1942 Hobbs of Barbican Superbe - BLRC tribute

[vintagebicycleman]

Hi All,

I got this one out for a bit of exercise today. I bought it some years ago and had it re-commissioned, having read the book 'Ride and be damned!' about the history of the BLRC; I wanted a piece of that history and here it is!

The frameset appears to be largely original finish and it is equipped pretty much as it would have been in period. 4-Speed gears are provided by a Sturmey-Archer AF-9 hub gear. It is fitted with what I believe to be the original Britan-nial alloy Mudguards that have a number K898 painted on them. Could this be a race number?

I don't ride it much as it still runs on a set of very aged Dunlop 'Sprite' Tyres.

I have been thinking I'd part with it but then I look at it and think of all the history attached to it... How can you put a price on that?! It would need to go to a damn good home...

It is a time capsule back to those dark days of WW2 and I love it!

 

[peetee]

Oooh, I like that. Fully functioning with all the patina. I am a bit too precious with my bikes but seeing this makes me want to get by Ellis Briggs built up and paint restoration be damned!

 

[OldTel]

Re:

Hi, that's lovely, and a very rare beast as Hobbs didn't produce many during the war due to the bombing of the shop, so you do have your 'history', I can't recall seeing a Hobbs with a clip type headset post war ( tandems aside ), maybe they dropped them when they moved to Dagenham after the war. It looks great to ride, it does recall a different era, maybe not quite a 'racer' of the day, but enjoy. Thanks Terry

 

[dan73uk]

Re:

Wonderful cycle