Committing forgery: A Faux Rudge Autocycle build.
- Thread starter Intrepid Wheelwoman
- Start date
There are 18 holes on each side of the fender and from the center of one hole to the center of the next is 1 7/8".
SB
SB
Interesting idea Ludwig, but not for this bike. Might be something I'd try on a frankenbike made with mostly modernish parts though.
Thanks for the measurement details SB. I'll measure up my rear mudguard today and see how it looks.
A repop Brooks badge for the saddle is presently on its way to me
Thanks for the measurement details SB. I'll measure up my rear mudguard today and see how it looks.
A repop Brooks badge for the saddle is presently on its way to me
Attachments
I've been able to get some better mudguards on e.bay France. They're really nice NOS steel Robineau mudguards and I was really surprised that I got them so cheap and that no-one bid against me
The profile is better for an autocycle which means that my two NOS Rudge bicycle mudguards can go back into their wrappers again and be kept for another project..
The profile is better for an autocycle which means that my two NOS Rudge bicycle mudguards can go back into their wrappers again and be kept for another project..
Attachments
Those fenders look good for the job, but I would immediately replace those "rivets". They are just bent over strips of sheetmetal, yikes!
The fenders are impressive. They have a great early look to them and will help keep the Rudge feel alive.
Steve.
Steve.
First off let me apologise for the quality of the pictures. Today was not a good day for me with just plain being exhausted as well as having a lot of joint and muscle discomfort. I spent most of the day in bed to tell the complete truth, but once the sun when down and the temperatures cooled I decided to get out of my pyjamas and into my working on bike clothes.
I had a good session with the faux Rudge and took a lot of photos, - only I didn't realise that my hands were shaking slightly due to muscle tremor and most of the photos were just plain awful. Back to the doctor again this week and hopefully something can be done.
Out of interest I thought I'd try a China Girl kit petrol tank on the Rudge and after a thoughtful stare I decided that I'd use it afterall. Now that I'm using a Villiers carburettor I was able to ease the two top frame tubes back closer together with the result that a China Girl petrol tank fits just fine. Once again I committed forgery by putting a Villiers decal on the tank and I must say it looks really good.
Now there's various brackets to make and some of those will have to wait until the new mudguards arrive. Once I'm sure the frame doesn't need anything more doing to it I'll strip the bike right down and prime and paint the frame. The frame will be black and I will keep the new mudguards in their silver paint for a contrast.
I had a bit of luck with finding a Rudge bicycle tax disc for 1962 and that will be going on the bike just for fun.
I had a good session with the faux Rudge and took a lot of photos, - only I didn't realise that my hands were shaking slightly due to muscle tremor and most of the photos were just plain awful. Back to the doctor again this week and hopefully something can be done.
Out of interest I thought I'd try a China Girl kit petrol tank on the Rudge and after a thoughtful stare I decided that I'd use it afterall. Now that I'm using a Villiers carburettor I was able to ease the two top frame tubes back closer together with the result that a China Girl petrol tank fits just fine. Once again I committed forgery by putting a Villiers decal on the tank and I must say it looks really good.
Now there's various brackets to make and some of those will have to wait until the new mudguards arrive. Once I'm sure the frame doesn't need anything more doing to it I'll strip the bike right down and prime and paint the frame. The frame will be black and I will keep the new mudguards in their silver paint for a contrast.
I had a bit of luck with finding a Rudge bicycle tax disc for 1962 and that will be going on the bike just for fun.
Attachments
A real worry has been locating new tyres for the faux Rudge. I like skinny 26 x 1 3/8 rims and tyres on my old bikes and as time has gone by my hoarded collection of useable tyres has dwindled away. A local trader has a small number of whitewall tyres in this size, but at over $NZ30.00 each I'm just a wee bit reluctant to go and buy any. Not to mention that the last four repop whitewalls I purchased some time ago didn't like fitting properly on English Westwood pattern rims.
The place to buy 26 x 1 3/8 tyres is of course China as this sensible size is still in use in that vast and mysterious land. On my first attempt at buying tyres from a Chinese wholesaler my efforts were rewarded by a very polite email informing me that the smallest quantity I could buy was 1000 units. Even if I rode my bikes 24 hours a day, 7 days a week I don't think I could manage to use up that many tyres before being called to glory, - so I declined. The price per tyre was very very good though and if I was a younger woman with her intrepidness still undented I may have considered becoming a bicycle tyre importer.
However i have found another supplier with good prices who can supply small quantities so I'm going to put a modest little order together which will mean some of my older English lightweights will be able to return to the road again. And the faux Rudge will be able to have new tyres to replace those oh so fragile 1950s Dunlops she's wearing at the moment.
The only problem is that the tyres are grey, a small problem true, but I think I can live with it.
The place to buy 26 x 1 3/8 tyres is of course China as this sensible size is still in use in that vast and mysterious land. On my first attempt at buying tyres from a Chinese wholesaler my efforts were rewarded by a very polite email informing me that the smallest quantity I could buy was 1000 units. Even if I rode my bikes 24 hours a day, 7 days a week I don't think I could manage to use up that many tyres before being called to glory, - so I declined. The price per tyre was very very good though and if I was a younger woman with her intrepidness still undented I may have considered becoming a bicycle tyre importer.
However i have found another supplier with good prices who can supply small quantities so I'm going to put a modest little order together which will mean some of my older English lightweights will be able to return to the road again. And the faux Rudge will be able to have new tyres to replace those oh so fragile 1950s Dunlops she's wearing at the moment.
The only problem is that the tyres are grey, a small problem true, but I think I can live with it.
Attachments
Wheelwoman:
The tires you seek are best identified on the internet by the ISO description:
37-590
If you search for that number online you will find that there are still tires in that size. Schwalbe makes the excellent Marathon Plus HS438 in that size, and the more affordable Delta Cruiser. Kenda also makes a 37-590 tire.
How bad do you get taxed on ordering from vendors outside of NZ?
The tires you seek are best identified on the internet by the ISO description:
37-590
If you search for that number online you will find that there are still tires in that size. Schwalbe makes the excellent Marathon Plus HS438 in that size, and the more affordable Delta Cruiser. Kenda also makes a 37-590 tire.
How bad do you get taxed on ordering from vendors outside of NZ?
That metric tape measure is a real groove, Intrepid Wheelwoman. It's blowing my mind.....
I wish we'd go metric here in the USA. If only because measuring and cutting in millimeters
is a whole lot more convenient for hobby carpenters and metal workers like myself.
I wish we'd go metric here in the USA. If only because measuring and cutting in millimeters
is a whole lot more convenient for hobby carpenters and metal workers like myself.
Thanks for the tip about ISO descriptions FFV8
As a private citizen I don't get taxed provided a parcel is under $500.00 in value. Or at least that's how it's worked out for me so far. The only time I've ever had to pay duty is back when I was still building garden scale railway models and I imported a large quantity of castings from the US. Ever since then I've just made sure to keep any individual orders small and lower in value so that I don't have to pay the government anything.
Most of the better Chinese vendors do free shipping deals to New Zealand and provided you don't mind bike parts & etc arriving on a slow boat it works out really well. At the moment I've got a nice leather saddle for my Wu Yang/Solex and a pair of tyres for the Rudge on order and they should arrive in about 15-20 days.
BGW, New Zealand went metric quite a few years ago now, but having been through the primary school system as a kiddie learning the Imperial system and then having to change over to metrics in high school I still find myself using imperial measurements for some jobs. In the kitchen I still mostly use the imperial system because I learned most of my culinary skills from Mum who of course was very non-metric in her thinking. For lathework and similar precision work I still use thousandths of an inch because it's actually easier than the metric equivalent. Otherwise metrics are good and work out really well for everyday use.
Attachments
I use Kenda. Price is good, traction is good for my motorized bike, they're lasting a while and seem pretty durable, I still have good tread depth and I've had them three years. I wish I could tell you how many miles...or rather kilometers.
It was all small jobs tonight. The repop Brooks badge is now on the saddle and the throttle lever control arrived in the post today and that's now in place on the handlebars.
I'd had a look around in the garage and found two other early bike luggage racks, but decided to stay with the blacksmith special because I just like its handmade appearance which I think adds a bit of a personal touch to the build.
I wanted a better stand, but the really nice genuine vintage Raleigh alloy one I've got in the 'stores' wouldn't fit the frame, so I made do with an all steel mainstand from a 1960's Raleigh bicycle. This might need some further adjusting to be 100% reliable (0% fall over factor), but I think it will work out fine.
Did the final bits of sawing and filing of the remains of the frame braze-ons and finally the frame is nice and uncluttered. Last night I removed the original bottom bracket bearings and shaft and it was plain that grease had never been near them ever. I don't actually think the bike that donated this Mixte frame had ever seen much use and it had been left to rot in some shed until it was finally tossed in the dump.
Up until now I'd planned on painting the frame black, but after discovering that the badly damaged and thickly handpainted ladies Rudge frame I have was originally painted a lovely metallic blue I've changed my mind. Everyone expects a Rudge to be black, but this one won't be. I really like that blue
It's just the petrol tank mountings to take care of now and then I'll strip the frame down for painting. I received an email a couple of days ago to say that the mudguards I purchased on ebay are on their way so it's all coming together nicely.
I'd had a look around in the garage and found two other early bike luggage racks, but decided to stay with the blacksmith special because I just like its handmade appearance which I think adds a bit of a personal touch to the build.
I wanted a better stand, but the really nice genuine vintage Raleigh alloy one I've got in the 'stores' wouldn't fit the frame, so I made do with an all steel mainstand from a 1960's Raleigh bicycle. This might need some further adjusting to be 100% reliable (0% fall over factor), but I think it will work out fine.
Did the final bits of sawing and filing of the remains of the frame braze-ons and finally the frame is nice and uncluttered. Last night I removed the original bottom bracket bearings and shaft and it was plain that grease had never been near them ever. I don't actually think the bike that donated this Mixte frame had ever seen much use and it had been left to rot in some shed until it was finally tossed in the dump.
Up until now I'd planned on painting the frame black, but after discovering that the badly damaged and thickly handpainted ladies Rudge frame I have was originally painted a lovely metallic blue I've changed my mind. Everyone expects a Rudge to be black, but this one won't be. I really like that blue
It's just the petrol tank mountings to take care of now and then I'll strip the frame down for painting. I received an email a couple of days ago to say that the mudguards I purchased on ebay are on their way so it's all coming together nicely.
Attachments
Last edited:
AllenWrench:
Miles are just fine by me. I have never been a metric fan, much of my life has been spent machining things with decimal inch measurements.
The tire manufactures have moved to metric dimensions decades ago. Nobody buys a 7.50-15 tire in the US anymore. The other issue is internet searching for fractions. The search algorithms deal with whole numbers better, and will miss some items because of spacing when typing fractions.
Wheelwoman:
I like the blue. Not a bad choice at all. Good to know the govt cuts you a little slack on incoming parts. Looks like you are a ways from Auckland, do you get most things via post, or services like FedEx?
Miles are just fine by me. I have never been a metric fan, much of my life has been spent machining things with decimal inch measurements.
The tire manufactures have moved to metric dimensions decades ago. Nobody buys a 7.50-15 tire in the US anymore. The other issue is internet searching for fractions. The search algorithms deal with whole numbers better, and will miss some items because of spacing when typing fractions.
Wheelwoman:
I like the blue. Not a bad choice at all. Good to know the govt cuts you a little slack on incoming parts. Looks like you are a ways from Auckland, do you get most things via post, or services like FedEx?
I stay away from cities as much as I possibly can, - especially Auckland as the roading network and motorways were never designed to carry the volume of traffic they're carrying now. Far too many angry and impatient people driving much too fast.
Yes pretty much everything I buy from outside the little country town where I live is either delivered by regular post or one of the courier companies. NZ Post operates their own Courier-post network which acts as an agent for all of the overseas parcel services. In many ways it's just as easy for me to order things from China or France or the UK as it is to buy from an on-line trader here in New Zealand.
"but decided to stay with the blacksmith special because I just like its handmade appearance which I think adds a bit of a personal touch to the build."
For what its' worth, Intrepid Wheelwoman, here's something you might consider for your rear cargo rack. There's nothing 'authentic' about it. But it might be described as 'classic'.
Then build a wooden top frame to go over the sub-frame. A little cutting, sanding and varnishing and it looks okay.
For what its' worth, Intrepid Wheelwoman, here's something you might consider for your rear cargo rack. There's nothing 'authentic' about it. But it might be described as 'classic'.
Then build a wooden top frame to go over the sub-frame. A little cutting, sanding and varnishing and it looks okay.
As you say BGW it's a nice classic design and the sort of thing someone would make for their bike back in the day. I am going to clean up and paint the 'blacksmith rack' as I like to think of it as it's actually a nice size for the Rudge and should be a nice historic feature when the bike is finished.
I rescued it from the local council tip and judging by the things it was tangled up with I'd say it had come from one of the many farms around here.
Update: I thought I was onto a winner when I found two prewar 'lucky seven' seatposts among my vintage bike parts. Only when I tried them for size the seat post tube on the Mixte frame was too small in diameter so they wouldn't fit.
I rescued it from the local council tip and judging by the things it was tangled up with I'd say it had come from one of the many farms around here.
Update: I thought I was onto a winner when I found two prewar 'lucky seven' seatposts among my vintage bike parts. Only when I tried them for size the seat post tube on the Mixte frame was too small in diameter so they wouldn't fit.
Last edited: