Apologies for the slight crossover with my earlier post in the Retro Road Classics section but now this a Reader’s Road Bike - I thought I’d start a restore/build thread for interest and advice.
After some serious umming and ahing I rescued this early '50s Hercules "Aston Club" from outside Relics junkshop in rainy Glasgow. It's "Guaranteed Built with Reynolds 531 Frame Tubes" i.e. 3 tubes plain gauge 531. So, not at all high-end but not without charm or worth either.
A big of googling as studying the VCC catalogue scans revealed it to be from around 1953-5 and to be very near original (everything Hercules made) spec. The Aston Club model seems to have short lived – taking over from the “Kestrel Club” and ending in ’56 when it was replaced by the “Kestrel Senior Club.” In ’56 owners Tube Investments combined Hercules with Norman, Phillips, and Sun to form the British Cycle Corporation and laid-off a whole load of Hercules staff and greatly reduced the number of models produced. (see: I didn’t google in vain!).
Once I'd carried it through the Botanic Gardens and back to my Mother-in-laws (who we were visiting) I wondered what the hell I was going to do with it :shock: . In the immediate that meant a quick rub over with WD40 which revealed that the Flamboyant Magenta paintwork was still surprisingly flamboyant and a lot of what had looked like surface rust was in fact ancient grease (It must’ve been well smeared before being stored). Happily WD40 also got the seat post moving freely. Before catching the train back to London, I managed to persuade my Mother-in-law to let me store it on top of a spare-room wardrobe until we return to Glasgow at Christmas rather than the very damp stone built garden shed. :xmas-big-grin:
Here are the obvious issues so far:
I’m missing a track nut from front wheel - what thread? The existing front nut fits the front wheel of my wife’s Raleigh built 3-speed so it must be fairly standard - 3/8? 5/16?
Brakes: The original brakes have a double-nippled cables which I imagine would be near impossible to source, the front cable has snapped and looking at the brakes doesn’t fill me with confidence! So I was thinking of replacing them with some suitable GB or maybe even some early-ish Mafacs Racers? Any other options?
The rear hub has flip/flop threading – at present one side has a fixed sprocket and the other is just bare thread. I was thinking of put a single-speed Freewheel – I’m guessing it’ll need some spacers to get the chain-line right. I think I was probably designed to run fixed/4 speed (?)…. I’m trying to keep a grip on the costs so I’m hoping to steer clear of gears.
Missing pedal. The non-drives side had a quill pedal and toe-clip but the drive side pedal is long gone. As the look of quill pedals have hardly change in style since the bike was made I to fit a cheap second hand pair (pm me if you have something suitable!)
Missing front “Bantel” mudguard. For now I’ll just remove the back one and store it. If a suitable and cheap pair turn up, I may add them later...
Stem. I’m not sure yet whether this is stuck or not but it’s definitely flakey and rusty. It’s also got a really short reach so I may replace it…
Totally rotted “beige sleeve grips.” I think I’ll just go with cotton bar tape (colour tbc.) as it’s cheap and easy to source. There’s some mummified remains of bar-tape on the bike which interestingly feels more like thin smooth shirt type cotton than normal think textured cotton tape…
The John Bull 26 x 1 ¼ tyres seem remarkably supple so I might see how they feel once I’ve put in some new tube and pumped them up.
Other things that are probably only of interest to me:
It’s fitted with the higher spec “Kestrel” leather saddle (rather than the “Aston Racing Saddle) and the higher spec Hercules 46T 3-pin detachable fluted cottered crankset. The hubs are also high-flanged, so maybe the wheels were swopped at some point.
After some serious umming and ahing I rescued this early '50s Hercules "Aston Club" from outside Relics junkshop in rainy Glasgow. It's "Guaranteed Built with Reynolds 531 Frame Tubes" i.e. 3 tubes plain gauge 531. So, not at all high-end but not without charm or worth either.
A big of googling as studying the VCC catalogue scans revealed it to be from around 1953-5 and to be very near original (everything Hercules made) spec. The Aston Club model seems to have short lived – taking over from the “Kestrel Club” and ending in ’56 when it was replaced by the “Kestrel Senior Club.” In ’56 owners Tube Investments combined Hercules with Norman, Phillips, and Sun to form the British Cycle Corporation and laid-off a whole load of Hercules staff and greatly reduced the number of models produced. (see: I didn’t google in vain!).
Once I'd carried it through the Botanic Gardens and back to my Mother-in-laws (who we were visiting) I wondered what the hell I was going to do with it :shock: . In the immediate that meant a quick rub over with WD40 which revealed that the Flamboyant Magenta paintwork was still surprisingly flamboyant and a lot of what had looked like surface rust was in fact ancient grease (It must’ve been well smeared before being stored). Happily WD40 also got the seat post moving freely. Before catching the train back to London, I managed to persuade my Mother-in-law to let me store it on top of a spare-room wardrobe until we return to Glasgow at Christmas rather than the very damp stone built garden shed. :xmas-big-grin:
Here are the obvious issues so far:
I’m missing a track nut from front wheel - what thread? The existing front nut fits the front wheel of my wife’s Raleigh built 3-speed so it must be fairly standard - 3/8? 5/16?
Brakes: The original brakes have a double-nippled cables which I imagine would be near impossible to source, the front cable has snapped and looking at the brakes doesn’t fill me with confidence! So I was thinking of replacing them with some suitable GB or maybe even some early-ish Mafacs Racers? Any other options?
The rear hub has flip/flop threading – at present one side has a fixed sprocket and the other is just bare thread. I was thinking of put a single-speed Freewheel – I’m guessing it’ll need some spacers to get the chain-line right. I think I was probably designed to run fixed/4 speed (?)…. I’m trying to keep a grip on the costs so I’m hoping to steer clear of gears.
Missing pedal. The non-drives side had a quill pedal and toe-clip but the drive side pedal is long gone. As the look of quill pedals have hardly change in style since the bike was made I to fit a cheap second hand pair (pm me if you have something suitable!)
Missing front “Bantel” mudguard. For now I’ll just remove the back one and store it. If a suitable and cheap pair turn up, I may add them later...
Stem. I’m not sure yet whether this is stuck or not but it’s definitely flakey and rusty. It’s also got a really short reach so I may replace it…
Totally rotted “beige sleeve grips.” I think I’ll just go with cotton bar tape (colour tbc.) as it’s cheap and easy to source. There’s some mummified remains of bar-tape on the bike which interestingly feels more like thin smooth shirt type cotton than normal think textured cotton tape…
The John Bull 26 x 1 ¼ tyres seem remarkably supple so I might see how they feel once I’ve put in some new tube and pumped them up.
Other things that are probably only of interest to me:
It’s fitted with the higher spec “Kestrel” leather saddle (rather than the “Aston Racing Saddle) and the higher spec Hercules 46T 3-pin detachable fluted cottered crankset. The hubs are also high-flanged, so maybe the wheels were swopped at some point.
