F.C. Parkes Lightweight ‘48/‘49?

[Jonny69]

Thanks for the info - very interesting…
Although definitely dropping, my stem is obviously not as limp as some. Perhaps more of a “semi” than a “limpy”? Fingers crossed anyway…

I managed to spend a half an hour or so with it earlier, mostly trying to remove some of the strange stuff that’s covering the frame. It’s almost like dried out furniture polish - but much thicker in some places than others.
Not waxy at all now, some bits come away with light finger nail pressure. I’m attempting to find the least potent cleaner possible to remove it. Whatever it is smears off with Lidl’s current bike cleaner spray, but there are ancient decals there too that I’m being careful with.
Talking of decals, I had hoped the tubing spec label might have come up a bit better, but it looks like a lot of it is long gone. All I can read so far is “chrome moly…” around a two letter logo - the first being a “C”or “G” - and then “BUTTED” I think and below that FO…. There’s a pic in the second post.
Sound familiar to anyone?

Someone might have gone over the frame with Linseed oil or similar to protect the frame.

I would expect the frame to be Reynolds 531. What diameter is the seatpost?

 

[TheDocmeister]

I’ve not whipped the seat post out yet, just been pottering really to see what - if anything - might need attention urgently and checking parts. I’ll maybe do that latter today - I did give it a good dose of PlusGas as soon as I got it home…
It’s covered in a very uneven coat of something! Uneven enough that I assumed at first that it had been the victim of several garage spills over the years. You can see the off-white/ beige residue caught around the lugs in the head badge shot. Actually, I’ve just had another look and that’s not as clear as it could be - the white lining may confuse things. It wouldn’t surprise me if someone had oiled up the frame, the bike has certainly been attended to by the look of the overall condition it’s in. Hard to believe it’s 76+yrs old!

 

[TheDocmeister]

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thank you for information on tubing transfer

t'is one doona recall seeing previously

was wondering if it could be something from A&P...

whenst ye take up disassembly ye may find marking on steerer

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footie thingies appear to be Webb

View attachment 999805

http://velobase.com/Pages/ViewCompo...CA-4DDB-84C6-0FB17F812AA2&Enum=109&AbsPos=385

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curious as to maker of the cycle's y-pattern chainset

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Spot on with the pedals, Sir!
Postponed some ‘working from home’ to have another coffee and quick look at the bike…
I’ve attached a couple more shots of the Chro-Mo badge after another wipe down. It looks to say “KROM..” along the top. The roundel says “CM” I’m pretty sure.
It’s certainly not the age appropriate Reynolds badge from what I can make out.
No sign of any markings on the chainring or cranks so far.

 

[sjcprojects]

Spot on with the pedals, Sir!
Postponed some ‘working from home’ to have another coffee and quick look at the bike…
I’ve attached a couple more shots of the Chro-Mo badge after another wipe down. It looks to say “KROM..” along the top. The roundel says “CM” I’m pretty sure.
It’s certainly not the age appropriate Reynolds badge from what I can make out.
No sign of any markings on the chainring or cranks so far.

That's an Accles & Pollock 'Kromo' decal:



There's a bit of info here on A&P:

https://classicrendezvous.com/count...es/classic-british-components/accles-pollock/

 

[TheDocmeister]

Nice one! Don’t see too much work getting done this morning…

 

[TheDocmeister]

So with some eagle-eyed spotting on here and a bit of digging around, it seems that the spec as it stands is:-

Frame: Accles & Pollok tubing, Nervex lugs
Wheels: Bayliss Wiley 32 spoke front, B&W “Defiance” 40 spoke rear hubs, Dunlop “Special Lightweight” steel/chrome rims, Huret bronze wing nuts
Brakes: GB “Hinduminium” calipers, GB levers, fibrax pads
Geartrain: 5spd, Cyclo Benelux derailleur and lever, Webb pedals.
Saddle: Brookes B17

More recent additions are the “Union” dynamo lighting, the “Specialized” headset and “Poker” aluminised mudguards.

I’m quite intrigued by the tubing. It’ll be interesting to find out out the spec - it’s not the plain tubing as per the badge posted earlier.

 

[sjcprojects]

I would guess the tubing is the butted version of Kromo, rather than the plain-gauge. Your decal probably read 'Butted Tubes Forks & Stays' or similar.

 

[TheDocmeister]

I think you’re right. When I got lost down the A&P rabbithole earlier it seemed that they did several versions. Other than their claim that a Kromo frame saved 22 1/2 ounces in weight over a hi-ten version I didn’t find any definitive listing of the tubes they supplied. Living near to the old Flying Scot works, it was nice to see that Rattrays was a customer!

 

[TheDocmeister]

A couple of pics from earlier to show the dried on “stuff” that, to give it its dues, seems to have protected the frame pretty well. Not sure if it’s been done before laying the bike up, or whether it’s simply accidental spills!
Some is lighter in colour and very dry, other bits are darker and oilier - there doesn’t seem to be any rhyme nor reason to these areas…