This Hereford Section Early Cycles ride took place on 2 June 2024 at Berkeley, south of Gloucester, and was well attended. 20 miles in all. Some very nice machines were present and of the 29 participants many were happy to talk about their machine in the video. You get the full impression of a sociable club ride here. More information on the Veteran-Cycle Club here: https://v-cc.org.uk/
[Music] a e e yes stay where it is depress I’m not pissing you out anymore heels he’s on his own after this yeah you’re brave [Music] magnificent gar on choc I’m just pushing it yeah isn’t it that’s beautiful sorry am I in your way sorry [Music] we’ll find out Wheels he not often I meet people who are T yeah nearly tall yeah you’re up there is at the bottom where the I you see the can I see the bottom there that’s okay that’s all right I just need I don’t I don’t know where I am that’s all yeah it’s getting where yeah EX spe for oh yeah best as far as he G don’t go is that a replica or a real one it’s a modern one put it that way yeah yeah yeah how do you find it interesting yes hilarious some days how’ you find going down hill uh I I know where I’m going bre on the back haven’t you yeah it’s not that brilliant it’s only for that’s only for traffic you’re a wor having brakes yeah well I could push back on the pedals that’ll slow me down yeah pushing back on the pedals is much harder than it looks it’s uh different spe merer the speed limit yeah 12 miles hour if I did that I’d stop here we are nice temperature isn’t it it’s yeah there’s a bre a bit of a breeze well there is up here yeah there is down here most yeah flat forever bit like chesher yeah I think this must be the brist CH over there it piz Bristol channel oh Bristol Channel yes you’re right yeah yeah it’s over I think that’s should be probably whales Hill yeah you’re probably right I can see some hills over there must be Wales if it’s Hills yeah [Music] loads of them yeah all right talking to my camera oh right I could turn it on and off that’ be a good one on the benon that camera you do the v no wonderful is it flat um not totally but not tremendous h no people do it even on bone shakers right is it suitable for one of these oh there’s plenty of high wheelers go around oh good one year there was a family all on high wheelers oh right Mom Dad and the two kids yeah you tried out the different crank plank yeah yeah I’ve got I’ve got a shorter one and you you found out which suits you best obviously well where I live these all Hills you put the longer crank on there I I keep the longer one I I could have changed the pedal position today and that would have been easier for the more flatter route but I left it as it was yeah managing okay mik fine yeah nice nice and flap what we want yeah I think we sto somewhere C of tea oh wow somewhere up here I can live with that there’s a loads of cyclists doing it yeah oh I see it’s an organized stop is it yeah I don’t know how much it is par behind [Applause] about time yeah another good thing yeah noticed today coming down there’s not many motorbikes on the roads all right the TT started and Al so they’re all up there yeah majority Racers there was a few through night and yesterday but I don’t know why oh they’re heading up there ah heading up for the angle oh to angle see and getting the getting the ferry yeah yeah this is the t rooms up here where they’re pulling in all right this is a on I’m not sure silver this seems funny around this way doesn’t it does yeah help you got a ladder Monti yeah yeah Jack Monti whatever it’s called like multi- stem well it’s not multi sing I’ll go down there Mike very impressive good morning [Music] yeah how have you been all right you not bad yeah been quite a lot of uh riding on this thing but when the weather’s help so flat around here isn’t it not used to this or is there something coming up I don’t know about we’re going over there towards that Hill count up while everybody’s here keeping up with everybody in front of me they were going slow I could have gone much obviously did did you include the lady on your left looks like there’s 19 of us did you include the lady on your left you didn’t seem to how many should you have that’s count before we started come on that all right a bit more trickier than I thought coming down yeah it’s all right I could see if I can see the bottom and it’s got that’s good that’s good yeah oh wow what today are you camping camping yeah this could be a first we could be back early for lunch yeah where were you last night then somewhere oh [Music] right now we’re heading to bridge bridge Wales are you going on are youour just a short ride 20 [Music] miles no it’s easy try it I’ll hold B for you you give it a goal I don’t like heights what’s it called in your language how many’s that [Music] oh yeah so we’re not going to chur no they got service you have a look after normal one on the back that’s the original that I had it through you know it was so I had to another a Ste a Ste one on no press we said no press it aging and I didn’t put Hub I is the reverse GE that’s low he won’t want datatable by the the size of that flat between that BT and that shorter shorter than noral would had a um the chaining case or is yeah I still got the leather one oh leather yeah and uh it’s too far gone to do the fortune to replace it yeah well I kept this on got itch yeah don’t have to take to get where’s it going oh okay set and it had where the A and they were I’m not I’m not joking they were six buns a unit cheaper to make sound um you know was okay when they built thew in 1956 that was about one and six cheap oh no great however I brought two the other day got two and a bigger problem to on custom a fortune I had one I I heard they were no I’ve got the my ones both came without the indicator rods right and I’ve got about 10 sets of SW indicator rods so I can give it a go and see what they’re like it’s one of the last so no no it it wouldn’t be [Music] at9 for [Music] any [Music] room all right [Music] yes he like go right do we not this one the next one all right want a proper dinner M or do you want sandwiches 1898 Swift made by caret machinists and um I I bought it from um bve pigot who didn’t know what it was but I recognize it straight away because of the chain ring the way they altered the gearing was they had detachable chain rings and uh that was a clue and as it happened he got the original catalog and we looked it up and there it was plus my gear front drive was also in there which was also another MRE machine but uh it rides well you have to climb on it though it’s so high you can’t cut the Lio um from that I think it was restored originally by John marine and uh it’s how the coaches really so it’s nice durable finish but I managed to bend the back a and he’ obviously put lock tight on the on the back out on the diff me three days to R do and I discovered on eBay or on on the web that you have to heat it up to break down the uh locked out but it’s a very fine thread and you don’t want locked out on fine threads especially as already had four locking bolts apart from that it’s a delight to ride um it’s what I’m riding at penson this year thank you thank you got a lovely ding dong bell oh nice yeah it is about sort of 1893 1894 um new how so uh very similar to um one of our fellow riders today very similar to Paul’s machine over here uh which was how um we were able to actually find out what it was and um speak of the devil here he is so that’s a new how that’s a um road racer model so the the handlebars have got a a slight sort of drop in them those are more um uh more sort of period correct um mine basically this this particular bike was found in a a tip um outside a village a very small village um up on the penines and um yeah basically we didn’t know what it was it was um we found it just hanging in the um Rafters of a bar um and yeah basically just um set about s of restoring it uh my father um acquired it uh and then it’s passed to myself um chain came from the America this was back in the mid 1980s uh so it’s inch pitch chain um and yeah just recently discovered that is that it’s a new how um just by chance originally thought it was maybe something like a Humber or Humber style there was obviously a a vast number of makers at that point in time the uh grips um think are possibly bone um could be something like cow or buffalo horn um and yeah the the bike was refinished and the nickel work um it should have a 30-in wheel at the front um currently it’s running 2 28 in Wheels um it’s impossible I think really to get a 38 in wheel now but um yeah I tell you what if you had a saddle like this then you could put it on the back right okay because there you are yes yeah you know make a big difference and and that would help with everything else €700 but um you’ll see well when you come back to the car park you’ll see the uh how the handlebars could easily be remodeled okay so yeah definitely still a working progress it’s that it’s that thing you’re sort of looking for things which are kind of period correct and it’s just dropping onto them at the right time if you wanted to sacrifice These Bars this assembly here and this could be rebent round it would give you an an edge because making this up would be a bit of a faf yeah but if you’re prepared to do a bit of parrot dog converting then um you could end up with something much better yeah the other alternative is that we go down the sand route and and bend these bring these bars back right a bit yes and see how you go there yeah yeah um okay it’s it’s not Beyond it do you want to explain anything about your bike any particular um well there there you are this was uh owned by well it was found by John Pinkerton who was Doug’s dad in the 1990s it had been laying around the wheels were off it but it had a lot of its fittings with it and when he sold the frame to muray mlan and when muray got it it had to have a new top tube it’s had bits of tube repaired and then the handlebars which are very all the tubes are very very thin to make it light and um so it it had all this uh stuff put on it to build it up and make it into a bike but it did have the forks shortened it would have had a 30in front wheel and it have been shorten to take a 28 but it’s it’s pretty close but um it rides nicely good just without having any brakes this a 1933 rally record which was actually re configured in 1936 to sell it as an rra which is why it’s got R decal down the seat tube um but it was definitely 1933 record and so I’ve restored it into its record specification um from what it was when I bought it a few weeks ago um needless to say the Chrome didn’t look like that um but indeed the brakes were wrong these are the correct brakes for the period with a kick forward on the on the break shoe mounting um rally used that for all their sports bikes um from through the 30s through to the immediate postar period um it didn’t come with a gear set so I put a 1935 K5 uh steri Archer on there with a suitably large rear sprocket because I’m an elderly gentleman and I don’t like Hills so I like to uh get my gearing as low as POS possible yeah and I can’t go any lower with the chain ring because that’s the smallest chain ring that they produce this famous Heron head chain ring the Heron head there and then again the Heron head on the pedals which are the early steel ones postwar they still use these in the in the top models in the record Aces but they were in alloy postwar and even the uh even the lamp brackets on on the front forks and here on the head they’re also hair and head but the interesting thing about the ones on the forks is that inside the fork here you have a little dimple on the inside and that dimple locates locates the clip to hold the lamp bracket in place so if you look for R records or record Aces You’ll Always Find that little little dimples on both the left hand and right hand Forks to carry the lamp bracket on the front I rewind re relaced it as um radial spoked which was correct for the period And I added something I had in my possession for quite a long time which is the speedometer which I’d never found a home for but at last I had a a 1930s bike it could fit on in fact it’s a bit too long hence by strapping it here uh because it actually came off a tandem which needed a longer cable I could do with a shorter C cable but um finding such things these days is not easy good last of all the brook saddle has to have an oval badge on it has to be oval badge pre-wall pre-wall okay there you go thank you to today’s exhibit um hello yes my name is Matt Smith and this is my 1924 golden Sunbeam all black um bicycle I taken the liberty of adding a a sign for this ride for my a bit of Shameless promotion of my local Garden gardening business um but um yeah it’s pretty original bike it’s got the Roman rims um original paint lining transfers and everything I’ve added a a correct Sunbeam correct rack on the back and a um silver King lamp on the front but other than that it’s it’s as I as I found it so yes that’s what they are it’s a pleasure to ride very smooth um it’s not mine it’s unknown to me from Brian aens who unfortunately is no longer able to ride it so I’ve had it a number of years um this year Andrew and his wife is taking it on uh riding it this is a precourse to the benenson next month um yeah it’s a lovely machine I’ve done many miles on it this tricycle here it’s fixed whe yeah very interesting machine this that tricycle is 1900 just after um fixed wheel again having done a uh was a badge on the back quite a large tric nice to ride but it’s got a mind of its own on the Camas of the road um yeah got a stir up front break possibly the early 1900s I don’t know um and this other one I got once yesterday was uh Kendrick madeen reading mid to late 30s unusual configuration two braks you’ve got a hub break and a wind break as well uh the handlebars should be up the other way but I find being down it g lowers a center of gravity and it’s more stable on the road yeah okay the lamps are decorative only no batteries in there I’m not propelling batteries excellent three different styles with the tand and the convention but yeah this is a a largely unrestored 1920s rally cross frame um 3-speed uh fairly heavy uh oily bite restoration 30 years ago I had it for that length of time and uh it’s a quite a favorite of mine to ride it’s a tall bike you can see over the hedges which is good fun and uh a ride like today’s is ideal you happy you happy with that yeah absolutely fine he’s not play much to say about is a fairly bog standard design yeah um they just didn’t last very well because they’re very very heavy I for leave a climb coming down the outside good free wheeling yeah amazing there we go where’s his headwind come from yeah cuz you’re up in the tree you’re over the top of the head bloody hell failed again [Music] yeah so what is that 52 in 50 50 yeah cuz I do a lot of Hills yeah a 52 might be a push yeah so I even changed the cranks yeah what it must be like there was a guy in the 1890s it was the racer and he turned up he had a special oneoff built by Starley 84 in oh bloody hell you see the pictures of him he was a big guy he was like 6’8 well how did he reach the pedals he must have been and they put cranks on and sorted it out he could do it but he turned up and there all these people with 48 and is yeah and once the first lap was over and he had got the pedal spinning yeah he wiped the floor with them CU was so much faster yeah it’s about this one’s about 13 and 1/2 ft for for each Revolution that’s that’s that’s good enough I think yes oh yeah you all right can’t go too slow or fall off wow you all right enjoy riding it HH you enjoy it yeah it’s these roads are brilliant in the flat yeah the view must be amazing yeah you can see all the hes you won’t believe how many people are seen with nothing on expecting to see you up here past no there some old bikes old this isn’t old nice to see everybody enjoying themselves I’d say it’s a good day for it isn’t it oh well nice day and and he’s flat yeah e that cat is beautiful yeah the 1939 um um blat made in Lawrence Hill in Bristol um it was used during the War uh soundwell um uh by ANP Warden and from 1942 onwards and uh I bought it in a junk shop for I think it was a Fiverr in the early ’70s and I just uh give it an oily rag clean up and the rested the chain and uh here we are very nice very nice the be the the be is is for BL iot but it was ironically made by um Ernie brain um who who was a long-standing um well-known cyclist back in his day Champion very good got a picture of him with all his trophies and whatnot um but uh uh I called in at the place when it the day it closed in 1983 I think it was and um the champion there told me all about the the history of the company and uh it’s called 1909 a blur it because that’s when um L it through the channel oh that guy somebody’s U along the way people have given me um got a genuine alltime light which actually uh you can turn it around from front or back there and um they weren’t originally designed for bicycles they’ve got a clip on there which would have gone on your belt um and on the front um there you are ARP 1939 which is the bike somebody gave me that so uh yeah someone said well why do they have a hood over the lights as well all vehicles had to have a hood over the lights and being an ARP Ward and going around telling people to put that b light out they say well what about you so cuz I mean an airplane ain’t going to see you at 10,000 ft I thought a bicycle lamp but nevertheless you know yeah thank you I’ll leave that on the front cuz otherwise doesn’t matter uh otherwise it’s um a pain so should I move it into the Sun a little bit I don’t know I can walk around it just just just as you explain okay so here we’ve got a 1904 dersley pedison um fairly unique design the idea with it is the tubes these are all very thin tubing um is only in compression or tension so the the the tubes aren’t being bent at all so it’s built a little bit like a bridge in its way that it’s uh oper in and you’ll see that throughout and also this saddle which was actually the first bit that he came up with which is a sort of hammock saddle which looks horribly uncomfortable um it I don’t mind it but it may not suit everyone um this one uh as I say 1904 so it’s actually still built uh under the orices of uh pedest himself in 1905 it was taken over uh under the sort of heading if you like of the Lista corporation which was uh list engines based in dersley as well um this one has a three-speed Hub gear which is again uh ederson’s own design that’s it there uh so you’ve got three gears Each of which have 50% more than the previous one um and also you’ll note that it’s got aluminium rims which are Roman rims which are aluminium which of course in 1904 would have been quite a novel feature to say the least um they did it in lots of different sizes you needed to buy the bicycle that fits you this is a size five which is suited to a 33 in inside leg which is perfect for me but uh they did right the way from the low numbers right up to higher numbers as well uh to suit all different sizes and you really do want the one that suits so there you go thank you dley pedison my H was 50 54 yeah it’s quite it’s quite a lightweight yeah yeah what’s what’s the balancing they’re just no no they’re just uh reflectors oh reflectors yeah cuz I do the odd um night R yes we have to do a ride in Richmond Park oh nice at night lampl ride yeah um in September yeah go around and then into pen ponds well I put lights all around this and and that help the uh helps people to see yeah oh yeah yeah when all that lot yeah yeah do you use two steps not often what size wheel is that 50 50 that’s what I R H I had was 56 which was quite High quite High um I came down to a 50 yeah but as I say I’ve got longer cranks right right yeah yeah because of uh hills around in Wales all right I live in Wales all right very good [Music] been quite a lot of De about this was I for e e e e get St yeah yeah [Music] car par around there Chris I’ll see you mate [Applause] right I went well