non-fixie 

Mmmm... Chainwheel says: CVHB. Cyrile Van Hauwaert, Belgium. Above the frame number it says VH as well. I'm guessing it's a Van Hauwaert, sold by a "fietsenmaker" (LBS) in Hoensbroek. Terrific bike, BTW.

Italuminium

+1. Didn't knew about the Van Hauwaert brand.

non-fixie 

The bike has been built up in Holland, I think. The lock was made by the Hollandse Patent Metaalindustrie, that went out of business in 1973. The rear light seems to say "Tegelen" and could be from the NV Tegelensche Metaalwaren Industrie, who were in some sort of bicycle lighting kartel in the 40's.

mkeller234

Wow, that is great info non-fixie, thank you. I'd like to save that info on my computer for future reference if you don't mind. I'll definitely have to explore some of those brands that you mentioned.

Finished cleaning up more rusty bits. These took two days of soaking in vinegar and constant brushing. I coated them with boiled linseed oil in an attempt to keep rust away for a while.


DSC05957 by mkeller234, on Flickr


DSC05958 by mkeller234, on Flickr

This lock is really cool. When the lock is closed, that loop at the top is released and used as the key. When the lock is open, the key cannot be removed, it will never be lost!

DSC05959 by mkeller234, on Flickr


DSC05960 by mkeller234, on Flickr


DSC05961 by mkeller234, on Flickr

Part of the rod brakes. This part sits behind the bottom bracket

DSC05962 by mkeller234, on Flickr

FlatTop

That's a stylish looking bicycle. Never saw another, so...way to jump sideways! I like the sympathetic resto you've started, as the details of that bike are subtle and well worth preserving. Congrats on a good catch.

mkeller234

Hey, I think you might be right about being a Van Hauwaert. (can you tell me how to pronounce that??) I found this picture of one, and it has the triangular fork like mine does.

mkeller234

Nice job Non-fixie. Brand name confirmed. So were they a large manufacturer, like Raleigh?


DSC05964 by mkeller234, on Flickr

noglider 

Oh man oh man oh man oh man oh man oh man. That is one effing amazing bike. I am blown away. I'm on the verge of tears here. You absolutely got an incredible deal on a most incredible bike. The quality, the features, the aesthetics! Did you test ride it? How was it? And what does it weigh? A lot, I'm sure.

Rod activated drum brakes? What could be better.

The tail light looks like a kerosene light, but I can see it's not.

I just can't get over this. I think I'm going to dream about it tonight.

clubman 

That is so great...smart smart trade. You've got something so special there.

ericbaker

Its tough to argue with the date on the hub, but everything seemed to say early 40s, or even earlier to me.... wooden rims, nickel plating, highly detailed rat trap pedals, square bolts on the crank, even the castings for the pump pegs. Are the tires tubular or clinchers?

There is a lot of good info out there on how to treat and refinish wood rims. boiled linsed oil, beezwax, etc. look around, maybe check out thecabe.com

mkeller234

The rims are clinchers, really beefy too. I have lots of boiled linseed oil, i'll definitely look into that. I was thinking tung oil... but I don't know much about wood at all. The tension on the spokes is really low, I am hoping I can just bring them each up to tension and keep the wheel round.

The pedals are pretty nice. Notice the middle didn't rust, I think it might be aluminum.

AZORCH

For what it's worth, I think this is the Model GC2 trigger shifter, which dates to 1950-53. I don't know if that helps or just muddies up the water.

Sixty Fiver

Fr. Meulen... the bike could have been personalized with it's owners name and station.

Italuminium

In 1946, a man named F. Meulen acquired a building permit for the build of a bicycle paint shop in the village of Hoensbroek. According to streetview, there's housing now where it used to stand. so there you have it, it's a painting contractor (without attached shop, that would have been mentioned in the permit).

The wooden rims and wooden fenders make more sense now, too - post war shortages.

David Newton

Your boiled linseed oil will be great for the wood parts, both for cleaning and to seal off the surface to keep moisture out of the wood.
Wipe on some drippy coats and let it dry, then buff with a rag.

bibliobob

Well, well, done! Once in a life time opportunity.

non-fixie 

Nice question! I'm not well-versed in phonetic Belgian, so let's try this. A different Van Hauwaert, but the pronunciation is in the correct western Flemish dialect. Listen at 0.04. Don't mind the conifers.

YoKev

Best. Trade. Ever.

If in a similar situation, my superbly clean '51 Rudge would be gone in a heartbeat. Anyone got a trade?

non-fixie 

Certainly not. Much more interesting (with all due respect to Raleigh, Derby, TI and whoever else was involved in that venture). First and foremost Cyriel (or Cyrille in French) Van Hauwaert was a pretty adept bike racer:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrille_van_Hauwaert

https://www.cyclingarchives.com/coure...coureurid=7678

https://www.cyclinghalloffame.com/rid...p?rider_id=116

He started building bicycles as early as 1910. I don't know (yet) how many have been built, or when production ceased.

non-fixie 

Sure, if you're in for a project:

https://www.tweedehands.nl/fietsen/fi...118444474.html

Italuminium

The moustache says it all. Can't imagine how it would be like to spend all day on such a single speed, riding the 600 km paris bordeaux.

non-fixie 

He's probably got some high-protein bars in that bag of his ...

Juan Foote

I am no expert in vintage bikes, by far, but your lot of very good pictures made me think of something. I see that you have at least some experience in restoration, but was thinking that perhaps the frame/fork or possibly even the whole bike to be sent to the likes of one of the restoration companies (Rick's, etc.) and have the paint and decals reapplied in a period correct way?
IDK if doing such would take away from the value, or even the end result you are trying to achieve, but I would think that bike would look awesome restored back to showroom condition, and should certainly be rare in that form outside a museum.

non-fixie 

Nice detective work! I thought "Fr." maybe stood for "freres" (brothers), but that would have been a little odd in Limburg. "Francisicus" is indeed more logical. Have you found an actual street address?

mkeller234

Thanks for the great info Italuminium! So it's the painter, that is cool! I did notice "WK" carved into the bottom half of the seat post, which also matches what I found on the fork steerer tube. I assume that "WK" was a previous owner.

The head badge confuses me. It's a decal that looks very old, but there are also rivets. Is it possible that the frame is older, and the head badge was removed when FR. Meulen did a repaint?