Mid 40's BSA (?) with Lauterwasser bars: "The Dreadnought"

[Jonny69]

Re: 1950-1953 (?) New Hudson. Or is it a Raleigh?

I commuted on it this morning, 10 miles each way. It definitely weighs 16kg. No doubt about it

But it barrels along once it's moving. 3 gears, so it's got plenty of legs. I went through my local speed camera read-out display thing at 24mph compared to my normal 22mph on my fixed gear bikes that I usually commute on. I'll see what I can stretch it out to on the way home since it's slightly downhill and I'll have the wind and gearing on my side too

 

[Goldie]

Re:

It must have looked (and felt) superb, steaming along at nearly 30 mph on the beastie.

 

[jon w]

How are the brakes???? The ones on my Sun are "interesting"....

 

[Jonny69]

They need a fair old squeeze, but it'll stop. I had one emergency stop but it didn't let me down. I think with new brake blocks they would be pretty good. The rims are in good condition, which probably helps a lot.

 

[quiet mike]

What a great bike! I have something with a very similar frame ... It was slightly easier to identify as it was written on the seat tube ...
Anyway, I've just dug out a few photos ... It's a bitza but mainly a 1934 Raleigh Sports Model. So even though yours does not have the famous dimple forks, don't rule it out. If yours isn't a Raleigh, it probably is a similar vintage.


Raleigh Sports Model by zombikombi1959, on Flickr


unidentified front brake by zombikombi1959, on Flickr


raleigh_sports_model_003 by zombikombi1959, on Flickr


arrival at work by zombikombi1959, on Flickr

 

[Jonny69]

Well I've neglected this bike a bit due to storage issues and it was living outside for a bit longer than I wanted. I've had a rearrange to give it some shed space. I really want to ride it a bit more but it's a bit cumbersome in its current guise, so it's also time for a few changes. I've just serviced these early '50s British-made 'Resilion' large flange hubs:



Tatty chrome, fixed on one side and free on the other with space for 3 or 4 gears. Probably paid way too much for them but they're going to transform this bike into a real contender. I'll lace them into the existing rims so I can ride it fixed gear like my other bikes. The rest is going in a crate in the loft so it doesn't get separated.

 

[Spokesmann]

I love the look of those hubs. Will be stunning when cleaned up and fitted.

 

[Jonny69]

That's about as cleaned up as they can go because there is a bit of surface rust in the chrome. It's going to sound a bit tragic, but I really wanted some like these over an immaculate pair because they'll suit the bike better!

 

[Spokesmann]

That's about as cleaned up as they can go because there is a bit of surface rust in the chrome. It's going to sound a bit tragic, but I really wanted some like these over an immaculate pair because they'll suit the bike better!

I'll get my coat!

 

[Jonny69]

Re:

I'm pretty sure I've made some progress in identifying the bike. As I suspected, the outline of the badge on the head tube would be the clue:

(edit 25/01/2023: original image is lost but it was the faint outline of whatever badge was on the headtube)

This has taken some digging, but none of the usual Raleigh/Triumph/BSA badges are that shape at any point through the 30s, 40s or 50s despite many of us on here thinking it was from that group. I was looking for a dome top, maybe a warrior helmet or something looking off to the right and some kind of pointy bottom to it, so maybe a shield. By accident I stumbled across this head badge that fitted the shape perfectly, on an American site selling head badges:


(edit 25/01/2023: original image is lost but it was the 'The Gazelle' badge on the second row. This image from here)

There's a one-liner on Sheldon Brown about Gazelle which merely states 'A Raleigh brand introduced in 1938. This became the primary name of Raleigh's subsidiary in the Netherlands'. I'm quite happy now that it's a Gazelle by the Raleigh group, but it's not a 'Raleigh Gazelle'. The 1938 US Raleigh catalogue has the Raleigh Gazelle and, although it's a hand drawing, it's clearly wearing a Raleigh head badge. On the Major Taylor site where I found this image, it states 'Brass Gazelle headbadge produced by the Raleigh Bicycle Co. in Nottingham England. This rare model was produced in the 1950's by Raleigh, and is not the famous Dutch company'. Mine isn't a dutch bike and doesn't fit any of the descriptions of the Dutch company's bikes, despite them apparently being imported from Raleigh in Nottingham. There really is no other information about Gazelles.