1950's advice

Actually there are some differences to the Jubilee, mainly the tops of the seat stays which were fluted on the Jubilee model. Also you have pump pegs which I've not seen on any Jubilee. There is an International Club model but the stays are different to that as well.

All the Jubilees have 2 sets of numbers stamped under the bottom bracket shell, the frame number followed by a 3 or 4 digit number like 654 or 1153. That indicates the month followed by the year, so the examples would be June 1954 and November 1953. It would be worth having a good look to see if its dated

Here's a link to the 1953 catalogue, but it difficult to see any unusual frame details http://homepage.ntlworld.com/nkilgariff ... 53_Cat.htm

It does look like the original Williams chainset, there's a guide to dating those here: http://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/co ... ation.html

Thanks for the info Robbied, I'll have a trawl through the catalogue and see what matches up.

In terms of my current prep for the charity ride I have sourced some 700C wheels which fit within the rear drop out fine, I simply replaced the outer bolts on the axle with the thinner ones from the old axles. This dropped the width to 127mm ish, which the frame is happy to fit. Front was slightly tricker as the old front axle is thin in comparison to current (3/8"?) ones. Had to get a mm shaved off on my friends lathe to fit, didn't want to file the frame.
There was sufficent adjustment in the current brakes to accomidate the increase in rim diameter without a issue.

I have just recieved a shimano 600EX gear set from a well known auction site and once I source a suitable crankset to match the gear set I think I will be ready to go.

Yeah it's not an International Club, I had one of those and there are a few differences around the seat cluster, as you say. Stunning bike though - I'd have kept mine if it were bigger!

Update

In the interests of getting some training in I have had to declare the bike 'finished' for the moment.

Recent tweaks have mainly been around the bottom bracket. I did have a Tange Seiki NOS that I was planning to use but when I combined it with the chainset the chainline was all off. Spindle lenght was 124.5mm and way to big. Simply fitting a smaller spindle lenght was complicated by the bike BB being a measured 66.2mm so just fitting a standard 68mm required shims, but profile of the cup on one side squeezed the shim out when tighterned. Thanks to the guy at Cyclemart, Cilcennin (excellent family run shop) who has been endlessly helpful in general and kindly let me fiddle around trying various BB's before we found one that gave the best chainline.

Handle bar wrapping was interesting for a first time, not sure if i'm entriely happy with how I have positioned the brake levers , and I hope the bar tape and hood covers weather in a bit to match the saddle.

The inner chainring is fairly worn so I am on the look out for a new one, before the wear is transimitted around the rest of the gearing. Anybody have any opinions of TA rings or know of any alternatives?

So, current spec:
1953 Claud Butler Frame
Original Brooks B17 saddle
Period but unbranded seat post, stem and bars
Weinmann brakes (810 and 790 fitted in the 80's)
dia compe 210 brake levers (new)
Full Shimano Arabesque gearset including cranks with Dura-ace rings
Trubuild 700c wheels with fettled rear hub to allow fitment in the dropout

So other than a lot of training the only thing I would like to make sure I have in place before my big ride is pedal, for the moment I have refitted the ones from the single crankset but they have no attachment for toe clips. Can anyone one recommend some pedals that won't look out of place?

As an aside I have started cleaning up and stripping the bike original 3 speed set up and wheels. Once the charity ride is over I will go for a complete frame strip and respray and try and rebuild as close as possible to the setup my Grandfather ran.

Then I can look for a appropriate late 70's frame to fit the Arabesque set to...

dave_spike":36beugcz said:

Hello,

This is my Grandads ~1953 claud butler.

Click to expand...

How I wish I could say these same words but my granddad left me only fishing tackle

Anyway great to have a fine old bike with family history


Steven