two old bikes

[Thomas Wentworth]

My friend has two old bicycles. Probably 60's .. anyway, one has a
generator on it that touches the wheel. The other has a big silver head
lamp. I can't remember what else they have ..???? They are ten speeds,,
one is a three speed.

Anyway ,,,, any thoughts on whether any of the parts from one or both are
worth keeping ???

Just figured I'd ask.

T

[Ken M]

Thomas Wentworth wrote:
> My friend has two old bicycles. Probably 60's .. anyway, one has a
> generator on it that touches the wheel. The other has a big silver head
> lamp. I can't remember what else they have ..???? They are ten speeds,,
> one is a three speed.
>
> Anyway ,,,, any thoughts on whether any of the parts from one or both are
> worth keeping ???
>
> Just figured I'd ask.
>
> T
>
>
Kind of tough to say without more details. But the three speed could be
a Raliegh, which are almost legendary for durability. The other ?? more
details would be helpful, makes, models etc etc etc. Some 60's bikes are
worth saving and restoring others are not.

Ken


--
Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride. ~John F. Kennedy

[Brian Sanderson]

Check with the good folks at alt.collecting.bicycles

[Chris Z The Wheelman]

Well, I got an old Ford truck, I don't know the model or year, but it
has a spare tire under the bed and a sliding rear window.

Waddayathink, should I renovate it?

- -
These comments compliments of,
Your Friendly Neighborhood Wheelman

My web Site:
http://geocities.com/czcorner

To E-mail me:
ChrisZCorner "at" webtv "dot" net

[willarch]

My friend has two old bicycles. Probably 60's .. anyway, one has a
generator on it that touches the wheel. The other has a big silver head
lamp. I can't remember what else they have ..???? They are ten speeds,,
one is a three speed.

Anyway ,,,, any thoughts on whether any of the parts from one or both are
worth keeping ???

Just figured I'd ask.

T

The generator is what is known in Britain as a Bottle Dynamo (from its bottle shape), and is most likely 6 volts dc. They are still made - I fitted a new one to my commuting bike only this autumn as they give a decent light without the cost of batteries. They don't stay touching the tyre all the time, but can be pivoted away from the wheel when not in use. Most have only one wire between dynamo and lights, and use the frame to carry the return current - there should be a small grub screw in the support bracket, which is tightened to make contact with the frame.
If they are still working, there's no particular reason to throw them away, except possibly for the headlight if it is a battery type that uses a battery or bulb which is not made any longer. I would doubt that either has any particularly high money value, but if you are trying to restore a bike of that date to original condition, they could be useful components for the project. Perhaps someone doing such a project would be interested?

[willarch]

Well, I got an old Ford truck, I don't know the model or year, but it
has a spare tire under the bed and a sliding rear window.

Waddayathink, should I renovate it?

- -
These comments compliments of,
Your Friendly Neighborhood Wheelman

My web Site:
http://geocities.com/czcorner

To E-mail me:
ChrisZCorner "at" webtv "dot" net

Add to my last reply concerning the dynamo and light:-

As for the bikes themselves, the 60's saw a great variety of bikes made, from top-end machines with frames made by the best craftsmen, down to dull and uninspired clunkers.

If either is a Raleigh, the fork-crown will be the giveaway detail. The top of the fork blades will join to a cross-tube, to the centre of which the steerer is brazed. The ends of that cross tube will be closed off with a stopper like a semi-circular recessed "thimble", usually chrome plated. Only Raleigh used this detail. If it doesn't have this, it could be any one of a variety of other firms, including some that were bought out by Raleigh and marketed under their original names.
A useful sign of quality is the design of the lugs joining the tubes. From at least the late 1940s the top craftsmen frame builders used to work these into ornate designs, and generally the fancier the lugwork, the more expensive and better quality the frame. A number of firms, such as Nervex, supplied fancy cut lugs to many frame builders. Cheap frames would have less ornate or just plain straight lugwork. Into the 1970's the fashion for really ornate lugs declined, and they became plainer even for the best frames.
Some of the best frame-builders worked for more than one firm in their lives, and the frame name doesn't always indicate the guy who wielded the brazing torch (my first bespoke frame was bought in 1960 from, and labelled as, Jack Hallam, but was ordered by him from Johnny Berry who passed the work on to Tom Parsons because he was too busy building the frames for the Viking team for the Tour of Britain!)

If either frame has ornate lugs, it will probably be worth restoring properly. If it is Reynolds 531 double-butted tubing (the best at the time) it should weigh not much more than about 5 lbs for frame and fork stripped of headset and bottom bracket fitting.

Look for the firm's name on the down tube and/or a headset badge. Put that in a posting and there will probably be a lot of correspondents who could help further.

[Mike Kruger]

"willarch" > wrote in message
...
>
> Thomas Wentworth Wrote:
>> My friend has two old bicycles. Probably 60's .. anyway, one has a
>> generator on it that touches the wheel. The other has a big silver
>> head
>> lamp.
>
> The generator is what is known in Britain as a Bottle Dynamo (from its
> bottle shape), and is most likely 6 volts dc.

Here's a thread in which I asked about restoring such a generator, which
provided me with useful info:

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.bicycles.misc/browse_frm/thread/7f2a273ca74e7f61/ff04a318da1d885e?lnk=st&q=generator+Schwinn+group%3Arec.bicycles.misc+auth or%3Akruger&rnum=3&hl=en#ff04a318da1d885e