Help needed to ID Claud Bulter (road/path)

[spog47]

Hi all, Can anyone please help me ID the age of my Claud Bulter Road/Path bike i've been on various websites (nkilgariff) but can't seem to find one that looks the same ( frame no: 31403) the frame doesn't seem to have any lugs, it's got chrome forks and rear chain strays. PS ive tried uploading pictures but cant seem to do it sorry.

Does this frame number make any sense to anybody ?

 

[keithglos]

Detail sharp pictures would help. CB made a few bronze welded frames in the late 1030s, and developed this post war when materials were in short supply. Also bi-laminates were broze welded, now called fillet brazed. Generally plain bronze welded frames were in his lower priced range.

Keith

 

[spog47]

Sorry for the delay with the photos, a couple of before and after shots, It's still a on going project.

 

[keithglos]

Re:

It looks a typical club/time trial bike from about 1950/1. Chater chainset and BH airlite or Powell hubs show quality also.

Keith

 

[OldTel]

Re:

Hi, a difficult one, as Keith has pointed out it looks like 1950/51 as the wrapover stay, started around then, and lugless was a popular option, but the pump fittings under the top tube was popular later on in the decade - added on ? Can you double check the serial number, the year and month can be a separate set of three digits, i.e 501. Terry

 

[Wheelnut]

Looks 1940s, possibly a c1949 International Path model, but it's definitely classy. I have seen that style of frame lining on 1940s Clauds. The International Path was a low temperature welded frame which we would now call fillet brazed. This model is not illustrated in the 1949 catalogue but there is a description. The bracket on the top tube is for a saddle support bracket, so it was clearly intended to be used on the track. Most riders had dual purpose machines, hence the pump pegs. CB welded frames usually had a separate clip-on seat post clamp, but not always.

Note that catalogue pictures can be misleading as they would not necessarily produce a new drawing for small changes.

If it were 1950s there would be a second number of 3 or 4 digits beneath the bottom bracket, giving the year and month. 549 for example would be sept '54.

Some CB path models used an oversized 1 1/8 top tube (same diameter as the other main frame tubes). Does this one?

 

[spog47]

Thanks Gents for all the info, i'll have a look at the frame number again and measure the top tube.

 

[Wheelnut]

Re:

I must congratulate you on the restoration. Not over-restored, which can be a temptation.

Almost all the cycle parts look in period, apart from the handlebar stem and perhaps the bars. The Weinmann brakes came in to the UK in about 1950, so although the front brake is probably a later addition, it may be original. Early ones had much larger 'Weinmann' lettering which was stamped into the calliper after casting, rather than incorporated in the die-casting.

I have just looked more closely at the seat cluster and noted the very nice wrap over stays, which again points to a high quality frame. These were more in vogue in the 1950s, but were seen in the 1940s also.