LIGHTWEIGHT NEWS – 46
(July/August 2013)
Editor: Peter Underwood
56 Kingston Street - Cambridge - CB1 2NU Tel: 01223 565036
E-mail - peter.underwood(at)tesco.net
www.classiclightweights.co.uk
Our first group ride since the last edition of Lightweight News was the local Reach Fair Ride organised by the Cambridge Cycling Campaign. This is a ride from the City Hall in Cambridge along cycle paths and quiet roads to the historic Reach fair, about ten miles out which is much less than we usually do but this is such a friendly ride with probably a couple of hundred participants of all ages. After an hour or so at the fair we then did a longer ride home using a newly created cycle route known as Lodes Way. Lodes are rivers constructed to assist the fen drainage systems and are quite a haven for wildlife and we were lucky to see the traditional spring sight of hares boxing. It always reminds me of kangeroos to see them standing on hind legs and exchanging blows.
I rode my recently-built fixed-wheel Rondinella 1974 track, which is partly period restored and partly modern 'fixie' build. I have always wanted a really close-clearance (with 700 wheels) track bike to build in this manner and after quite a long wait I heard of one for sale which I had restored in a metallic Anthracite that really glistens in the sun. The headbadge has a red, white, and blue background with 'Rondinella', and "built by Vic Edwards". As the topeyes had three circular 'indents' in each I had these picked out in red, white and blue to match. Apart from white lug lining, that is it, as I wanted a 'stealth' look. I built it up with equipment I had in the garage, the wheels are Mavic MA2s on large-flange Campag hubs, and the cranks and chainring are TA. It has an black BLB (Brick Lane Bikes) stem and bullhorns.
It is one of those bikes that make you go 'wow' when first ridden. The pedals are single-sided SPD. I shall take these pedals plus SPD shoes to Italy where I will rent a carbon Scott for the fortnight. Renting abroad can be a bit of a gamble re the quality of bikes on offer but we have previously used the bikes rented by our hotel and were very impressed with a machine that would have cost about £2000 in the UK. I take the SPD pedals rather than the more racy SPD SR version as we obviously do some sightseeing while away and I would feel very self-conscious hobbling round a church, gallery or somewhere similar on racy pedals. The SPD versions look just like a normal sport shoe as the cleats are recessed into the sole.
On the ride to Lode Patricia rode her ex-works team Diamond Back 'Axis' mountain bike which was a 'works' team bike for their women's team and which has been hung up high in our garage for some 16 years since we moved to Cambridge. Before that Patricia toured extensively on it around the UK plus some trips to Bavaria to ride the Romantische Strasse and also for holidays in Garmisch-Partenkirchen with expeditions into the mountains around the twin towns. It was very very dusty when I took it down but came up like new when washed and polished. The one snag was in relation to the early-model Pace SC35 carbon suspension forks which had elastomer inserts that had completely bottomed out by some 40mm.
Diamond Back 'Axis' with new elastomers and forks now lifted to original height
Knowing absolutely nothing about suspension forks, I took them to a local bike shop, Bicycle Ambulance, where Andy told me that these inserts just disintegrated over time - I found that hard to believe but, when he dropped the fork legs, all that was left of the 52mm polymers was about a teaspoon of a waxy-like substance. I did some research and found that replacements were virtually non-existent as the forks were about 20-years old. By a rare stroke of luck however there was a set for sale on Ebay from a cycle shop in Norwich that had a spare pair they never expected to use. We managed to win them at a reasonable cost. It was an amazing coincidence that they came up for sale at just the time we needed them when the bike had been unused and unseen for all these years. The forks have been re-assembled with the new polymers and Patricia is enjoying giving the Diamond Back a few outings after all this time.
The Universal Spanner from the Golden Age of Cycling by Bryan Clarke
In the days before the Mafac tool kit, quick release mechanisms and Allen key fittings, cyclists needed a saddle bag tool for all occasions. With a limit to the number of different ‘Imperial’ size nuts used by manufacturers of British cycle products, an ingenious and sturdy double open-ended spanner was made to satisfy this need that could truly be called universal.
By increasing the thickness of the casting it was possible to incorporate two different sizes at each end. As most cyclists rode with Williams and BSA chain sets, barring those with Chater-Lea, the smallest square shaped opening was for the box-shaped chain ring bolts used by these manufacturers. The other three openings could be used for the following:
Front and a rear wheel nuts
Seatpin bolts
Brooks saddle clips
Cotter pins
BSA head clips
Lamp brackets
Some brake pivot bolts
Some handlebar stems
If you were lucky to own a pair of ‘Allez’ pedals they would work on these too.
What more could you want? Well perhaps a small adjustable spanner and a screwdriver. A selection of these spanners is shown here.
British Hub Company (BHC): Airlite, Solite & other Best of British Products.
By Steve Griffith
For some, British Hub Co’s Airlite were the finest hubs ever produced, the acme of British quality which has never been equalled since. As this article will demonstrate, this Birmingham based company produced a wide range of hubs from the 1920’s until their demise at the end of the 1960's. They also produced hubs for the motorcycle and car industries. BHC survived longer than their major rival Bayliss Wiley, but unlike the latter only made hubs and hub-related items e.g. sprockets, wingnuts and tools. As a cursory glance at the Holdsworthy Aids catalogues (1) reveals, the range of hubs declined from the late 40’s onwards until finally in 1969 there was a notice in Cycling that the stock and machinery were going to be sold at auction.
The company was founded in 1904 but only seem to have started making hubs in 1914 and then for the motor and motor cycle industry. During the 1920’s BHC primarily made hubs for the roadster and trade market. In the CTC Gazette show reviews (2) of the early 1930’s there are several references to BHC being pioneers of the internal expanding hub brake as applied to cycles (fig. 1). In 1935 they introduced their two hubs aimed at the lightweight market; the top of the range Airlite, steel barrel with alloy flanges, and the all steel Solite. BHC claimed the Airlite was the lightest hub in the world and some early versions even had alloy locknuts. These proved a liability in use and were quickly dropped. It was probably based on the Italian FB but slimmer to give the weight saving which was the key marketing focus . To many these hubs epitomise BHC but in fact they were only a very small percentage of their output. Slightly cheaper and all steel but still a quality product for lightweights was the Sivada hub
In the late 1930’s large flange hubs from Europe became fashionable; BHC answer was to rivet a larger flange on to a small flange hub to create the Airlite continental, which had already been done by on the French maker Prior.
Early rivetted Airlite hub
Often used on tandems, these hubs with the over sized flange are very sought after, although there can be problems with the rivets wearing after prolonged use. Only after WWII was a conventional large flange hub, the Airlite Continental produced. BHC was ahead of Bayliss Wiley who did not produce a large flange hub until 1945/6 (the distinctive version with only 4 and 5 lightening holes)
Airlite and Solite hubs were made in a variety of models; double fixed, gear fixed and gear sided. Also a model with extra wide flanges and drilling from 28 to 40 holes. When derailleurs became more popular they introduced a version that had the right chain line for use with multiple freewheels. The large flange Airlite and Racelite have ten lightening hole in the rear and eight in the front. Visually the hubs look very similar to Bayliss Wiley Continental & Powell (a Coventry maker of the 40’s early 50’s). Airlites tend to have slightly larger flanges and if you come across Airlites with larger flanges than others they are for tandems. Small flange front hubs with ¼ “ bearings and a wider axle & barrel (91mm compared to 82mm) are also for tandems (they also have a wider OLD of 106mm compared to 98mm). The barrels are stamped BHC Airlite but often due to chrome decaying this can be difficult to read. It should be pointed out the quality of the chrome is good, far better than Gnutti, FB, and Campagnolo. One other distinguishing feature is the Airlite has a tiny indent on the cone dust cover for grease injection.
During World War Two BHC advertisements under the heading : The Best is Worth Waiting For stated that due to inability to source the right grade of metal, Airlites would not be made until the end of the war, but Solites and other were still being made, albeit in limited supplies. Customers are suggested to opt for the Solite Featherweight or Sivada Lightweight as an alternative.
After 1949 they offered anodised Airlite hubs & track nuts in gold, blue, black, green and red (an extra 3/9 in 1962). After prolonged exposure to sunlight they fade quite badly. There were only two products developed after the mid-50’s: the quick release version of the Airlite and Airlite continental hubs (fig. 3).
Small-flange Airlite gear sided hub with QR
The skewer was a copy of the design created by Campagnolo (pre-WW2) but had a unique thread for the nut end. This was introduced in the autumn of 1953. The other product was the Racelite hub (fig. 4), introduced in 1957. This was their first all-alloy shell hub and visually identical to the French Normandy large flange hub which has been on the market since the early 1950’s. It was not the first British all-alloy hub shell - that distinction belongs to Harden and Blumfield who introduced their alloy hubs in 1946.
Both these products sadly illustrated the fact that by this time BHC was essentially copying non-British products; their days of innovation were over. From the mid 1950’s they struggled to compete with European products, especially FB, Campagnolo Record, and Grand Sport hubs which were seen as a more desirable and better quality. French hubs, mainly of the Normandy, Atom, and Maillard family were often cheaper although not the same quality as the Racelite. In 1960 they advertised a pair of thin steel cone spanners especially for this hub (3). They did make one limited run product in the early 60’s: an all-alloy Airlite small flange especially for the then new Moulton.
Not being able to speak to anyone who actually worked for BHC, I am unable to work out what exactly they made themselves and what parts were bought in. The two wing nut designs looks exactly like those made by the local Utility Company. Similarly, did they make the alloy Airlites flanges themselves?
Usage
A pair of Airlite Continentals on 27” Conloy rims are one of those combinations that look just right for a 40’s /50’s lightweight. I say 27” because for some reason they look wrong on 26”s. One tip when using: a layer of clear grease on the barrel prevents the all too common rusting. On some gear sided hubs there is an extra long cone which enables adjustment without having to take the freewheel off, a very useful feature. The Cylbrakes are extremely effective and ideal for a pre-war touring mount, but check brake linings. This is an ideal solution to the most difficult component to source for a machine of this period. Conloy, Lam etc brakes are out of reach of most pockets, Resilion are far too fiddly and may other cheaper steel brakes are simply ineffective.
I have always regarded the hubs as extremely hard wearing and it is extremely unlikely you would wear out a pair of cones. Talking to a major collector recently, he commented how on many of the Airlites he has seen (well over 100 pairs) the cones are often very well worn whereas on a comparable number of Campagnolo hubs this is not the case. I wondered whether it was the case that the latter being expensive was only kept for best use. There may have been an element of that but not only were Campagnolo better quality but they were far better sealed.
I think there were a number of reasons for their decline in the 1960's: firstly their hubs were seen as old fashioned as opposed to the newer European products. Some riders have complained to me that the hubs were not that good at providing the right chainline for use with five and ten speed sets which were becoming the norm. Finally price. The Racelite was more expensive than the comparable French Le Tour and the Airlites were only 10% to 15% cheaper than Campagnolo Record and more expensive than the Campagnolo Tipo and Grand Sport Hubs (4)