1949 Humber town bike restoration

[911hillclimber]

Closing in on the finishing line now, just the electrics and a few bits n pieces and we are done!

Just keep on adding parts and now the brakes are all done and adjusted. TBH I have VERY little confidence in the braking ability of these rod brakes..
The repro parts are weak and nowhere as good as the 1949 parts (which were worn out).

Wiring the dynamo will be a tease as I've lost the diagram I made of the connections inside the headlamps, but 2 wires can't be too hard to sort.
The original black bell wire 'loom' is surprisingly good and even reasonably flexible still, connectors cleaned all bright and bell through.

Plan is to set the lamps up so they are always on when riding along.
The head lamp has a 3 position switch, so OFF, ON and ...something else. Possibly you could ride this with headlamp only, all lights, and off.
LED's will replace the 6V bulbs.

Awaiting the new cotter pins and brown handle bar grips.
I've had to refurbish all the thin steel wire clips as you cant buy the right sizes anymore.

First ride soon.

[911hillclimber]

Lots more hours into the final stages of this rebuild.

Got the chain on, chain guard too, all ok, and then put the weird design gear 'shifter' back together, fiddly or what. Still, back on the handlebars now. Fresh change cable and outer all on so looks good. Pits I only have 3 speeds of the 4 and reliably only 2 as one is a bit iffy.

I think I have 4th/3rd/2nd but no easy riding 1st. Hope it is just adjustment of the cable length. Need to read-up on the subject.

New brown handle bar grips came today, so fitted them to cheer myself up after the gear set-back.

Have to sort the lights.
I am going to re wire the lot (2 wires!) as the 1949 black 'bell wire' is a bit crunchy ang the insulation broken in places.

Getting close to a first ride.

[neilbardsley]

That looks too good to ride! Well done

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[911hillclimber]

Thanks Neil, first ride will be good, or could be exciting with these brakes!

Found out how to set the gear shifter, so expect progress tomorrow. Need a bike stand!

[911hillclimber]

After a lot of messing about I now have 4 gears that work and can be selected on this bike. What a game it has been.
Must have stripped and re-assembled the hub 8 times before concluding the 1st/2nd speed pawl drives were very worn.
New ones cannot be found, the 3rd/4th pawls are different but available.

On yet another strip out realised the worn pawls are double ended, so swoped the two over and now have a fresh 'nose' on the pawls to engage in the shallow drive ring.

Had to make special pawl pivot pin removal tools but now all done.

Found out there is a 'Vintage bike autojumble' close to me on Sunday, so going to have a looksee for a few other illusive parts.

This leaves the lights now, and the fresh black bell speaker wire arrived today, so some electrical/LED light fun to come and IT IS DONE.

[911hillclimber]

A full week ahead of The Plan, the 1949 Humber bicycle is done.

The lights were simplified and re-wired with fresh wire and terminals, LED bulbs fitted and they even work!
At low speed (slow front wheel rotation) they flicker in sync with the dynamo and then blur to a bright consistent light which is surprisingly bright, oddly satisfying.

Few little finishes are needed mostly a small saddle bag (pouch) to carry a puncture repair kit and suchlike. I hope to find one at the Bike Jumble this Sunday.

While all is fresh in the mind what has this project delivered and what have i learnt.

Nothing is cheap to do, i think I have about £310 in this bike.
There is always something difficult to sort out, in this case the Sturmey Archer FW 4 speed hub and lacing 1949 wheels correctly...
With effort everything can be rescued and 'restored' in some fashion to work, here, gloss black instead of a £350 re-chrome bill.
Original parts are so much better made than repro parts!
Custom mixed rattle-can paint is crap. I'll stick with Hammerite Smooth in the future.

Google is the best tool in the box.

Here some current shots in the garage. Soon i hope to ride it to somewhere far more pleasant and take a few more pics.

I hope this little thread has been of interest, I am already thinking of doing a Moulton.

[911hillclimber]

Nice and dry here, so a first test ride of the '49 Humber. Not too bad..
Snags:
Front wheel needs to be far truer than it is, brakes grab in sync with wheel rotation. Will try again on the frame, and if that fails take it to someone good at this!
Seat too far forward, simple spanner job. Frame feels short mind, so i hope i can get enough from it.
RHS chainwheel crank arm bent at pedal boss, but will live with it. About 1/8" off.
Jumps out of 1st to second when you turn the handle bars nearly 45 deg. Hope that is a simple adjustment, but outer cable length probably to blame.

Love it!

[markh]

For a quick fix on the seat you should be able to remove the saddle and turn the part that grabs the seat rails so it's facing the other way. I can't tell from the pictures but the part that clamps the rails should be seperate from the actual seat post. If it's all one piece you should still be able to rotate the lot to gain more space between saddle and handlebars.

[911hillclimber]

Thanks for the tip!
Will have a look later as to if I have it 'reversed' or not. Have slid the frame back about 20mm and feels better. Have made the front wheel truer, but I think the cheap replacement rim is not rolled too well.
Planning to take it to a long established cycle shop for a £10 true, 2 week wait for the workshop slot.

Just took a look, and the saddle clamp is to the front of the seat down tube, so will revers it. Should make a good difference.

[neilbardsley]

Loosely related. Hub cassettes in the pro ranks. Victor is very clever with his equipment. He is Mr Aero and held the world hour record

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/victor ... g-weekend/

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[911hillclimber]

I have a very nice late 90's Giant cross-over bike, 8 speed Shimano rear enclosed hub, discs and quite 'town' skinny tyres. It is a 1000 lightyears away from this 1949 bike and 1/2 the weight.
Riding it on canal paths, roads and such like it is a great bike.
Technology and materials are so different.
The gear box is fabulous, 8 speeds and coming to a stand still you simply select 1st from (say) 6th and off you go. Single chainset so nice and simple.

[911hillclimber]

Weather and Covid getting the better of me, but well enough to surrender on getting the front wheel concentric enough for a reasonable smooth braking action.

In Wolverhampton we have a very old established bike shop, Fred Williams and took the wheel there this morning to be 'optimised' for truth.
Might be done today!
Will tinker with the gear adjuster later and see if that can be reliable, but suspect I will have to fit new 1/2nd gear pawls, but not too hard now I've made the pivot pin extraction tools.

Very nearly there now.
It can go to the shed along with the Royal Enfield after all this as 2 cars need maintenence asap. which means a clear garage space.

First hillclimb event in late April.

[911hillclimber]

Finished today.
The rim needed 'adjusting' in shape where the rim is welded, a length i just could not get into shape via spoke tension.
Runs so much truer now.
Test ride tomorrow if the roads are dry.

Just £10; must be the cheapest specialist service I've ever paid for on anything classic.

[neilbardsley]

£10 is a bargain

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[911hillclimber]

Yes, all he wanted, but it is their standard wheel truing fee!
My request was to get the wheel as good as he could and the front brake action is much better.

Still not sure about the action of the 4 speed Sturmey Archer low speed pawls, so might entertain some tinkering tomorrow with some new parts.