The plan is to do a functional restoration, strip it down clean, re-grease, polish and de rust (gently), but to leave the bike with it's patina. There's a few odd looking screws and bolts here and there, which I will replace with something more suitable, the big problem will be the brake pads for the Westwood rims and perhaps finding some suitable tyres.
While the saddle is salvageable, (it has an aluminium frame!) I'm planning to get a Brooks B67 and will look at recovering it later. The gear selector seems a bit limp, though there is no tension in the cable so I will be fiddling with that. The 3 speed hub is stamped with the Hercules Brand, though I think it's nearly identical to the Sturmey Archer ones
Interestingly, with the exception of the Headlamp and the dynamo, everything else is badged Hercules. Even the rear reflector!
I'm yet to actually finalise it's age. Unlike the comparable Raleighs, there's very little information about Hercules production runs available so I'm hoping there's someone out there who can give me some idea.
No comments:
Post a Comment