back to the shop, while others would ship them back home. There have also been a lot of US military personnel stationed in Great Britain over the years. Lots of possibilities, but no way to know for sure, unless someone stumbles across a purchase receipt with the serial number.

I will post updates in another thread as they get done. I have already received decals from H. Lloyd Cycles. They actually had all the variations for different eras. I had been wanting to get a British bike and assumed it would be a Raleigh or Bob Jackson or something like that. I didn't know anything about FW Evans, but it had some clues that indicated it was a quality bike. It wasn't very expensive so I took a chance.

Ha, I must be lucky then, I think all of the bikes I got from the same source came with adjustable Catos.

FW Evans were predecessor to Evans bike shops, which are all over the UK. The funding person was a clever marketing guy, who also happened to have few ideas of his own how to improve bikes. I had on of his bikes from 70s, custom made for a gentleman near me, it was a great bike, high end tubing and lovely workmanship.

You can find more about FW Evans here https://www.classiclightweights.co.u...0Bridge%20Road.

Tip us off when you get your hands on the F.W. Evans, please. I like how the previous (present?) owner ran both grips and tape. This summer will be the first one when I am attempting substantial miles on bare, steel bars: I'm thinking of putting dinner gloves under my leather gloves for shock-absorption (my Phillips grips are hard plastic).