1971(?) Hercules AMF
 

Hit the thrift shop at lunch today and they had a couple 3 speeds in there. A woman's version with a front basket that didn't do anything for me, and a men's Hercules 3 speed which did do something for me. Had no tag hanging on it so I began the dance routine, wheel it up front, let them know both the upper and lower tags are missing, and let them know I'd like a price on it. The routine is that they page the store three times asking if anyone has either or both parts of the price tag and if nobody responds by the third page then the item gets a new tag and the person who brought it up has first dibs. This also works if just the bottom half is missing since people sometimes pull the lower tag to think about it while they shop and then leave without returning the lower part of the tag. Anyway, the Herc is now on my car rack. :)

It has AMF a couple of places on it, a "Made in England" decal on the top tube, and the headbadge states Nottingham England on it. I scraped the greasy gunk off the rear Sturmey Archer until I found a number 71 stamped into it, so I figure this is a 1971-1972 model.

Has front and rear metal fender and a front springarm rack. Also has a generator light and still has the little bullet style tail lamp mounted loosely to one seatstay. I might pull the tail light off before I head home so it doesn't fall off on the freeway.

There's a fair amount of surface rust on the chrome parts but looks like it should clean up well. Also looks like it still has the original tires which are still managing to hold a little air.

I'll try to post some pics with the phone now and see if the Opera browser will work where the stock phone browser won't, otherwise pics will come later.

And to those folks getting frustrated trying to find a bike, you just find them when you find them, no magic or tricks involved. Price on this one was below $20. The woman's 3 speed of some other brand was priced below $10 just in case anyone was wondering.

(Okay, now to see if the pics will post...)

I just picked up four of them for $20, will take lots of work to make them good, though.

They are soaking in a 200gal vat of PB Blaster at the moment.

200 gallons of PB Blaster??? That's a lot of juice.

Dayum...must be Hercules Day or something.:thumb: I was at my favorite LBS ordering some odds and ends and the shop manager took me to the back to show me a Coker and a DL-1 they had in for repairs. Then gave me a ladies AMF Hercules in fair shape. Hub on mine dates it as a 1964, head badge says Birmingham. Won't be able to get pictures until late in the weekend, my wife has the only working camera with her.:o

Aaron:)

May be an exaggeration, or just wishful thinking

Here's the pics.

Dig that chain line :D

I think I'm going to move the front rack over to one of the Raleigh Sports.

Going to have to get a bigger dip bucket and mix up a 200 gallon (plus or minus 195 gallons) batch of that Oxalic Acid stuff for this project.

Got a few other projects to work on before I can get to this one, unless I get a burr under my saddle and get motivated.

SWEET:thumb:

Mine has painted fenders but the logos are pretty much the same.

Aaron:)

Treebound,

Not sure where in WI you are located, but there is a shop in Madison called Rebrit that had a Hercules like yours, completely restored, that I was looking at buying some time ago. You can see it here on his web site: http://rebrit.com/restored.htm. Gotta love dark green English 3 speeds!!

Thanks for the store link. We're planning on being in Madison this weekend. I might have to wander by the shop if he has storefront hours.

Edit:
I pulled up his address on streetview in maps.google.com and it looks like he runs his business out of a residence, so probably no storefront type hours. Still a good shop to know about if I need something.

Might be a good idea to either give Steve a call or e-mail him to see if he'll be open and arrange for a visit.

Since you're going to be in Madison, try to find time to stop at Yellow Jersey, just a short distance west of ReBrit on State Street: http://www.yellowjersey.org/

The several times I planned to stop at both shops during trips to visit family [I'm a Cheesehead now living in St. Louis area], our plans changed at the last minute.

Bump ... yes it must be Hercules season, esp. here in Wisconsin. I did not pay much attention to this thread last month but I have newfound interest since I just landed two Hercules like this one - a mens 1969 and a womens 1971. (see thread - posts #5, #25)

Nice find. Have fun fixing it up.

Could be winter mood setting in early, or something else, or perhaps I'm just feeling ornery, or lazy.

I was looking at this bike tonight, wheeled it out of the garage, and it made me smile just the way it sits, so I don't think I'll do much to it. I ordered a pair of new tires but that will be about it. Then I'll just make it mechanically functional but little else. One broke spoke on the front wheel I'll replace when I swap on new rubber, but that's about it.

The generator works, headlight switch works for high bulb, low bulb, and both bulbs. Tail light even works. In business, functional, done.

Pulled an old rear wire dual basket out of the garage and loose fit it up onto the bike. Looks like it belongs there. Done.

Looks like it just rolled out of the back of a hay barn or out from behind some miner's shack in the Moave desert. Done, lube and light tune, make it safe, nothing more.

I'll post a better pic when it's done to its own level of unrestored "done".

One of those bikes that you might see at a flea market sitting behind a booth and not being able to figure out if it's sat there for the last 30 years or if the owner is off shopping for cast iron frying pans.

Time for sleep, to smile, and to dream of days gone by.

Like it - sounds good to me!

May I extend this thread? An excuse to post photos of the Hercules bikes I have found:

1968 Hercules:
http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/c...9-09-22338.jpg

1960 Hercules:
http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/c...icycles033.jpg

1964 Hercules:
http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/c...icycles025.jpg

Extend away, fine with me. That 1960 model looks interesting, do you have a pic of it without the top tube disappearing or blending into the garage door groove/seam? Hard to tell if the swoopy tube blends into the top tube.

I was planning to take the dirty Herc up north to a Cranberry Festival, but the tires didn't come in yet and I ran out of time to make it safe to ride, so its public appearance will have to wait. Oh well.

[QUOTE=treebound;9742430]Extend away, fine with me. That 1960 model looks interesting, do you have a pic of it without the top tube disappearing or blending into the garage door groove/seam? Hard to tell if the swoopy tube blends into the top tube. QUOTE]

I'd like to see a picture from the rear showing how the top tube splits around the seat tube.

Gary
Transplanted Cheesehead

I haven't any like those described available yet -- I'll take some new ones and post in a few. Thanks for the interest!

OK, here are some photos of the top tubes and seat tube:

http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/c...ercules002.jpg
http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/c...ercules003.jpg
http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/c...ercules004.jpg
http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/c...ercules005.jpg
http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/c...ercules006.jpg
http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/c...ercules007.jpg
http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/c...ercules008.jpg

P.S. I am guessing the Hercules is a 1960 model because '60' is stamped on the Sturmey-Archer hub.

Wow. That's the closest thing I've found to my Herc... but yours has an extra tube in the middle.

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...e/HPIM0503.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...e/HPIM0504.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...e/HPIM0510.jpg

It looks teeny alongside my Raleigh DL-1

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...e/HPIM0514.jpg

The reddish areas of my Hercules I am assuming are primer showing where the paint has worn off. True? What exactly should I do about the appearance of this bike?