1929 Austro Daimler bicycle

On holiday in Slovenia recently I came across this rather lovely 1929 Austro Daimler cycle in an antique shop in the city of Ptuj. The condition was wonderfully original with wooden handlebar grips, frame fitting leather toolbag, lighting set and Slovenian bicycle licence plate. Thankfully for my wallet it was already sold or I would have left 350 euros lighter! 

1929 Austro Daimler.

1929 Austro Daimler. Nice mudguard mascot.

1929 Austro Daimler awaits new home.

Early childs tricycle and pedal car

Cute photo of a pair of young 'uns with their toys looking like they are to the manor born. 

Tricycle and pedal car probably from the 1900s.

BSA Gold Vase

Maybe I shouldn't admit this in public but I bought this BSA (it was cheap) because I had a Cyclo derallieur on the shelf and the frame has the right braze on to suit it. I concede that most folks might have parted with the gearset and lived happily ever after but I wanted to fit one and see how well it works. Plus this is quite a nice pre-war frame even if it is slightly small for me...

BSA Gold Vase frameset.

Cyclo gear braze on.

Original BSA Gold Vase transfer.

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.