Thursday, October 28, 2010

Carradice Brochure

A flickr user has posted a copy of the 1959 Carradice brochure

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

CTC Cycling Manual & Year Book

Cyclists Touring Club, 1939

Monday, October 18, 2010

Never Turn Back

Club run, October 17  '10

 The view a mile further along

Friday, October 15, 2010

Fall Camp 2010


Photos by Gary Sanderson

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

The Elswick-Hopper Lincoln Imp

     Among the more fancifully named bicycle models of the past was Elswick-Hopper’s Lincoln Imp. Many present day cyclists know of this 1950s bike through Sheldon Brown’s charming reminiscence of a Lincoln Imp that he owned in youth.

     The bike took its name from a sculpted demon high in the choir of Lincoln Cathedral, which is about thirty miles from Barton-on-Humber, home to Elswick-Hopper’s plant. Such figures, survivals of pre-Christian religions, are common elements in medieval art and architecture. Over the centuries the Imp of Lincoln Cathedral became a symbol of the city of Lincoln. It appears in military insignia and sports team regalia associated with Lincoln, and copies of the Imp long have decorated Lincoln College, Oxford.



A member of the V-CC New England Section rides an Elswick-Hopper Lincoln Imp circa mid-1950s. The frame is of Reynolds 531 plain gauge tubes, and is equipped with some of the better components of its day.

Friday, October 08, 2010

Reynolds ad in CTC Gazette, November 1960

Wednesday, October 06, 2010

Fall Cycling






Monday, October 04, 2010

1957 Maclean

frame: Accles & Pollack Kromo double butted tubing
headset: Brampton Alatet
stem: GB spearpoint
handlebar: GB
saddle: Brooks B.17 Standard
seatpin: Birmalux 27.2
bracket: Bayliss Wiley Featherweight
chainset: Williams 46t
pedals: Raleigh gent's sports
brakes: GB Coureur (f), Weinmann 810 (r)
levers: GB Coureur
hubs: BH Airlite (f), Sturmey-Archer alloy shell AW (r)
rims: Weinmann 26 x 1-1/4
mudguards: Bluemel's Lightweight

     This possibly is Maclean's Eclipse model. The resolution of photos in the company's brochure make it impossible to detect fine differences in lug patterns used in the Eclipse and Club models, but the description of the Eclipse is consistent with the use of Nervex Professional lugs, which are part of this frame.

     This bike was made for a touring cyclist, typical of Maclean's customer base, showing that not every British cyclist of the 1950s was influenced by racing fashions of the day. This frame, still in its original finish, has brazed bosses for a Sturmey-Archer gear cable pulley and a carrier rack, and is built around 26 x 1-1/4 inch tires.


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