OLDEST bike on retrobikes???

[barry2017]

Until recently, my commuter was a 1948 Raleigh Clubman:

 

[velomaniac]

Oldest bike will most likely be won by something road orientated. The main focus on Retrobike is mtb which is limited to late 70's or early 70's if you go BMX.

I have a late 1940's/early 1950's Rudge Whitworth Roadster currently being commuted on as a fixie, unfortunately its just a rebadged Raleigh, I'd prefer something 1920's such as a Humber

 

[graham1975]

The Raleigh Clubman doesnt even have any grips!!!! did you ride it like that?
Them forks have a right bend on them too.
Is something like that comfortable to ride? how heavy are bikes like that?

 

[Tazio]

Until recently, my commuter was a 1948 Raleigh Clubman:

Cable brakes?

It's practically a modern.

 

[Breezin]

A 1935 Hetchins frame I found abandoned:

Awesome! I love those vibrant Hetchins. Art as is.

Interesting lugs. Not so much the pattern, but the fact that the lugs have been chopped quite close to the edge of the adjacent tube junction (see top of seat lug, and head lugs). As this is a little daring (sketchy) structurally, the only reason for this I can think of is to give the appearance of having a larger frame. It gives the illusion of a longer head tube for instance. The "mine's bigger" game is no stranger to bikes.

-Joe

 

[barry2017]

The Raleigh Clubman doesnt even have any grips!!!! did you ride it like that?
Them forks have a right bend on them too.
Is something like that comfortable to ride? how heavy are bikes like that?

Yes. I had grips for a while, then I took them off when I was experimenting with different handlebars.

Forks all used to have that sort of bend in them. Because it also had such slack angles generally, it very comfortable. Much easier to live with on bad roads than a more modern road bike. People used to stop and talk to you when you locked it up, it stood out much better than anything else.

It looks heavy, but it was made of Reynolds 531, so 29lbs all in. Not as light as most high end bikes today, but very few of those will still be around when they're 62 years old. And it was fast; all other things being equal, on tarmac it could wipe the floor with a mountain bike.

My mate's doing it up now. I sold it to him and immediately regretted it. :cry:

 

[Dr S]

My authentic Mt. Tam style Repack Klunker based around a 1935-1937 Schwinn Excelsior. In regular use and surprisingly quick down the black run at Innerleithen last fall. Slack angles, terrible brakes and an all up weight of 40lbs makes it a bike you don't want to be getting in the way of

 

[Breezin]

Looks real clean, Doc.

Try lowering the brake yokes down about 2 to 3 inches. You'll probably need new brake cables, but that will improve performance noticeably.

-Joe

 

[andrewl]

I have a crica 1930 fixed road racing bike which was in regular use up until a few years ago. Photos a little later...

 

[Ductape]

For the most part, almost everything I've got that's Pre 1990..

1941:

1937:

1980:

1983:

1984:

1985:

1986:

1988: