Hi guys!

New the site, and hoping to get some help with/show off my latest acquisition - what I believe to be a mid 50's Rudge Whitworth.

Through the wonderful thing that is Hard Rubbish Collection (basically everyone dumps all their trash on the nature strip for the council to collect. Some of us like to grab what we can and recycle, restore and reuse whatever we can) I came across this brilliant looking bike and I'm looking to restore it over the coming months.

I've only been able to find very limited info on the company online, and it appears that my bike was built after Raleigh took ownership of the company as the cranks and stem both have "Raleigh Equipment" or similar stamped in them. And the bike is identical to the Raleigh Roadsters of the time.

A few photos...



As you can see it's missing the seat & seat post - not the end of the world as I can source another Brooks B73 quite easily.

It seems to have a bit of an issue with the bottom bracket or the cotters as the pedals move on the axle, and the wires from the Dynamo-hub have been cut and the light is missing. Both wheels seem to run true, with the rear having a very slight buckle. Front brakes are operating perfectly, rears need some love. The bike is currently black, but the chain guard seems to be the Maroon colour that was available for these bikes. Both mudguards are in excellent condition, and the rear reflector housing is all in tact.

The worst thing by far is the rust & crack in the chainstay - I'm not sure how far this cancer has spread. If it can be repaired I plan a full restoration. I'm taking it to my local vintage specialist to see what they say.

So, all you vintage guys out there, any info/history on the brand and any leads ID'ing the bike? I was hoping to have her ready for the Melbourne Tweed Ride in a few weeks time but that seems a bit far fetched. Will just have to get my single speed finished in time and take it instead!

Very interesting find....it will be interesting to hear what your local specialist says about the chainstay as you are right - that's pretty awful. Worst comes to worst and you'll be scouring the world for more Rudge bits so you can build up a complete bike from parts - its all symptoms of the same (vintage) disease. I once built up a motorcycle from a footpeg I found.....

Mark

Lots of Raleigh-knowledge here who can help in ID'ing this.

When I saw picture 2, my heart sank, but then it was buoyed by the 3rd picture. There are probably going to be two opinions in this forum in varying quantities: 1. yikes, and 2. cost-be-damned. I fall in the "yikes" category.

If it were me, I would strip everything off it and clean the frame thoroughly---with sand paper and steel wool around the rusty bits. At that point, I'd take it to someone who knows how to fix frames (like a local framebuilder) to get his opinion and an estimate on price.

My guess is that you will come out financially ahead if you strip the parts, clean them up, and then patiently (over the next six months or so) search for a frame from the same year +/- a few. Free is not a bad price for all the parts you just got, though. You could find a frame for less than $100 easily.

If you want to be way ahead financially, strip the parts, clean them, and sell them.

Nice grab. I'd soak the rusty bits in an OA solution, that will remove most of the rut. Than you can make a better determination of what is repairable and what needs replacement.

That is rather sad. Most of it will clean up well, but I don't know about the frame. It is possible to replace a stay, of course, but it's rather major surgery.

You may be able to get a new frame from India or China, strip the decals, and duplicate the Rudge decals on the new frame. All the parts, including the fork, "should" fit.

The rear hub should have a date. What is the hub, an AG? The trigger shifter is an early one, ca 1938-1948 if I recall correctly. The early hubs have single digit dates, i.e. 7 means 1937, 0 means 1940, 46 = 1946. (I've never seen one dated 1941-5.)

Good luck with it, and please keep us posted!

Dropped both bikes (they're pressing a new bottom bracket into my new fixie frame too) off at the repair shop this morning. Had a quick look at the hub before I took it and there was a "54" stamped into the centre of the hub that was seperate to all the other writing that was stamped into the hub. There is a stack of writing stamped into it, and most is covered with the grime that a bike accumalates over a 50-odd year life so will clean it up and have a good look when I get it back in the next couple of days.

Boy, if that were just another Raleigh Sport I'd call it a profitable part out. That frame has a few details on it, though that make it almost worth saving. I've not seen a fork lock like that one before.
Maybe watch British Ebay to see if another frame comes up. I'm pretty curious to see what the frame maker would charge for the repair, though.

A very good frame builder has quoted me $400 Australian $ to fix (replace) the broken chainstay, and then another $200 to sandblast and paint/powder coat the frame and chain guard. The replacement part will be identical to the damaged one in every way possible, and I can have it painted in either the black or the maroon.

I was actually surprised that they would fix it - I expected to be laughed at! I'm almost 100% certain I'll get it done, but probably not till after January - big OS trip coming up and need the funds for that. I'm keeping an eye on eBay etc for a new frame... but as Sailorbenjamin said, the frame lock is a very interesting part and I kinda want to keep that.

Just keep in mind that your hundreds of restoration dollars will never come back to you if you try to sell it. It's a nice upper level Sports bike but they only get top dollars for pristine all original bikes.

That fork lock is also found on Humbers from the same period.