Could you help me ID this frame?

[Dead Rats]

Just picked this up off eBay... mainly for the saddle (which I have removed and lathered with Proofide) and front wheel (Weinmann 27" on Normandy large flange).

It was sold to me as a "Brooks Competition" but I think that's only as this is what is written on the saddle(!) as there are no other decals or badges, it clearly had a two-rivet headbadge tho, similar to a Sun Worksop frame I picked up recently.

While it's running 27" rims, it appears to have been designed for 26 x 1 3/8" or 26 x 1 1/4" rims as 1) there is almost no tyre clearance and 2) the brake blocks have been turned 90% to hit the rim :shock: makes it an ideal candidate for running 700C rims though - ?

I am 99% sure it's made by Raleigh (it's super close to identical to the very rusty Raleigh Olympus I own too) but have you guys any clues as to which of the many brands they bought this would've been badged up as?

 

[Spokesmann]

Not sure if its Raleigh because the fork crown doesn't have 'thimble' ie the usual Raleigh treatment... I know this as I had an Olympus back in 1976.

 

[Spokesmann]

Not sure if its Raleigh because the fork crown doesn't have 'thimble' ie the usual Raleigh treatment... I know this as I had an Olympus back in 1976.

 

[Dead Rats]

Not sure if its Raleigh because the fork crown doesn't have 'thimble' ie the usual Raleigh treatment... I know this as I had an Olympus back in 1976.

yes, my Olympus has this feature. The lugs are almost identical tho.. :?:

 

[Spokesmann]

Not sure if its Raleigh because the fork crown doesn't have 'thimble' ie the usual Raleigh treatment... I know this as I had an Olympus back in 1976.

yes, my Olympus has this feature. The lugs are almost identical tho.. :?:

Raleigh probably had a hand in there somewhere, they had a finger in every pie in the 1970s...

 

[Dead Rats]

hmmm, handlebar clamp OD is 23.8 or 24mm depending on how I measure it, standard 22.2mm shaft tho

 

[Dead Rats]

I'm liking the unusual curve of the forks (unless it's been crashed!)... any one else think this would have had old style 26" wheels originally - my Olympus did.

 

[one-eyed_jim]

I'm liking the unusual curve of the forks (unless it's been crashed!)...

It's been crashed! My dad's friend Jim has an old Rudge Clubman with the same bend. It's not an original feature. The forks were weaker than the stout frame tubes in those days, and a frontal impact would produce that sinuous double curve.

any one else think this would have had old style 26" wheels originally - my Olympus did.

Yes, definitely, and I think you're right in that it's essentially a badge-engineered Raleigh. Which offshoot I'm not sure. Not a Rudge or a Humber.

Sometimes the lamp bracket had a maker's crest. Does yours? Is that a zinc anti-rust treatment under the paint?

 

[GarethPJ]

Looks an awful lot like a Vindec to me. If it is then Raleigh would very definitely have had nothing to do with it.

 

[GarethPJ]

Raleigh probably had a hand in there somewhere, they had a finger in every pie in the 1970s...

Actually a surprisingly were lucky enough not to get swallowed by Raleigh and therefore avoided the mess that happened there. Instead they got involved in some other messes that happened.