The Villiers Two Speed Gear

A scan of the brochure for the Villiers two speed gear. Not a derailleur system as it is essentially a chain gearbox. An interesting dead-end in bicycle gear design. Puzzlingly complicated to fathom and rather heavy the Villiers two speed was a product of the thirties though when production was started and ceased exactly I am not sure.

Villiers two speed brochure page 1.

Villiers two speed brochure page 2.

Villiers two speed brochure page 3.

Villiers two speed brochure page 4.

Villiers two speed brochure page 5.

Villiers two speed brochure page 6.

Alta girder forks

I found these Alta brand girder forks at a parts meet a few years ago. They were too unusual and cheap to resist. They have suffered a bit from storage but are new old stock. It seems that perhaps the chroming wa of very cheap quality in the first place. The forks seem to be Italian made and are with one inch steerer and English threads.

The best guess would be that they were marketed at a time when cyclemotor attachments were popular. They certainly have the look of an early fifties component about them. They are made to fit a frame size of around 23 inches, obviously dependent on steerer tube length. There is no anchor for a drum brake but there is a bridge for a caliper.

Hopefully some day I'll find the right frame to put them on. I did recently come across a BSA Golden Vase that looked like it would fit the bill but when offered up the steerer on the forks was too long.

Alta cyclemotor spring forks detail.

Alta cyclemotor girder forks.

Dorset Saddle

An ebay find. I've never heard of Dorset saddles before but the local connection kind of meant I had to have it for a future build. The typeset and shape of the label is very similar to Lycett so perhaps it was produced for a local shop, the address I bought it from was in the county so it stands up as a theory. Does anyone out there know anything more?

Girder framed project finished

The mystery (maybe Robin Hood, maybe Royal Enfield) girder-frame project is completed and ready to ride and I'm delighted with the result. The cycle has had a general service and a few parts added. The horrible blue plastic grips were junked for a pair of new old stock rubber items from the correct period, a Lucas carbide light added and I felt that a cycle of this stature should have a rack so a suitable one was sourced via ebay. It's rather nice, a 'Princip' - a brand of rack I've never heard of before but it looks the part and is pretty much the same pattern as a Brooks item.

I had a lucky cat mascot on the shelf that I've put on the handlebars, it's quirky and period and might as well go on a cycle as sit on a shelf. The pedals are new old stock and came to me boxed. I pondered for a while before fitting as they will be nos only once but they were made to be used so on they went.

Weight-wise the cycle is a tank but it's a quality product and the ride is good. I'm not sure if the Sturmey hub is original or not but it makes the whole plot a lot more rideable, no gears on this one would be a chore.

Coventry Eagle 1959

Here's the front page from the 1959 Coventry Eagle brochure. The way it folds out makes it hard to scan but the cover is worth posting for the cheesey fifties celebrity endorsement!

1990 Alan frame

My cycle projects to date have been machines from before my time. This one though is a big nostalgia trip. A cycle that was too exotic for my teenage pocket but which I now don't really have the fitness to do justice to!

As purchased the Alan was a bare frame with Campag bottom bracket and headset. The plan is to build it up fully Campaged out with Cinelli bars and stem and Rolls saddle, all representing the best of what was around at the time. I'm hoping for some delta brakes but am currently baulking at the price, perhaps Monoplaners will do.

The late eighties / early nineties componentry represents for me Campagnolo at the peak of their powers. The manufacture and finish of each piece is exquisite, anyone who takes any interest in engineering cannot fail but to be moved by their beauty. The period was a time when metallurgy was highly advanced but price was not squeezed so heavily by the competition of mass production techniques. Components are polished to a mirror finish rather than annodized and the logo is etched rather than printed. Poetry!

So far I've sourced a pair of wheels with Croce D'Aune hubs and Graphite rims, a front mech and new old stock levers. This build is going to take a while, gonna have to spread the cost to take the pain away! 

1990 Alan frameset. Hard to photograph, so very shiny!

Sheer beauty. Campagnolo Triomphe new old stock friction
levers.

Croce D'Aune hubs.

Triomphe braze on front mech.

The Alan aero top tube. Not too sure why they did this. Looks
good though.

Blandford Cycling Club

Here's an ebay find that I paid too much for. Couldn't resist as Blandford Forum in Dorset is my home town and I had never heard of the Cycle Club before. Had a search on google and I can't find anything out. Is there anyone reading who can elaborate? I guess it was just one of the thousands of small town clubs that existed back in the day.

Blandford Cycling Club enamel badge. 1920s?