James Fothergill 1950s(?) info please...

[mullinino]

Hi all,i recently picked this up on a whim with the idea of a resto job....plenty of rust as you can see from the pics but feels solid underneath-solid enough for 14 and a half stone me to cycle it 21 miles home last week anyway with no worries....had a wee look around online but couldnt get too much info on what its made from,i know he used 531 tubing but im not sure-it is ridiculously light though compared with a lot of younger bikes ive owned,and i love those Tevano cranks too-but im gonna move it on as our kitchen/mancave is getting too claustrophobic!

so any ideas on the tubing and/or rough year of manufacture would be muchly appreciated,as would any further info...

thanks,p.

 

[Old Ned]

Some info here -

http://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/bu ... james.html

I would say it's possibly a 60's build looking at some of the details. Is there a number?

More than likely to be 531 as there was little else to choose from of any qulaity in those days.

Please don't strip paint etc. off and turn it into a fixie! Good Fothergills in original finish are getting rarer! A good wash and clean might bring it up fine and maintain its 'patina'.

 

[mullinino]

h

Many thanks,Ned...much appreciated!Theres no bottom bracket number-so i presume it will turn up elsewhere when i give it a half decent clean in the morning....should it point me towards the year?

NO WAY IN HELL will i allow this to become a trendy city-boy 'f***sie',so it definitely WONT be going on a certain auction site,id much prefer one of you lot to look after it!

thanks again,p

 

[Old Ned]

Re: h

Many thanks,Ned...much appreciated!Theres no bottom bracket number-so i presume it will turn up elsewhere when i give it a half decent clean in the morning....should it point me towards the year?

NO WAY IN HELL will i allow this to become a trendy city-boy 'f***sie',so it definitely WONT be going on a certain auction site,id much prefer one of you lot to look after it!

thanks again,p

Good! To many interesting frames have gone to the anonymity of fixie-dom :evil:

Not sure where he put numbers but there should be one - somewhere! My comment about 60's build really refers to the plain lugs which could well be Prugnat. Earlier than this they were often quite decorative - such as Nervex Professional - but Fothergills did have a reputation for fancy handcut ones as well. The one I had in the 60's had quite fancy ones and really well filed down to feather edges.

The plain rear fork ends are also a bit strange. I would have expected a gear hanger at this time.

What size is yours? It looks quite large

 

[bowser]

that more than deserves restoration.
havent seen a fothergill in a long time
does the head tube still have a transfer?

 

[mullinino]

j

hi-thanks,guys....the frame is 25 inches,actually felt good for me at 6'2....maybe i need bigger mountain bikes!Plain fork ends too,theres the remnant of a headtube badge,ive seen reproductions somewhere online im sure.suntour superbe pedals too,so decently specced i think...

anyway,as i said its time to move it on so im off to the whats it worth section to post a link to here to get a rough idea of value.....many thanks again gents for your help and experience,p.