1937 James Sports Ace Light Tourist

Time for a bicycle article. This very sweet James I recently finished and passed on. I had bought it a few years back from a junk shop where it had had anything sticking out on its left hand side cut off to make it hang flush to a wall. This included the left pedal (yes, not removed but cut in half!), the handlebars and half of the saddle. It being quite a special and rare cycle I took pity on it and it came home with me.

In an initial flush of enthusiasm I did half the jobs needed on it and then it got neglected for a while. I've recently been having a bit of a clearout and I noted the James as superfluous to needs. I don't like to leave something half done so fininshed off the project first before selling and here is the final result.

What marks this James out as something a little different is James' own brand of gearing which is an epicyclic gear located in the chainwheel, Sunbeam used a similar system for a number of years. It gives two speeds - 1:1 and a low ratio. Also unusual is James' own brand of cantilever brakes.

James made Sports Ace models in several different versions, I've neither seen nor heard of another survivor. The new custodian is a Veteran Cycle Club member and hopefully the bike will get some use on events.

James Sports Ace side view.

I fitted a 'Shuresta' alloy prop stand, it's postwar
but I feel an appropriate accessory.

And here's the rear brake, James' own
cantilever. The brakes are effective but
the rear very stiff to operate as the cable
run is rather torturous.

Sweet streamlined rear reflector and
stylish ribbed mudguards.

James logo on the lamp bracket.

The lines are very thirties and very British.

Constrictor pattern brake levers fitted.
Higher spec than the originals but age
appropriate and I couldn't find a match
for the missing left hand lever.

Harmo 'Fearnaught' push button bell.

The original handlebars were a North
Road pattern but I had these Moustache
type ones which are the correct era and
suit very nicely.

Tail view of the Sports Ace.

That reflector again...

The Schwalbe tyres have a
reflective band which grates slightly, I
didn't know it was there when I ordered
them. Correct metal valve cap - the devil
is in the details!

Downtube lever for the two speed chainwheel.

And the two speed chainwheel up close.

The Phillips pedals are early post war
but are very nice and I already had them
so on they went.

Rear hub. Wingnuts are fitted front and
rear and are Sturmey Archer type.

Brake detail again. The cables have a
nipple at both ends so adjustment is by
means of moving the stop.

I bought this 'Dorset' saddle a little while
back. I've never seen another. I believe it
is made by Lycette - if you put a large
enough order in with them they would logo
your saddle however you liked.

The front Sturmey hub.

And finally the front brake.

Royal Enfield Bicycle website

In the last year I've taken on the role of bicycle and industrial engine archivist for the Royal Enfield Owners Club. I'm slowly getting on top of the role and am beginning to catalogue and scan the material. Copies of material in the archive are available for club members as one of the benefits of membership. I've also however created a website for anyone with an interest in the bicycle products of Royal Enfield as an information resource. There's a whole load of RE bicycle brochures there that are in my personal collection available to view on the site as well as help with identifying and dating your Enfield cycle.

 https://royalenfieldbicycles.wordpress.com/

 

 

Royal Enfield Bullet twin tube bicycle

 

Another bicycle project done and dusted... Really must work on those motorised contraptions too but there was good reason to prioritise this one, it's a nice small frame and will be my daughter's ride in the Benson Veteran Cycle Rally this July. She tagged along last year on her modern bike, enjoyed it and stated a desire to take part on an appropriate cycle the next year, so what's a father to do...?

The cycle is a circa 1935 Royal Enfield Bullet which is notable for the twin top tube design and the fact that the tubes are 'up-sloping'. Really it's a style of frame that was most seen in the 1890s. However in the thirties there was a vogue for quirky frame designs and innovation. The Moorson twin tube had come out in 1926 and was well thought of so perhaps Royal Enfield looked at that for inspiration and designed the Bullet frame to be unusual and instantly recognisable.

Royal Enfield bicycles for many years used the
cannon 'Made Like a Gun' logo on their chainwheels.

The twin tube Bullet is a rare beast and though marketed as a top of the range sportster with fixed gearing it is actually not much of a lightweight and the frame angles are quite relaxed. Royal Enfield offered numerous options across their range and the couple of other twin tube Bullets I have seen have both been fitted with Sturmey Archer gearing.

The cycle has been built up from a bare frame that I've had kicking around for a few years. There were clips on the frame for a Sturmey hub so that is what I've fitted with the bonus that they are very nice in use too. Though the frame is very shabby there are the remnants of the original Bullet transfers on the down tube so I've elected to leave it as it is warts and all. At the risk of sounding pretensious I've gone with the Japanese ethos of 'wabi-sabi' - essentially the philosophy of embracing imperfection. There is a rather horrible repair on the rear lower mudguard bridge that is however structurally sound so I've left it completely as it was as part of the cycle's history.

In keeping with the quirky nature of the frame I've tried to put as many period correct oddball parts on the bike as possible and the end result I believe is quite aesthetically pleasing. Aforementioned daughter has taken it for a test ride and reported back that though slightly challenging compared to her 21 speed modern cycle the ride is good and reasonably lively. So now, just need to fill in and send off that form for the Benson Rally...

  

Here's the Bullet from the 1935 catalogue. The twin
tube Bullet was catalogued from just 1934 to 1936.
The same twin tube design frame was used on the 'Club
Lightweight Model 77' which had a very similar spec
but cost £3 less and was built with cheaper tubing.

I was particularly pleased with this eBay
find: the front wheel wingnuts. The wing
shape is really lovely. I have no idea who
made them.

Devil is in the detail. Period correct metal valve cap.

The front hub is a 'Constrictor' item, probably just
post-war and slightly too late for the Bullet but I
always make an effort to use parts I have on the shelf
instead of buying new. The rims used are Dunlop
LA (Light Alloy) and laced up by my local cycle shop.

The Burlite brake is also just post-war
but does really look the part and fits the
bill of being quirky.

Brake levers are Resilion alloy ones and the front
has a security lock (pull it on and turn the key and
the brake locks on).

I hung this little medallion on the handlebars. It is
an advertising giveaway from Royal Enfield and
John Bull tyres commemorating a ride from England
to Lapland and back in 1951.

The flip side of the medallion is the patron saint of
travellers, St Christopher.

This magnificent light is the cherry on top of the
bicycle quirk fest! It is an Ennwell light which I
believe was German made.

The offside rear quarter.

Harmo 'Fearnaught' push button bell. As well as
being slightly odd these Harmo bells work
extraordinarily well. The handlebars are Reynolds,
I'm not 100% sure of the model name but I would
describe them as 'flat lauterwassers'.

Brittanialloy pump.

Though it looks like the twin tubes are in one piece
I believe that the top tubes and seat stays are separate.
They appear to be straight tubes and the bend join is
cast in with the seatpost lug.

Claude Butler Saxon

Bicycle projects can give quick hit of completion satisfaction and that's perhaps why I often get diverted away from my lengthier motorised projects to pedals..

This recently completed Saxon is the project that wasn't. I bought it around a couple of years ago through an advert in the Veteran Cycle Club magazine and it was all up together and rideable. Me being me though I wasn't happy with the components (some were a bit too plain and some didn't match) so I had to go about changing it and in the process adding some quirky bits and pieces as is my wont.

A quick background - Saxon were founded in 1919 in East London. They produced a full range of cycles for all purposes and though certainly not a major player in the market they had a significantly bigger output than many of the classic lightweight brands. Through the thirties particularly there was a strong market for affordable quality clubmans machines, at that time cycling was in its heyday in Britain and working people wanted a bicycle that they could ride to work and join in with club runs at weekends.

The cycle that made Saxon's name and the one that has endured was the twin tube design. In the thirties there was a fashion for shortening wheelbases with the idea of reducing flex in the bottom bracket and thus increasing efficiency. Obviously there is only so much you can shorten a tradional frame until the rear wheel hits the saddle tube. The solution that Saxon came up with was a very short central seat tube whose purpose was really solely to hold the seat post in place, this was flanked by a pair of narrow diameter tubes that ran from the upper lug on the seat tube down to the bottom bracket. The rear wheel snuggled itself in between the two seat tubes.

The twin tube proved to be popular and is one of the enduring classic lighweight designs, still held in high esteem.

Despite the success Saxon packed up bicycle manufacture at the onset of war in 1939. The brand was bought by Claud Butler during the war and in 1950 a new twin tube design was launched. This time with a single conventional single seat tube which split into a fork just above the point where the rear wheel crossed it. This model was made for two years and was sold both under the Claud Butler and Saxon brands. It was available as lugless (as my example is) or with CB bi-laminate lugs.

There's an excellent article on the Saxon twin tube by Hilary Stone on the Classic Lightweights site.

Middlemore saddle came with the cycle.

Atom front hub, GB wing nuts and Conloy rims. The
rear rim didn't match the front and was fixed gear so
I swapped it out for a matching rim with a Sturmey
Archer alloy shelled FM four speed hub.

Nice engraving on the French Belleri handlebars.

The Saxon came with a GB girder stem and narrow
drop bars. As I get older I appreciate flat bars more
and more so hence these Belleri North Road pattern ones.

Dupi sprung stem. Like riding a pogo stick, a very
bendy one. The only way I can get it to be remotely
tolerable is to lock out the springs and tighten the
pivot as much as possible. Hence it's just for show.

B and T brake levers for flat bars. These are one
of the very nicest British levers in style and quality.

The Dupi sprung stem again.

Saxon head transfer....

....and Saxon downtube transfer...

... and finally the Saxon seat tube transfer.

Sturmey Archer FM alloy four speed hub.

B and T 'Manx' brake. A cam operated
brake made up of alloy plates. Rare and
quirky, great looking but of dubious
performance. Yes, I added these as an 'upgrade'.
Note the split seat tube.

Detail on the Middlemore saddle.