Bike Identification Assistance?

[blekkja]

Hi. Sorry if this is the wrong place for this - I didn't see a section for people with annoying questions about 50 year old plus town bikes. Mods: move it as you see fit. Hopefully somebody on here could have some idea.

I recently acquired this:

My local bike shop was selling this on behalf of an estate. One owner since new, but nobody seemed to know much about it. Looks good, rides even better. Obviously a lot of love has gone into keeping this in perfect order. The shop owner's guess was that this is a 1940s era Hercules.

Can't seem to find any serial or identification on the frame. It has been repainted a few times - if there are any ideas on exact locations I will have a closer look. The pump is definitely "Made In England" and the front hub is "British Made, Patent 2640". Rear hub seems a little newer than the front and has "Velamos" printed on it - Czech?

Thought I would go out and get some more photos of distinctive bits that might jog somebody's memory. Forgive me - as I'm not feeling like sleep I have instead gotten into my mind that I will sort this little conundrum out. Consequently it is dark and photos aren't as good as they could be.

If you want to see close ups of any other part of the bike, or anything else, just let us know.

Oh: Frame is 22"ish, wheels are 28x1.5

Thanks for your time, sorry for the pain.

Reuben.

 

[keithglos]

Bikes were made by numerous makers from the same components.
Yours looks to me to be early 1930's, after chrome plating started.
The cast bottom bracket is unlikely to be post WW2. The cottered bracket shell ( referring to the pins locking the bearing cups) was only used post war on some carrier bikes.
The williams 5 pin type chainset with flanged chainring was used on some slightly better bikes. Could be something like Comrade Cycles, who manufactured for Vindec and others, (Brown Brothers) wholesalers, catalogues are on line from early 30's.
The Major Taylor type handlebar extension and handlebar has obviously been added.
The rear hub appears to be the sole brake, so this bike could have been locally assembled from imported parts. Bikes for the UK market had 2 independent brakes.