Sid Mottram rebuild

RichardDean

Dirt Disciple
Hi new here. Need some help to build this Sid Mottram. I think it is 1946-55. Can anyone help with a more exact date. was it built by Wally Green or Holdsworth? It has an old head badge. Also any advice on getting new transfers for sids name. They appear to have vanished and left a shaddow.What colour should they be on a red frame. Any idea on the make of the crank and is it original? Are the bars original? I assume it never had a brake. I dont like this one. I need a brake as I am planning on riding this in the Eroica 100 next June and dont fancy the down hill without one. What is the best brake for this era? The most import first quest is wheels. What rims and hubs? Rims tubs or clincher. I want large flange campy but should I go for period rims at £150 when a more modern Mavic will only cost £40.
 

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Sid Mottram bikes can be mysterious.
I've got a 1955 one. I know that from the previous owner. He bought it new then, used it & I got it after he retired. He was a member of the Leicester Forest CC.

The info online is not accurate I believe. I'm talking about the info on ClassicLightweights particularly.
Wally Green only retired from racing speedway bikes in 1955 & he could not have been building many bikes before then.

The bars are very nice: )

I say, if it is after 1955 it is quite likely to be WG built, before that very likely to be a Mercian.

I've done my research on these & I'm certain the online info is incorrect.
Please PM me for further info.
 
Re:

From your excellent photos it looks to me that the forks are slightly pushed back.
Might just be the particular photo, but worth a serious, second look?
 
I agree that the online information is a little confusing, the head badge appears to have the adress of the original shop on Loughborough Road in Leicester which might help date the frame also it might be worth considering that speedway was not a fully professional sport in those days many riders had other jobs during the closed season, so maybe Wally Green was one of them.
 
Hi Richard,

I was following this on ebay - went over budget - but I just want to say I am very glad someone is going to put it back on the road. So congratulations! Nice

I think the crankset and pedals are original to the bike. Are there no markings on the cranks? Also look on the inside of the cranks.
The handlebars are South of France type, probably from Stratalite. Maybe there is a makers mark at the end of the bars.
Original? No idea, but they are beautiful

A lot of path bicycles from that period came with fixed / fixed or fixed / free rearhubs and often only had one brake. The other incomplete brake is just there as a hand rest. You probably knew that already.
About the wheels, will 27" fit? What has your priority - ease or originality?

Personally, I would try to find a nice used pair of 700c wheels with clincher rims. Reason: if I still had this bicycle in 10 or 20 years time I am sure there would be a range of tyres to choose from and more importantly, I have never had tubulars (let alone glued one) and I think tubs are very pricey.

Funny feature to have eyelets on the dropouts of a track / path frame btw.
Is the rear brake bridge drilled?

Again, cool frame - I will follow the build
 
Mudguard eyelets on a 'Track' frame indicate a Road/Path machine.
A pure Track machine would not have/need them.

My own 1955 SM is a Road/Path.
DSCN2425.jpg

Eyelets both ends.
Drilled front, but not back.
A pure Track would need neither, running fixed.

DSCN2492.jpg


Mine is pictured 'as found'. (In the bare frame pic)
Built up, with freewheel, not fixed.
 
PS.
Also, using 700 rims in a frame designed for 27" with mudguard clearance, would look a little odd IMHO.
Big gaps!

With mudguard eyelets there must be room for guards, & with 27" wheels without guards, as mine is, you can see the clearance.
Fit 700 wheels & the gap will be even bigger.
 
Re:

Thanks for the stuff. I posted this without actually having the bike. I have now picked it up from Northants. Apparently it was in the last owner's sisters house. It was found in the attic in a house in Rushden, Northants, when she bought the house recently. The name on the frame of a previous owner is N.H. Abbott. I wonder if it was ever raced at the old track in Leicester I have now photographed it and stripped it. I think the year of manufacture is 1947. It has that on the bottom bracket and the fork. One of the first made for Sid Mottram by Holdsworth frame builders Bill Harlow or Peter Cobb straight after the war. The head badge is made of aluminimum rather than brass as metal was short after the war. The paint is ultra thin.. war shortage still It says it "Handmade by Sid Mottram" SAM 169 Loughbrough Road, Leicester. Possibly his first shop. They started in 1946 according to Classic Lightweights. The bottom bracket is Bayliss Wiley, England. The bars are "South of France by Strata of France. The bottom bracket is Nervex. I believe the crank is a Williams 174mm fluted. Front OLD is 96mm and rear is 110mm. The wheelbase is 96cm. I have straighten the forks. Cold bending with a vice and a large piece of scaffolding and they are now perfect. (Cold bending strengthens the metal..my son is an engineer at Imperial College, London. But I didn't trust him and You tubed and searched the internet on the best method). Too many people out there are scare mongers about them breaking on you. Mind I would not have tried it with aluminium I think only three main tubes are 531, but it is really light a fine piece of British frame building. I have carbon and titanium bikes and an truely amazed. Mudguard eyes were put on and a pump peg as people only had one bike in those days. Money was tight after the war and it meant it could be used on the road. I accept this wasn't built for Reg Harris. A pure track bike then would be for the pros only.
 
Williams chain-sets have a date stamp if you look closely on the insides. Check classiclightweights for the year codes. An excellent clue to its build date if it's original.

Mine has the alloy head-badge, but its partially corroded & yours helps me: )
Slightly bent forks are no problem if you know what to do.

Wish you well with your machine. Good SMs are few & far between & deserve careful restoration (& use) I believe.
Keep us up to date with how it goes & it will be a very interesting thread: )

Good luck.
 
Yes the Loughborough Road shop was the original shop which opened in 1946, Sid Mottram bikes are rare and I stupidly sold my 1956 example a couple of years ago and I still regret selling it. So its good to see a couple more getting a makeover so I will follow your rebuild closely. On a personal level Sid Mottram was my parents LBS in the 1940s
 
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