I saw an old 3 speed bike in a local antique shop the other day, and I was hoping someone here could help me identify it. It's quite old, with rod operating brakes which pull against the insides of the rims. The head tube is lugged quite simply, with plain lugs wrapping all the way around it on top and bottom. The only distinguishable thing I could see on the bike was that the crankset chain ring spokes were done as the letter "H", and that it has Raleigh Record tires. I wanted to take pics, but the shop didn't allow photography.

Any ideas?

Hercules?

Thanks for the reply. The bike you posted in your pictures shares a few similarities, such as the brakes and lugs, but the crank set is much different. On the bike I was looking at, there is no name, just the letter "H" 3 or 4 times in the same manner as the crane on the old Raleigh cranks.

The bike has a man's frame, with metallic (dirty chrome or aluminum) fenders. It is fitted with an ancient canvas bar bag with leather straps. There is a decal and a headbadge on the frame, but they are so old and dirty that I couldn't make them out. I'll try and get back next weekend and steal a picture of it on my cell phone.

I've seen Hercules bikes with just an "H" in the chainring. The one I pictured has never been dated nor has the model been seen except this one time. Best guess is sometime in the '40s or early '50s at the earliest. I found it in my town dump and have since passed it along to wahoonc. Possibly this decal will help you ID the bike you are looking at. Maybe wahoonc could provide a pic of the headbadge.

It may indeed be the bike then, the saddle is identical in construction (though in much better shape), though I suppose this saddle was probably used on other bikes of the time.

Thanks again for your help,