If you would like any more information on this project, just email Anthony with your questions

On Tuesday, 15th February 2005, I picked up an old bicycle that had been sitting outside at my father's works for a year or so. It was purchased in 1946 in a shop in Leighton Buzzard, and had been used fairly constantly since then. It is believed to be a Hercules. I decided to restore it to its former glory, or something vaguely similar.

15/02/05 Yesterday, I bought a sausage roll with a £50 note. Today, I picked up the bike and found it to be rusty. Not only was it rusty, but the chainguard was missing, as well as half the crank and the front sprocket. The tubes no longer had valves. The brake pads were worn and about half the chrome plating had just flaked off and rusted. The rear mudguard, although intact, was held on in two places by various bits of string. The tyres had perished. The saddle was almost falling apart. However, it had only been neglected for a year or so, and I thought that it might still be worth restoring.

When finished, it will look a lot like this: (Image from cyclesofyesteryear.co.uk, who sell a lot of excellent stuff)

The bicycle will not, however, have pinstriping, wheel reflectors, or a fully enclosed chainguard (I shall use a hockey-stick type chainguard if possible).

Here is a table of specifications:

16/02/05 Began restoration. Stripped bicycle to its component parts. Every single part is either rusty, covered in black greasy mud, or covered in mud and rust. Professor Vugel of Iron Puma Customs was at hand to help with the cleanup. The handlebars are probably the part with the most chrome on, although even they may need replacing. The brake lever guide protuberances have lost half the chrome. Both brake levers are entirely devoid of chrome.

Some of the brake rods are bent but could be straightened and used if required.

I began to clean the front wheel while Vugel worked hard at the rear. After many hours of mud removal and steel-wooling, the rim is much cleaner and the spokes ready for paint (they will, unfortunately, need painting since they look too horrible to leave as they are). I will probably paint the spokes with gloss black Hammerite while leaving the rim chrome, since the paint will be less inclined to stick to the chrome. The front hub is still nice and shiny, so it would be sensible for me to leave it chrome.
The rim worries me, however. There are large patches of rust where the chrome has been removed, and almost all of these patches are on the area where the brakes rub against the rim. It's too expensive to get rechromed, and too much hard work (for the price, and for the price of my time, I could probably buy a new bike instead). For now, I will have to leave it as it is, and let the brakes rub the rust off, and use it often enough for it not to go too rusty again.

Vugel sanded some of the frame down in preparation for painting. It is nowhere near ready for paint yet, however, and so will need more work. Again, a coat of smooth Hammerite is on the cards, possibly lacquered afterwards to protect it a bit.

The front fork cleaned up easily and the crown cover (stainless?) was masked, and the fork sprayed with smooth black Hammerite. It appeared to come up nicely. A couple of hours later, I managed to put a couple of tiny scratches into the bottom of the paintwork by accidentally hitting the garage door with the fork, so I sprayed over it. Hopefully it'll still dry smooth following the second coat.

We tentatively began to clean the front mudguard, and found the paint to be relatively intact. Nevertheless, it was still half-rusty (mainly on the inside), so we started, as usual, to prepare it for a coat of paint. I shall scrape off as much of the rust as I can be bothered to from the insides of the mudguards and just paint them with Hammerite, to try and stem the rust a little and protect them. There's so much rust on the insides, as there is on the rims underneath the rimtape where the tubes sit, that there's not much point in trying to remove it all.

The rear mudguard will require some minor fabrication in the form of new mounts.

And that was about it, really. I returned to London wanting to do more work on the bike, but instead I had to waste time doing this physics degree rubbish that I so foolishly signed up for. Still, I'm looking forward to cleaning all the remaining bits, and painting and reassembling the bike. The Herc shall ride again!

03/03/05 More parts acquired: the chain has been found, minus a link, and a new sprocket and crank arm has been obtained thanks to the excellent Dave Humphrey. The bike still needs new pedals, though.

Also, I have been given two old Dunlop puncture repair kits in tins! Very vintage.

14/03/05 I have taken some pictures of a couple of nice bikes that I've noticed. One, a Pashley, was in London and in excellent condition. Another, a Norman, belongs to my girlfriend's flatmate and is in significantly worse condition. It is, however, 99% complete and it's a shame that it's being left outside to rust. Click the pics to open in new windows.

Pashley bicycle in London. Very good condition indeed.	Notice the beautiful saddle, nasty dent to rear mudguard, and grating anachronisms (plastic dynamo, halogen light, etc)	Beautiful Brooks leather saddle. I am geniuinely surprised noone's stolen this.	Side view of Norman. Apart from the rust, it's in great condition; very complete.
Norman bicycle in Canterbury. A lot of surface rust but most will clean up. Rim rust probably more extensive.	Chainset and rear brake assembly of Norman.	Norman saddle. Unfortunately a bit perished.	Handlebars of Norman, with rod brake levers. Really nice.

22/03/05 I have been restoring the bike a little more. I've cleaned and painted the rear brake stirrup, painted the lugs on the handlebars for the brake levers, cleaned the stirrup guides, painted half of one of the cranks (I'll have to paint it all because it looks rubbish), and painted the brake levers. Prof Vugel helped free up the bell mechanism, and my father had previously painted the frame and mudguards for me. I soaked the bearings and races in thinners to remove the grease, and they came out quite clean. I haven't taken the bearings themselves out yet. Some of the bearings will be pitted but some sets should be usable.

Today I journeyed to Paul Cycles in Surbiton, Surrey, where cyclesofyesteryear.com is also based. I found the shop easily enough but, upon arrival, the first set of doors did not open. This was because Paul himself was away for "10 minutes". He eventually arrived, despite being more than 10 minutes (it didn't matter), and I set about asking for some parts.

The shop itself is quite small but full of stuff, including over 10 vintage bikes, not to mention the selection of reproduction roadsters in the warehouse, which I unfortunately didn't see. My shopping list was thus:

26x1 3/8" tyres x2
26x1 3/8" tubes x2, standard valve (AV)
Pair pedals
Rod brake blocks x4
Link for chain
Rim tapes
Nose cone for front mudguard
Clip for rear mudguard (which I forgot to ask for)
Front rod brake ball joint
Front rod brake guides x2 (because I've lost one and so need a replacement pair)

Paul handed me a pair of nice-looking Michelin tyres, which were £7.50 each and I couldn't afford them. I opted for the standard £5 non-Michelin offerings, which looked very similar, but with a different tread pattern.

The complete set of stuff came to more than £28.26, which was all I had, so I had to omit the mudguard nose cone, the rod brake piece and the rear mudguard clip (which I'd forgotten anyway). All in all it came to £27 and Paul threw in the pair of rubber rim tapes for free.

This is a splendid shop and is run by a smashing fellow, so I strongly recommend it for all your vintage bicycle needs. The link, once again, is www.cyclesofyesteryear.com .

Here's some pictures of the bike so far. Click the pics to open them, full size, in new windows:

Painted frame	Painted mudgards. Oxide primer still visible on nose cone, I'll paint it silver.	Cleaned handlebars	Handlebars, with brake lever lugs painted
Brake guides. Left one is muddy and rusty, right one has been wirebrushed.	New parts: Pedals, tubes, tyres, brake blocks, guides, rim tapes, chain link	Rear (left) and front wheels. Notice the difference in rust between the two: the front one has been cleaned.	Rear (left) and front wheels.

27/03/05 It is possible that the bottom bracket was manufactured by BSA and added to the frame, when the bike was built, by Hercules (thanks Chris from oldroads.com).

Upon taking the bearings from the thinners, I found that most of the 1/8" (headset) bearing balls were badly pitted, and about half the crank bearing balls (1/4") were also. Luckily, there were some new 1/4" balls in the garage drawers, and I bought a new set of 1/8" headset balls from Halfords for £2 (£1 per 50 balls, about 60 needed).

There are four headset races. One is in the form of a nut which screws onto the threaded part of the fork headtube, and it is this that determines the tightness of the headset bearings. Two are identical standard races, which sit in the race holders which are set into the frame (these cups can probably be replaced but they have been painted over and are quite securely stuck in the headtube). The final race is similar to these two, but has a slightly larger interior diameter in order for it to be slotted over the slightly wider part of the fork headtube, such that it sits on the crown cover instead of being stuck on the fork. It took me a while to work out why I couldn't fit all the components onto the headset, and it transpired that this larger inner diameter was the reason. In total, then, there are two complete bearing sets in the headset.

Two of these races were quite pitted and two were alright. I sanded these two smooth as best as I could be bothered to, and armed with some Rocol bearing grease and the new balls, set about reassembling the headset.

06/04/05 Updating on the past two weeks' work.

This is the front fork.	Putting the balls in the races. Fiddly work when wearing gloves. Another way of doing this is to get your hands greasy and wash them afterwards!	Headset, bearings assembled.	Screwing upper top race onto the fork headtube, balls visible in lower top race.
Tightening the upper top race.	Close-up of order of parts at the top of the headset.	Closeup of the left-hand side of the bottom bracket, "BSA" just visible to right of lock ring.	Headset assembled, handlebars inserted, and brake levers also attached.
Assembling the Headstock: parts laid out	How the bike will look...

I cleaned the bottom bracket bearing cups. The bottom bracket consists of three main parts: the crank axle, the right bearing cup and the left bearing cup. Also included are the 1/4" bearing balls and the lock-ring. All of this is attached to the bracket casing, which is part of the frame.

Procedure for rebuilding the bottom bracket:

1. Lay frame down, right-hand side facing down.
2. Take right bearing cup. Place cup on floor, cup-side up. Grease the cup (I used Rocol MTX 1000 bearing grease).
3. Stand axle in the hole in the bearing cup, taking care to put axle the right way round: the longer side of the axle goes on the chain side (in this case, the right).
4. Insert new bearing balls (in this case, 1/4" balls) into the cup.
5. Move the cup up the axle, so that the flange on the axle holds the balls in the cup. Spin the axle in the cup to test the smoothness of the balls and spread the grease around in the bearing.
6. Pick up the frame (or get someone else to). From below, insert the cup/axle/balls assembly into the bottom bracket casing itself and screw in the right cup (in this case, it had a left-hand thread).
7. Taking care to ensure the axle is always applying pressure to the right-hand bearing, thus holding the balls in the cup, turn the frame over and rest it on the ground by the left-hand end of the axle. This will push the right cup onto the axle and hold the balls in. Don't knock it over.
8. Take the left-hand cup. Grease the inside.
9. Lift the frame by the axle and place the left-hand cup under the axle cup-side up, then let the frame stand on the axle such that the axle is in the hole in the left cup.
10. Insert the bearing balls into the left cup.
11. Lift the left cup, including balls, and screw it into the bottom bracket casing. Screw it hand-tight. Do not tighten it with a spanner.
12. The balls will now stay in their cups, thanks to the axle, with no pressure, so the frame can be lifted and the bracket tightened. Ensure that the right cup is as tight as it will go: loosen the left cup so that the right one can be tightened without crushing the ball bearings.
13. Screw the lock ring onto the left cup.
14. Tighten the left cup such that the axle spins smoothly with minimal play. Screw the lock-ring on, hand-tight. Using a special spanner for tightening this kind of nut (see bottom bracket picture above), or a hammer and suitable chisel, tighten the lock-ring. The left cup may have to be loosened slightly before doing this if the lock-ring tightens the cup as it goes. It may take a few tries!

Wheels

Once the bottom bracket had been rebuilt, along with the headstock, I had to attach the wheels. When I got the bike, the wheels were muddy and rusty, with perished tyres and tubes, and the rim tapes had essentially dissolved. I had to buy new tyres, tubes and tapes, and although the rims also needed replacing, I couldn't afford to get new ones. Instead, I cleaned them up as best I could, using steel wool, a wire wheel on a drill, assorted wire brushes, sandpaper for the spokes, and chrome polish.

I wanted the wheels to have black spokes, as I thought it would look quite mean when in motion, as the spokes would seem to disappear. I masked off the hubs and rims with masking tape - a time consuming process, but an essential one if the wheels were to look good. I sprayed them with black smooth Hammerite spray paint, which was a waste, as most of the paint went straight past the spokes. This was a cheaper method than buying a whole new tin of brush-on Hammerite for £5, since I already had the spray.

The results were good: the wheels do, indeed, look mean and clean. It took a long time to clean and prepare them for paint but it was worth it. Only the rust on the rims let them down, although the wire wheel seemed to "polish" the black rust quite nicely.

The rear Sturmey hub, having been greased by Prof Vugel and subsequently overtightened, was very stiff. The grease was a bit too thick so I "watered it down" a little with some WD40. The majority of the grease still remains, however. Don't worry! It won't seize up just yet.

Mudguards

Next, I attached the mudguards, as painted by my father. The front one used slightly different paint to the back, and has a shinier finish. The stays are also painted black, and are attached to the front and rear dropouts by the standard sort of screws that seem to be in use across this bike. The top mounting and right stay on the front mudguard needed to be bent slightly in order to push the guard into shape, and the once-chrome "bullet" tip to the front guard is still primer-coloured. I have asked the lovely Chelle to paint it white with black swirly designs on it, lending the cycle a nice touch of originality.

The rear mudguard once had a chromed clip at the top, attaching it to the seat stays. This was rusted through and when I got the bike, the guard was held up by a piece of wire. When buying the chain, I also bought a clip to replace this, although I found it to be too small, got my money back for it, and made a new clip (as seen in the photo) instead. Well, when I say "made" a new clip, I mean I "bent a completely different clip into the right sort of shape" and used that.

Pedals / Chain

The new pedals and new chainwheel fit nicely, but the cotter pins didn't. Sheldon Brown (the man, the legend) explains on his website that it is often necessary to file the flats on the cotter pins to fit, which is what I had to do.

The original chain had been cut, and was no longer long enough anyway, as I found, much to my annoyance, after removing the broken links and trying to attach it. This was probably due to a possibly greater number of teeth on the chainwheel. So, I went out and bought a new chain for £5 from a shop in Dunstable, run by a slightly grumpy gentleman, along with a clip for the rear mudguard, which didn't fit (see above).

The chain needed four less links, so I removed them and fitted it, and it almost fit, in that it was a little too loose when the rear axle was tightened at the very rear of the horizontal dropout.

Brakes

The rod brakes, while beautiful, are a right pain in the arse to install and adjust. Having cleaned the chrome and painted the bare steel, I started with assembling the front brake:

Parts required: Brake lever (right), returner spring (right), lever cam thing with square hole (front brake), washer, nut.
Tools required: Spanner, rubber band, pliers, 3-in-1 oil

1. Insert front brake lever (right) into its mountings on the handlebars.
2. Slide return spring onto the lever at the threaded end.
3. Slide lever cam thing with square hole onto the same end, but don't locate the square hole over the squared end of the lever just yet.
4. Slide on the small washer.
5. Screw on the nut, but don't tighten it.
6. Hold the brake lever in the slightly-applied position with a rubber band.
7 . With a pair of pliers, grasp the spring so that both its ends are squeezed together, and with other hand (or with an assistant), locate the lever cam thing onto the square so that the bent end of the spring engages on the correct side of it.
8. Before releasing pliers, tighten the nut.
9. Release pliers. The lever should now spring back into the "brakes released" position when you pull it and let go.

I applied some 3-in-one oil to the lever guide lugs and the return spring.

I then assembled the front stirrup assembly., including cam-thing-to-stirrup rod, stirrup, bolt to hold stirrup to rod, brake pads, and front stirrup guides. The new stirrup guides fit well, but were slightly shorter than the old ones. Moving these guides up and down the fork causes the stirrup to be squeezed inwards more or less, so the position of the pads on the cross-section of the rim can be adjusted thus. I also used washers to move the pads inwards, nearer to the spokes.

I didn't have any rear stirrup guides, having lost one, so I couldn't completely put the rear brake together. I did, however, assemble the front section of the rear brake mechanism using much the same procedure as above.

Saddle

The vinyl-covered mattress saddle was a mess. It was very rusty and the foam in it was nasty and crumbly. Therefore, I disassembled the saddle, removed the rust with a wire wheel-and-drill combo, cleaned the chrome (where it remained) with steel wool, painted the bare steel parts with silver Hammerite brush-on, brushed the crumbly dusty stuff off the foam, fabric and plastic parts of the saddle, and put it all back together. It looks a hell of a lot nicer than it did, even though the paint has obviously been brushed on, although two of the rivets holding the plastic covering to the frame are missing.

Since the seatpost clamp bolt was rusty and the nut missing, I decided to just use an M8 bolt, nut and washer to secure the saddle. It works, but is difficult to tighten. The saddle is not entirely comfortable: for this, I need a worn-in Brooks leather saddle.

Sturmey-Archer

The cycle has a 1962 Sturmey-Archer 3-speed internal-geared rear hub. It is operated by a trigger shifter located on the right handlebar, connected via a Bowden cable, sheath terminating halfway along the top tube, to a pulley attached to the seat tube, where the cable continues down to the indicator chain, which in turn is connected to the gears in the hub. Third gear is engaged by default, when the cable is at its slackest and the indicator chain fully in, with second gear when the chain is two-thirds out, and first gear when the indicator chain is pulled fully out.

Lights

It doesn't yet have lights, but I'd like to add them if I find any suitable ones.

Test ride

With everything cleaned, painted, assembled and adjusted (apart from the rear brake), it was time to test the bicycle! This was, of course, the most fun part of the whole exercise, and yielded a great sense of achievement to have brought this old cycle back from the grave (it was in a skip, waiting to die!).

Modifications

The front brake needed further adjustment.
The rear axle was easily pulled forward by the force of the chain, and subsequently...
The chain began to jump cogs, so it needed to be tighter in the first place. Removing two links would cause the chain to be so tight that the axle would be right at the front of its dropouts - not a desirable configuration, so I went to a cycle shop in Leighton Buzzard to purchase an outer-to-inner chain link convertor for 65p. Once installed, the chain could be properly tightened with the axle near the rear end of its dropouts.
The rear brake has not yet been attached.

The Penultimate Photo Gallery - in-motion photographs by Michelle Goode

Getting there... after attaching wheels	Front wheel	Front and rear brake mechanisms (part of)	Rear mudguard clip
Rear wheel, especially hub	Sturmey cable pulley	Inspecting front brake before test ride	Bicycle before test ride
Off we go!	Riding bicycle	Zoomed out, as before	Bicycle before test ride
Riding away	Riding along	Riding past	Riding past (again)
Still riding...	Cycling along	Inspecting front brake	Cycling past

To do

Attach rear brake - Completed!
Fit a Brooks saddle
Find and attach suitable lights
Find original Hercules chainwheel
Paint front mudguard "bullet" tip
Replace rims?
Replace parts of Sturmey?
Replace pitted ballraces?
Obtain black leather tool bag for saddle
Replace rear mudguard clip with genuine part
Add the final photo gallery
Cycle around with glee!