Claude Butler - How to age?

[Old boy]

Good Afternoon,

My good old dad at 92 has ask me to age his Claude Butler road bike. I asked how and was told to write the numbers down under the crank and take it to his old bike and they will know! ( that shop closed some 30 years ago)


After a quick wash - all original

I have tried to follow some old threads about this and am now even more confused. Is there out there a CB whizz who could tell me. Dad has told me he bought it after the war but before 1950.

regards Alan

 

[Midlife]

There's a really good thread on here about CB numbers

 

[Sun Man 51]

Good Afternoon,

My good old dad at 92 has ask me to age his Claude Butler road bike. I asked how and was told to write the numbers down under the crank and take it to his old bike and they will know! ( that shop closed some 30 years ago)


View attachment 603700View attachment 603702 After a quick wash - all original

I have tried to follow some old threads about this and am now even more confused. Is there out there a CB whizz who could tell me. Dad has told me he bought it after the war but before 1950.

regards Alan

I know nothing about Claud Butlers.. but I must say that's a real jem of a an old bike.. and great that its got a history with your Dad..

 

[MR OX]

Ask @Peachy! he’s the man for CB

 

[Sun Man 51]

Peachy's thread.. https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/claud-butler-frame-number-identification.392124/

 

[Peachy!]

Good Afternoon,

My good old dad at 92 has ask me to age his Claude Butler road bike. I asked how and was told to write the numbers down under the crank and take it to his old bike and they will know! ( that shop closed some 30 years ago)


View attachment 603700View attachment 603702 After a quick wash - all original

I have tried to follow some old threads about this and am now even more confused. Is there out there a CB whizz who could tell me. Dad has told me he bought it after the war but before 1950.

regards Alan

Hello Alan, on the face of it & if your dad is absolutely sure he bought it pre 1950 then the sequence 510 1785 is likely to be the correct set. (this would be confirmed by whatever is stamped on the fork steerer, but that's hidden inside the head tube so you would need to take the forks out to check) the 5 would likely be 1945 as Claud didn't produce any smooth fillet brazed models in 1935. The 10 would be October and the 1785 the production frame count. That number would be too low outside of the war years but quite typical of 1945 @dwscrimshaw might be able to check against his lists.
It looks like its continental drop outs have been clipped, but that's not unusual.


My best guess is it's a Sports Anglais.

PS, There's no "e" on the end of Claud



PPS Before anyone says it might be 1951 October (as we have seen the 10th month stamped as a 0 before) this doesn't fit any of the fillet brazed bikes in the 1951 range so would seem very unlikely.