Brooks bicycle saddles



When I was in Year 12 in 1982 I lived with my Grandparents in a Western Australian country town. My own bicycle had been recently stolen so I borrowed my Grandfather's old push bike to ride to school each day.

His bike was an old steel men's bike with 28 inch wheels that had a back pedal coaster brake. It was a fantastic old bike. The most memorable thing about the bike was that it had an old leather saddle. I don't know what brand of saddle it was, but the experience made me fall in love with leather bicycle saddles.

Over the last few years I have rekindled my cycling interests and, as this blog shows, I've also started to build vintage bicycles. Steel, leather, and rubber....a fantastic combination of materials that are reminiscent of all vintage bicycle builds.

With my rekindled bicycle interest I've been able to extend my appreciation of leather bicycle saddles, and in particular, the Brooks range of saddles. Brooks make some beautiful leather saddles!! Please see more at www.brooksengland.com/

Below are some images of the saddles I have recently fitted to my bikes.



A new brown B67 on a 1949 Elswick.




A new black B66 on a 1975 Raleigh Sport.



A 1974 black B72 on a 1974 Raleigh DL-1

 

A new brown B72 on a 1950's Speedwell.





A new brown Brooks Professional on an early 80's 10 speed racer.



....and of course a new Titanium Brooks B17 that came fitted (OEM) to my Pashley Guv'nor, a beautiful saddle.

....and of course the matching saddlebags also look fantastic, Brooks have a complete range of saddlebags that compliment any Brooks saddle.

When buying any new Brooks saddle it always pays to get a tin of Brooks proof hide, a waxy paste that is applied to the underside of your new saddle. The proof hide moistens and protects the leather making the saddle more supple and easier to break in.

I don't think a vintage rebuild is complete without a Brooks saddle, and I have found that even older used saddles come up a treat after they receive a little care and attention.

I am currently building up my 1965 Malvern Star 2 Star and have restored a brown B17 Special for the occasion.....once finished I'll post some images.

Until next time...ride safely.

James.

My 1965 Malvern Star 2 Star bicycle - Part 1

I was born in the mid 1960's and in my teens I derived much pleasure from riding around the streets of a small country town called Busselton, Western Australia, on my Malvern Star 10 speed Sportstar. Since then I have always had a soft spot for the old Malvern Star bicycle.......and then a year ago I stumbled across this old mid 60's (probably 1965) Malvern Star 2 Star bicycle.

I've always loved the 2 Star....a bit better that the 'single' star, a little bit rare, a little bit special, although not as sought after as the Malvern Star 5 Star. And in particular I've always liked the two star configuration on the head tube, not as busy as the head tube on the Malvern Star 5 Star......and all linked to a bit of Australian cycling heritage that was worth restoring!!



The 5 Star head tube......beautiful but busy.

In the 1940's and 1950's the head tube of the 2 star looked great....two large stars for all to see (as below), and when painted up they do look stunning. Here's an image of a restored 2 Star with new decals courtesy of Greg Softley from Cyclomondo (decal reproduction) - have a look at his Flickr photo stream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/cyclomondo/................ absolutely stunning.

Malvern Star 2 Star on gts753's photostream.



Then in the 1960's the 2 Star head tube took on a slightly different look as you'll see. The stars were a bit smaller, slightly more refined.....and so my endeavours began to transform the old girl pictured below.



The 2 Star as I found her.



The 1960's 2 Star head tube....with a more refined star design.

I initially stripped the bike down and took her apart carefully, taking photos along the way for later reference. Unfortunately the headset had split and was beyond repair, however everything else was OK.

The original red paint wasn't too bad although I discovered that rust had started bubbling underneath the paint in places, so it really needed to be removed. I initially considered gently rubbing the frame back and clear coating it in an attempt to restore the original colour and decals, but it was too far gone!

The frame was my main focus in terms of restoration....so I had it sandblasted and primed as below.

2 Star frame and forks.

 

1960's 2 Star head tube with primer.


After sandblasting and priming the frame I had it stored in the back room for the following 6 months.....due to family and work a committments finding time to do any further work was difficult. Then last month I finally had a chance and took the frame out for some further attention.

Firstly I obtained the reproduced Malvern Star 2 Star decals from Greg Softley at Cyclomondo (an eBay store). These decals are fantastic, perfect decal reproductions that are easy to apply - and inexpensive too!

After a considerable amount of contemplation and planning I went to my local paint store and grabbed a color card (swatch) of the colour I wanted to paint the frame and took the swatch and my primed frame to my local auto panel beaters for painting. After much discussion with the auto paint man it was decided that the paint should be two pack - a strong durable clearcoated auto finish that will last for years.

After the initial coat of paint I was given the frame back so I could apply the decals and paint up the features on the frame myself. After making sure it was painted up nicely I returned the completed frame to the auto shop for a final clearcoat......and here is the result. 

Before fitting the headset.......

My preferred colour combination

 ....and after fitting the headset.

2 Star head tube



Malvern Star 2 Star frame



Before and after comparison:

Malvern Star 2 Star

I don't have much room in my house and was initially going to hang the finished frame on the wall, but after coming this far I really would like to build her up and ride off into the sunset......and when I do build her up I'll post some images in a 'Part 2' sequel.

Please see the related posts:

Part 2: http://perthvintagecycles.blogspot.com/2011/08/my-1965-malvern-star-2-star-bicycle.html

Part 3: http://perthvintagecycles.blogspot.com/2011_10_01_archive.html

Ride safely,

James

Pashley Guv'nor stem

When I initially purchased my Pashley Guv'nor about 6 months ago I was not quite happy with the stem and handlebar setup. My Guv'nor was delivered with a Japanese made Nitto Technomic brushed aluminium 130mm reach stem and chromed steel inverted moustache handlebars. Nitto stems are brilliant, and of excellent quality as Japanese parts always are.



The standard Guv'nor Nitto stem setup.



This combination was neat and functional, and captured the essence of the 1930's path racer styling, but for me it just wasn't quite right....probably because of the dull brushed aluminium (stem) and shiny chromed steel (handlebar) combination - for me the materials and finish of the two components were mis-matched. Furthermore, aluminium bicycle components did not surface until the late 40's after the war, so the brushed aluminium finish on the 1930's path racer just wasn't right!

I understand that the earlier Guv'nors were also fitted with a brushed aluminium stem, the Cinelli XA model, and the same chromed steel moustche handlebars, this combination also presented the same material mis-match issue.



The Cinelli XA stem - nice but not quite right!



Soon after purchase I got hold of some chromed steel Lauterwasser handlebars and fitted them to the bike with a new old stock Reynolds polished aluminium stem as pictured below. The polished stem looked good, and it was hard to tell that the two materials were actually different (more info February 16, 2011 post. "My Pashley Guv'nor")



Polished Reynolds stem setup.



This wasn't a bad looking combination, however, the wider Lauterwasser bars presented another problem to the setup. The extra handlebar width put extra pressure on the aluminium stem which was not quite rigid enough, allowing the handlebars to rock from side to side a little too much for my liking.

....so I really needed to get hold of a  chromed steel period stem. The hunt was on!

After looking around and making a few phonecalls I managed to find a new old stock chromed steel stem from the 1960's, 22.2 quill diameter, 25.4mm clamp diameter, 70mm reach, finished with as new chrome. It was a "Malvern Star" OEM item that was laying around on a shelf in a bike shop in Melbourne. Lucky me!!

I had it sent over and fitted it to the bike with the Lauterwasser bars.

Malvern Star chromed steel stem.

Chromed steel bars, chromed steel stem............this was the right combination I was looking for and it looked a treat.....and because the stem was made of steel it provided the handlebars with better rigidity and less flexing.....a solid all steel ride, just brilliant!

After a few hundred kilometers riding around Perth I was very happy with the new handlebar setup, steel on steel, and a nice firm ride....then one day whilst having a look at vintage stems on eBay I spied a new old stock Titan chromed steel stem! WOW! It looked great, it was the exact size for the Guv'nor - and with a longer quill for more height, and it would suit the Guv'nor perfectly.

180mm quill height, 70mm forward reach, 25.4 clamp mm, 22.2mm quill diameter.

Titan chromed steel stem - a work of art!

According to VeloBase.com Titan stems were made in Belgium between the 1960's until the 1980's. If you do a Google image search on "Titan stems" or have a look at VeloBase.com, I'm sure you'll be suitably impressed with them. 

I got the stem from eBay and replaced the old "Malvern Star" chromed steel stem - I had planned to use the Malvern Star stem for another project anyway.

After fitting the Titan stem I gave it all a good polish and dropped some red enamel paint into the engraved Titan logo on the front of the stem. Here are some images of the fitted stem for you.

Titan stem and Lauterwasser handlebars - a nice combination.

I've ridden this setup for a couple of hundred kilometres now and it certainly does ride very well, and for me the combination of chrome on chrome is more aesthetically pleasing and truer to the period of the bike........but of course, each to their own!

Until next time...

Ride safe

James

Vintage bicycles in Bali - Part 2

Part 1 of my "Vintage bicycles in Bali" post focused on the many vintage styled bicycles in Bali. 

Some of the bicycles were probably from the 1930's to 1950's, however on closer inspection I found that the majority of the bicycles were modern copies, mainly of the "Phoenix" brand (of Chinese manufacture) that perhaps were only 20 years old. Some were even more recently made and are still available for purchase in new condition.



A Phoenix with 28 Westwoods and cottered cranks.



In essence these bicycles carry the following features:

• Steel rigid frame
• 28 inch (or 26 inch) steel Westwood rims
• Rod braking system (or rear coaster brake)
• Cottered cranks
• 32 hole front hub, 40 hole rear hub.
• Leather saddle 

An everyday classic with 28 inch Westwoods.

As there were so many of these bicycles I was curious to find out where they sourced their spare parts. This interested me because vintage bicycles are hard to locate in Perth and I have always found it difficult (and expensive) to source original or new parts when restoring a vintage. 

So whilst holidaying in Bali I hunted around for some bicycle shops that carried old spare parts for vintage bicycles - and they were common and easy to find.

I walked into one shop and hanging from the ceiling was a row of about 40 brand new chromed Araya brand 28 inch Westwood profile steel rims. They were hung in two groups - 32 hole rims, and 40 hole rims - all shiny and new. All the rims were perfect, and all were coated with a thick generous coat of chrome - they looked fantastic, never before had I seen such a thing.

I had only recently restored a 1974 Raleigh Tourist DL-1 roadster (Dec 2010 posting) and had the 28 inch Westwood rims rechromed in Perth, an expensive exercise!! In Perth I could not source any new chromed Westwood rims for the job, and at the time I found this very frustrating.....but there they all were...... hanging right there above me......and much to my surprise they only cost about 20 Australian dollars for a pair...amazing.

So I grabbed a pair of chromed 28 Westwoods (32/40's) and continued hunting through the shop for other parts. I also located a pair of new shiny 26 inch Westrick chromed rims (32/40's) that I was also happy to take with me....only about 15 Australian dollars for these ones!

I located rod brake parts, vintage styled cottered cranks and bottom brackets, 28, 32 and 36 hole front hubs, an assortment of 28, 36 and 40 hole rear hubs - some with coaster brakes, and all sorts of other goodies for old vintage classics - fantastic. 

Some parts had various manufacturer's markings (probably of Chinese origin) and most were good quality and made from chromed steel - perfect for vintage builds. I bought lots of goodies - mainly opting for those parts that had no maufacturer's markings as I consider that these parts would be more suitable for use in English vintage restorations.

Sure....original parts are always best, but some parts are very difficult to locate and the parts I grabbed will definitely come in handy.......especially the rims.

To my surprise.....at the back of one shop a couple of new roadster classics for sale (Raleigh DL-1 copies) pictured below.



A couple of roadsters tucked away in the corner.



I located several shops in the Kuta area and a couple in Denpasar. On inquiry I found that all of the shops could source almost any vintage parts for the old Phoenix bikes rolling around the island - and all of the shops had at least one pair of brightly chromed 28 Westwood rims hanging up somewhere in the store.

I also came across a few classics on the roadside that were for sale as below:



.....including an English made Hercules for sale!!

In my travels I also inquired if there were any vintage cycle clubs on the island and was told that there was.....although the bicycle shop owners were not able to provide any specifics. Here's an image I located from "The Jakarta Post" site capturing members from the 'elusive' Denpasar based Bali Vintage Bicycle Association. 

OK....so I've gone to Bali and bought some vintage bicycle goodies, how do I get them home? Excellent question!

The small stuff is easy, just wrap them in newsapaper and put them into your normal baggage, whilst giving consideration to the overall weight of your bags of course. The only issue I had was with the rims - not an issue realty, just a little more effort.

I went to a local supermarket and bought a large roll of brown packing tape and wrapped the rims (placed side by side for strength) with newsapaper and packing tape. I then bought a cloth serong from a market stall and wrapped the rims again with this and more packing tape. The final package was nice and secure and very robust.

At the airport I labelled the rims with my personal address and the ticketing guy was happy to place some 'fragile' stickers over the whole package. The item went through as a normal luggage item and as my allowable weight was not exceeded I was not charged any excess - easy really!

People bring home all sorts of unusually shaped items from Bali so the rims did not attract any attention from the authorities. Although I did have to remember to collect the item from the baggage carousel when returning home!  

Once at home it was nice to build up the rims that I had found in Bali. Here's a couple of images of the 28 inch Westwood rims after having them laced.....just perfect for a vintage rebuild!!



32 hole front hub with wingnuts.



So if you restore old vintage classics and plan on travelling to Bali, or anywhere in Indonesia for that matter, make sure you visit their cycle shops where you're sure to grab something you need.

So until next time, safe riding!

Regards,

James.