With me having been unwell for most of our Winter my Hercules tricycle has just sat ignored gathering spider webs and praying mantis egg clusters. Originally a 1990s Indian made Hercules Ladies heavyweight bicycle, I purchased it from an Indian family who had brought it with them from India. I own a completely original condition 1950 English built Ladies Hercules as well and parked side by side it was plain that the two bicycles shared the same design and overall dimensions. The main difference between them, apart from the 1950 model's patina earned through a long and distinguished life well served, was that the quality of all the nuts bolts and general fittings on the Indian bicycle were of a much lower standard.
Purchased with the intention of converting it to a tricycle the Indian Hercules was swiftly taken into the 'works' on its arrival and a tricycle axle intended for custom lowrider bicycles was fitted. A generic Chinese 24volt 250watt hub motor wheel was a major part of the conversion and the other wheel varied between a Sturmey Archer 3 speed coaster hub and a Sachs kickback two speed coaster hub, until I finally decided to go with the Sachs hub. With the addition of a pair of Raleigh mudguards painted green, a modified canework picnic basket, a totally out of date 1930s licence plate and the installation of an aged prewar Bosch bicycle headlamp my Hercules was good to go and quite looked the part.
Unfortunately I didn't have a spare period tail lamp so I had to use a 'make do' lamp from the 1970s.
Since it was put together over three years ago this tricycle has done some very real work and has aquired its own distinguished patina. I made a basic goods tray from a pile of old refrigerator racks and some heavy duty zip ties which I could swap over for the canework basket. In this form the Hercules hauled bags of coal and potting mix, lengths of timber, fencing materials and a good deal of old bicycle parts from the council tip.
The Chinese hub motor has been totally reliable despite some very heavy loads and the two speed Sachs hub has also been a faultless performer; - not too bad for a hub that itself came from the council tip
The one problem with the trike axle I used was that it's not particularly strong and tends to bend. In one of the photos you can see the additional braces I added to it before my Hercules entered service which have proved to be very effective. The other thing is that the drive is taken on a single rolled steel pin and these tend to deform and ultimately break. Checking this pin often is a must-do maintainence item if you don't want to be stranded far from home.
First item on the agenda was replacing the worn out tyre on the motor wheel. The original tyre that came with the motor wheel has done stirling service, but now being bald it has to be retired. I rarely buy tyres, I'm amazed how often bicycles are dumped at the council tip with perfectly good tyres on them. The motorwheel now has a larger profile 'Velociraptor' tyre from a MTB which will work out fine on the varied road surfaces around here.
The original rim fitted to the Sachs hub is an old Raleigh rim for 26 x 1 3/8 tyres which was never really suitable, only I never got around to changing the rim for something better. So if I'm having to strip down the wheel I might as well take the Sachs hub apart and service it too. I have never taken a Sachs hub apart before, - Sturmey Archer yes, - Sachs no, - so this should be interesting.
I also want replace the wooden bracket for the canework basket with something better made from steel. and generally brighten my Hercules up with a new lick of green paint here and there. That awful tail lamp is going too now that I've got something better looking in the 'stores'.
Purchased with the intention of converting it to a tricycle the Indian Hercules was swiftly taken into the 'works' on its arrival and a tricycle axle intended for custom lowrider bicycles was fitted. A generic Chinese 24volt 250watt hub motor wheel was a major part of the conversion and the other wheel varied between a Sturmey Archer 3 speed coaster hub and a Sachs kickback two speed coaster hub, until I finally decided to go with the Sachs hub. With the addition of a pair of Raleigh mudguards painted green, a modified canework picnic basket, a totally out of date 1930s licence plate and the installation of an aged prewar Bosch bicycle headlamp my Hercules was good to go and quite looked the part.
Unfortunately I didn't have a spare period tail lamp so I had to use a 'make do' lamp from the 1970s.
Since it was put together over three years ago this tricycle has done some very real work and has aquired its own distinguished patina. I made a basic goods tray from a pile of old refrigerator racks and some heavy duty zip ties which I could swap over for the canework basket. In this form the Hercules hauled bags of coal and potting mix, lengths of timber, fencing materials and a good deal of old bicycle parts from the council tip.
The Chinese hub motor has been totally reliable despite some very heavy loads and the two speed Sachs hub has also been a faultless performer; - not too bad for a hub that itself came from the council tip
The one problem with the trike axle I used was that it's not particularly strong and tends to bend. In one of the photos you can see the additional braces I added to it before my Hercules entered service which have proved to be very effective. The other thing is that the drive is taken on a single rolled steel pin and these tend to deform and ultimately break. Checking this pin often is a must-do maintainence item if you don't want to be stranded far from home.
First item on the agenda was replacing the worn out tyre on the motor wheel. The original tyre that came with the motor wheel has done stirling service, but now being bald it has to be retired. I rarely buy tyres, I'm amazed how often bicycles are dumped at the council tip with perfectly good tyres on them. The motorwheel now has a larger profile 'Velociraptor' tyre from a MTB which will work out fine on the varied road surfaces around here.
The original rim fitted to the Sachs hub is an old Raleigh rim for 26 x 1 3/8 tyres which was never really suitable, only I never got around to changing the rim for something better. So if I'm having to strip down the wheel I might as well take the Sachs hub apart and service it too. I have never taken a Sachs hub apart before, - Sturmey Archer yes, - Sachs no, - so this should be interesting.
I also want replace the wooden bracket for the canework basket with something better made from steel. and generally brighten my Hercules up with a new lick of green paint here and there. That awful tail lamp is going too now that I've got something better looking in the 'stores'.
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