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I Picked Up My Next Bike Build

2020-10-31T20:33

A hobby of mine along with building keyboards, is restoring old bikes. I've done a few Gazelle's, and more recently, a Malvern Star.

Since reading the Jim Fitzpatrick book, "The Bicycle and the Bush" I've wanted an Australian pre-1950s single-speed. Something similar to that which is pictured on the cover.

Last night, I picked up just what I wanted, a Hartley. It was built in Bendigo from what I can only guess as some time between 1920-1940. It seems that their shop still exist, but are now a hunting and fishing store. The previous owner ob the bike told me that it came from Bendigo and had had been sitting for years. I expect the bike was made in the Bendigo workshop. If I give the shop a call, I could probably find out when they stopped building bikes there the get an upper-bound on its age.

Some details of the bike:

Non-chromed bars or peddles. (Chrome was invented in 1928 and widely used on bicycles by about 1930).

ISO630 rims. I expect they would originally have been ISO642.

The rear hub is two-speed free-wheel on one side, and fixed-wheel on the other.

Non-original saddle. Despite how it looks, its not leather, its plastic. I guess from the 60s or 70s.

Side-pull rim breaks. The cable guide on the frame looks original, but I doubt the breaks or the lever are.

Given all that, I estimate the bike is probably from sometime between 20s or 30s and that the wheels, breaks and saddle were replaced in the 60s. It could be earlier, but I don't know — bikes that old are rare.

When I start pulling it apart, I'll be interested to see what I can find. In the past, I've had luck dating bikes from their hubs, but I don't think these are original.

References

The Bicycle and the Bush

Hartley Cycles @ aussievellos.net

Images