# Humber Sports 3-speed with tubular front fork.



## Rambler (Sep 18, 2019)

I came across this English bicycle at an antique shop. Humber Sports bike with interesting tubular duplex front fork. Dyno generator front hub and Sturmey Archer 3-speed rear hub. 

Anyone know what years it was produced? I'm guessing 1950's but I suspect someone else here is more knowledgeable than I regarding Humber history.

Only sites I could find with Humber info didn't really tell me what year this bike may have been built:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humber_Cycles
https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Humber:_Cycles

Also any idea of value/past sales for comparison? I'm wondering if there is any market interest for this type of bike or if better left at the antique shop. Thanks.


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## bikemonkey (Sep 18, 2019)

Should be a date code on the rear hub - if OG it will get you close to the catalog year.

Bike looks beat overall but there are some things left of value...I have never seen a fork like that so who knows as far as value?


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## SirMike1983 (Sep 18, 2019)

That's the old-type Humber Duplex model fork - correct for an older Humber. As the above post notes, check the rear hub for a date code. The front hub as a dynohub should also have a date code. Standard 21 inch men's frame size.  Looks like a quite complete project - even the tail lamp is there still. Offhand, looks early post-war to me - late 1940s to mid 1950s.


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## jimbo53 (Jan 18, 2020)

Did you get this bike? Very cool vintage Brit Roadster style bike. The Humber name was taken over by a Raleigh who continued to produce bikes under the Humber name. Thomas Humber was an early bicycle entrepreneur who was the first to patent a triangulated frame with equal sized wheels


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## Rambler (Jan 20, 2020)

jimbo53 said:


> Did you get this bike? Very cool vintage Brit Roadster style bike. The Humber name was taken over by a Raleigh who continued to produce bikes under the Humber name. Thomas Humber was an early bicycle entrepreneur who was the first to patent a triangulated frame with equal sized wheels




Thank you for the Humber history information. No, I did not purchase the bike, not really of interest to me. Just found it to be unique with the unusual tubular front fork. If you or someone else is interested in pursuing it send me a PM and I will pass along the contact information for the owner. Bike is located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan near Munising.


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## eeapo (Jan 20, 2020)

What was the asking price?


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## jimbo53 (Jan 21, 2020)

Unfortunately, British bikes have very little of a following on this side of the pond, and therefore don’t bring much money at all. It too bad, because these bikes are excellent riders, relatively easy to work on, the Sturmey Archer 3 speed hubs are pretty much bombproof and, IMHO, have a certain elegance about them. Digging into their history, you can find this turn of the century Humber motorcycle, and a long and storied recounting of bikes from the UK and India. 
Way to far for me to make the trip, but if it were local I’d be pretty tempted to have this piece of history, investment value be damned!




Rambler said:


> Thank you for the Humber history information. No, I did not purchase the bike, not really of interest to me. Just found it to be unique with the unusual tubular front fork. If you or someone else is interested in pursuing it send me a PM and I will pass along the contact information for the owner. Bike is located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan near Munising.


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## SirMike1983 (Jan 21, 2020)

I would wager English 3-speeds are actually more ridden here in the US than vintage balloon tire bikes are ridden because the 3-speeds (especially post-war Raleighs) became so common and are a practical option. When I lived in the DC area, I still saw the occasional Raleigh Sports being used as a daily commuter, and I'm sure they're still around in many major US cities in that use. That said, the ballooners are more collectible if you're looking at higher values. I don't object too much - that just makes the English bikes a good value and pretty affordable.


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## gkeep (Jan 21, 2020)

So true SirMike. Sunday my wife and I were heading home on BART from SF and a young woman rolled on her Hopper, complete with the dynohub, rear and front lights as well as chaincase intact. I commented on what nice shape it was in and we chatted with her for the half hour ride. I showed her the date on the SA hub and she was amazed, April 1954. It was given to her by a friend when she lived in Washington DC. She said she had thought about replacing it with some retro looking bike with a womans frame but after learning how old the bike was she was really thrilled and impressed by how nice it rode. She wrote down the CABE after I told her about it, she was interested in learning more about her bike.
My daughters favorite is a 72 Raleigh Carlton that had the bars switched out to make it a nice sit up and beg ride. She uses it to get around at  Humbolt SU up in Arcata. She just has to watch out she doesn't run over Bigfoot.


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## blackhawknj (Jan 21, 2020)

If the Dyno works and the price is reasonable I would think hard about it. Needs a good cleaning up, some steel wool and oil on the chrome but that is a good rainy/snowy/icy stay at home day project.


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## Rambler (Jan 21, 2020)

eeapo said:


> What was the asking price?




The price was not marked on the Humber and I did not happen to ask. Mostly I just found the bike to be very interesting with the tubular front fork, never saw one of those before.

I looked up the contact info. for where I saw the bike. It was in Negaunee, MI a bit West of Marquette. If you or anyone else is interested in inquiring about the bike call 906-250-6794 and ask for Russ.


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## Oilit (May 20, 2021)

I picked this up yesterday, and it's the same fork, but a lot of the other details are different. This one has no Dynohub or chaincase, and the decals have all been painted over. On the other hand, it has a Simplex 3 speed derailleur added to the 3 speed hub, so it's now a hybrid-geared 9 speed, or will be once I get the chain unsnarled. Simplex was a French company, so this must have been aftermarket, if it was factory I'd guess it would be a Cyclo/Benelux set-up. The fender stays are different as well, instead of riveted bars, they're wire stays attached by clamps.
The name on the headlight is hard to read through the paint, but I think it's "Phoebus". The rear rack is made in Denmark, and the rims have plenty of rust, but there's not a speck on the spokes. Maybe re-laced with stainless spokes? The date on the hub is "51   8".
The woman I got this from said it was in an outbuilding at her father-in-laws place, but neither her husband nor sister-in-law saw it as kids so it must be something he picked up later, but he was a commercial airline pilot, so it could have come from just about anywhere. It needs lots of work, but it's an interesting old bike and the price was right, a combination I can't seem to resist.


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## SirMike1983 (May 20, 2021)

Interesting bike. The fishmouth lugs look right for 1951 to me, so the hub is probably the original. It looks to be repainted and to have some old upgrades to it. It's a good find.


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## Oilit (May 21, 2021)

SirMike1983 said:


> Interesting bike. The fishmouth lugs look right for 1951 to me, so the hub is probably the original. It looks to be repainted and to have some old upgrades to it. It's a good find.



Thanks, @SirMike1983! The upgrades are a curious mix, an English bike with a French derailleur, a Danish rack and a Swiss headlight, somebody was gathering parts from all over Europe. It makes me wonder who put it together. 
One good thing, I tried a few spots and most of the rust comes off pretty easy, so this bike may have been neglected but it wasn't left outside. Thank goodness for small miracles!


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## jimbo53 (May 21, 2021)

Beautiful bike, Joel!


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## Oilit (May 21, 2021)

jimbo53 said:


> Beautiful bike, Joel!



Thank you, Jim! I thought you'd like this one!


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## JoNy (Sep 8, 2021)

SirMike1983 said:


> I would wager English 3-speeds are actually more ridden here in the US than vintage balloon tire bikes are ridden because the 3-speeds (especially post-war Raleighs) became so common and are a practical option. When I lived in the DC area, I still saw the occasional Raleigh Sports being used as a daily commuter, and I'm sure they're still around in many major US cities in that use. That said, the ballooners are more collectible if you're looking at higher values. I don't object too much - that just makes the English bikes a good value and pretty affordable.



Yes plenty of deals on English bikes!


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## Oilit (Sep 9, 2021)

JoNy said:


> Yes plenty of deals on English bikes!



I think the English bikes were aimed more towards adults, they often seem to survive in better shape.


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## SirMike1983 (Sep 9, 2021)

Oilit said:


> I think the English bikes were aimed more towards adults, they often seem to survive in better shape.




I think that is a fair statement. They were marketed to both older children and adults, but the larger frame sizes really are for an adult rider. 

Most of the ballooner frames are actually quite small for an adult. Many frames run 18-19 inches, with some larger ones going 20+ inches. But the larger ones tend to be the exception rather than the rule. The generally high positioning of the bottom bracket often hides how small the frame is. Adults can still ride these bikes, but they can be deceptively cramped unless you raise the seat quite a lot or go to a layback type post with riser stem. 

There were actually some very interesting, adult-sized frames in the pre-1933 bikes, but you have to be ready to deal with antique equipment when you go over to those. I'm kind of surprised there hasn't been a stronger market for converting pre-1933 adult-sized frames to riders. The conversion options tend to be expensive still, but some of the taller frames can be a good fit.

Now if you consider the common Raleigh Sports, the usual frame sizes are 19/21 for women and 21/23 for men (with some 19, but most are the 21/23). This is a full step or two steps above an average ballooner frame. These frame sizes tend to allow for a better fit of an older teen or adult. It comes out of the past British experience where the student or average working person could not afford a car, but lived close enough to work or school that bicycling worked. The US briefly had the same during WWII, and that period saw the rise of many 21-23 inch, diamond frame bikes for factory workers to commute on. English and English-style bikes also did well in the US on college campuses for many years, in a scenario where you might not have the money or space for a car, but a bike is a good option. The British largely eventually also went over to cars as well for commuting. In the US, the ideal scenario was at 16 or 18 your get a car and don't look back. Different ways of adapting to different experiences I guess.


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## JoNy (Sep 10, 2021)

True. And my Dad's 23" was too tall for us 5 boys so survived pretty unscathed!  Except for a few "oh no, i can't reach the pedals" tip overs hahahaha.


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## Allrounderco (Sep 10, 2021)

Does anyone know if the finger grips on the bike originally posted two-ish years ago are correct? I have an extremely nice '56 Humber Sports on which the OP changed to a different style accessory grip very early in the bike's life.


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## 3-speeder (Sep 10, 2021)

Allrounderco said:


> Does anyone know if the finger grips on the bike originally posted two-ish years ago are correct? I have an extremely nice '56 Humber Sports on which the OP changed to a different style accessory grip very early in the bike's life.
> 
> View attachment 1475770



I have a '53 Humber Sports that I believe to be quite original.  The grips on it are white and fluted as seen in the picture.  I imagine these would be correct. Ignore the bars and stem as I swapped in a taller stem and deeper swept bars for a more upright ride.


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## 3-speeder (Sep 10, 2021)

Sorry for the teaser y'all but I bought the bike originally posted here along with another Humber Sports.  Both '53s.  I have rehabbed them both and will try to post the story and pics this weekend.


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## Allrounderco (Sep 10, 2021)

3-speeder said:


> I have a '53 Humber Sports that I believe to be quite original.  The grips on it are white and fluted as seen in the picture.  I imagine these would be correct. Ignore the bars and stem as I swapped in a taller stem and deeper swept bars for a more upright ride.
> View attachment 1475934



Thanks for that! Correct for a '56 or not, I'd try to get a set of those if they came up. Looks great!


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## 3-speeder (Sep 12, 2021)

Started a thread on my Humbers here.  A big thanks to @Rambler for turning me on to this bike.  I love it.








						The Tale of Two Humbers | International Bicycles
					

I'll start by saying that this thread was a long time coming and I have a lot of pictures to add so it will take a few posts to fit it all in.    In the summer of 2020 I found an old Humber Sports for sale on the local CL.  After reading about the bike in the thread linked below I had really...




					thecabe.com


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