# 1935 Hercules Model G



## SirMike1983 (Mar 26, 2013)

Working on a pre war 3 speed bicycle- a Hercules Model G All Black/All Weather.






http://bikeshedva.blogspot.com/2013/03/1935-hercules-3-speed-model-g.html

http://bikeshedva.blogspot.com/2013/03/hercules-3-speed-bicycle-fender-repair.html

So far the bicycle is partially torn down and I'm removing the spraybomb/housepaint and trying to preserve/supplement the original black paint. It's no small task, but it's really an interesting bicycle. I'm really looking forward to riding it once it's done.


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## tailhole (Mar 26, 2013)

*Love it!*

Very, very nice.  Keep us posted.


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## Andrew Gorman (Mar 26, 2013)

Looks sharp!  I thought that these brake shoes made a HUGE improvement in braking on my rod brake bike:
http://harriscyclery.net/product/fibrax-sh144-premium-rod-brake-shoes-pair-1507.htm
Have fun with it.


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## OldRider (Mar 26, 2013)

Very very nice! Wasn't Hercules tied in with Phillips somehow?


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## SirMike1983 (Mar 26, 2013)

OldRider said:


> Very very nice! Wasn't Hercules tied in with Phillips somehow?




Later on they were both owned by the same parent company- British Cycle Corporation, and ultimately TI/Raleigh.

http://herculesmuseum.wordpress.com/


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## OldRider (Mar 26, 2013)

An interesting history, thanks for the link!


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## fat tire trader (Mar 29, 2013)

Nice Bike! I have a couple of Hercules bikes also. You can see one of them here

http://www.fattiretrading.com/42herc.html

I also have several Hercules catalogs

http://www.fattiretrading.com/catalogs.html


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## SirMike1983 (Mar 29, 2013)

fat tire trader said:


> Nice Bike! I have a couple of Hercules bikes also. You can see one of them here
> 
> http://www.fattiretrading.com/42herc.html
> 
> ...




I like your website. I don't see the black/Model G in the 1939 catalog. If you get the earlier 1936 catalog up, I'd be interested in looking through it. I'm always searching to reference materials for the projects I end up doing. Nice site.


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## fat tire trader (Mar 29, 2013)




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## SirMike1983 (Mar 29, 2013)

fat tire trader said:


>




Excellent- thanks for that. Mine is the "all black at no extra charge" with the 3 speed add-on. I've got a vintage Hercules gear case on the way that I hope will work out nicely.


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## SirMike1983 (Apr 2, 2013)

Fender repair and clean up (can't remember if I posted that)

http://bikeshedva.blogspot.com/2013/03/hercules-3-speed-bicycle-fender-repair.html






Front wheel tire removal, rim strip removal/examination, oiling:

http://bikeshedva.blogspot.com/2013/04/hercules-model-g-front-wheel.html


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## SirMike1983 (Apr 6, 2013)

Well, it does seem to be a model G but it may not be an all black. I found the front wheel is chrome plated under the black house paint. My guess is it is a Model G with the plated option.


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## SirMike1983 (Apr 11, 2013)

More work:

http://bikeshedva.blogspot.com/2013/04/removing-paint-from-bicycle-fender-and.html


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## JOEL (Apr 12, 2013)

Nice job! It will be worth the effort, these bikes ride GREAT.

I just finished a 39 Raleigh DL-1. Have had several cool English bikes pass through lately. If you need a mate for yours, I have an original prewar top-end Phillips w/rod brakes, full chaincase, skirt guards.


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## SirMike1983 (Apr 13, 2013)

More work: fender touch up, frame polishing, rim setback. You take the bad with the good sometimes.

http://bikeshedva.blogspot.com/2013/04/hercules-and-raleigh-bicycle-projects.html

Rear fender:





Polishing the rear part of the frame:





Damage to rear rim:


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## JOEL (Apr 14, 2013)

Just a bit of brake wear, to be expected on a bike of this age.


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## SirMike1983 (Apr 30, 2013)

The bicycle is currently snagged with a hold up: there is a series of small cracks in one of the drops of the front fork. I don't trust the integrity of that area, so I'm sending the fork to a frame builder to repair. He laid out his plans to braze and repair the area so that the part will be ride ready. 

http://bikeshedva.blogspot.com/2013/04/hercules-model-g-fork.html


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## fat tire trader (Apr 30, 2013)

It is difficult for me to tell from the  photos  how serious the cracks may be. I do not know how much experience the frame builder has in repairing old damaged bicycle frames. To repair cracks in a drop-out, the cracks should be v grooved and then brazed or tig welded.. There are possible problems with this method of repair. The cracks are the result of a lot of stress on the drop-out. Which means that the integrity of the entire drop-out may be weak. Depending upon the type of use that the drop-out will have and the frequency, it might be ok. It might just crack again along the side of the old cracks. A better way to repair the drop-out could be to make a new drop-out and replace the damaged one. With a little bit of heat, the original drop-out can be removed and a new one installed. When this kind of damage is caused my multiple cycles of stress, I believe that replacement is the proper repair. When it is caused by one crash, I believe that v grooving and brazing or tig welding may suffice.


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## SirMike1983 (May 1, 2013)

fat tire trader said:


> It is difficult for me to tell from the  photos  how serious the cracks may be. I do not know how much experience the frame builder has in repairing old damaged bicycle frames. To repair cracks in a drop-out, the cracks should be v grooved and then brazed or tig welded.. There are possible problems with this method of repair. The cracks are the result of a lot of stress on the drop-out. Which means that the integrity of the entire drop-out may be weak. Depending upon the type of use that the drop-out will have and the frequency, it might be ok. It might just crack again along the side of the old cracks. A better way to repair the drop-out could be to make a new drop-out and replace the damaged one. With a little bit of heat, the original drop-out can be removed and a new one installed. When this kind of damage is caused my multiple cycles of stress, I believe that replacement is the proper repair. When it is caused by one crash, I believe that v grooving and brazing or tig welding may suffice.





When I talked to him on the phone a couple weeks ago, he mentioned the possibilities were totally replacing the drop or brazing the original. I sent him the pictures and he believed brazing was the way to go. If the fork gets there and he changes his mind and decides the drop needs replacing, then I suppose that will have to be the way to go.

I cannot tell how long the crack has been there. I noticed it because I saw it in the paint. When I pulled the paint back, I found what's in the pictures above. The other drop seems to show no damage of the sort, even after peeling back the paint on that joint. The fork tube appears to be straight, and the joints of the blade-tubes into the crown look unaffected. 

The frame builder mentioned the damage was in an odd spot, a thought with which I agree. I almost wonder if someone was riding with the front wheel a bit loose, and hit a bump, and the wheel twisted in the drops, causing some sideways stress. Who knows.

When I mail the fork to him today I'll send him an email saying that if he feels the need to replace the entire drop based on looking at the fork, he can just do that too.


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## tailhole (May 1, 2013)

cool!  Keep the process photos coming!


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## SirMike1983 (May 12, 2013)

http://bikeshedva.blogspot.com/2013/05/1935-hercules-model-g-fork-is-back.html

The fork is back. It turns out there are no separate dropouts, per se. Instead, the factory stamped the ends into shape, forming the shell of the drop. They then filled the shell with molten metal to form the core of the drop. It's definitely not like a Raleigh front drop, which is a usually a separate piece brazed into the fork blade tube. 

The framebuilder brazed the area that had started to separate around the crimp. The supposed cracks turned out to be much less extensive than first thought- they were mostly deep scratches. He ground those down and did a fillet to level off the surface. He then smoothed everything out. He indicated the repair was less difficult than first anticipated and that the repair should give fine strength. 


Before: 






After:


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## SirMike1983 (May 18, 2013)

The fork is back on the bike, and the frame is being cleaned up still. I used that "paint wash" method I described earlier to even out the rather uneven black paint on the frame. 

http://bikeshedva.blogspot.com/2013/05/shining-up-paint-hercules-model-g.html


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## SirMike1983 (May 23, 2013)

Sturmey Archer Model K 1935 hub:

http://bikeshedva.blogspot.com/2013/05/sturmey-archer-model-k.html


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## SirMike1983 (Jun 8, 2013)

I have re-built the rear wheel with better spokes and a new rim. The original rim had a fair bit of rust inside and the brakes had finally broken through the outer surface. It may be fixable at a welder's shop, but for now I like the peace of mind a new rim will bring. I managed to locate the same type of rims, which are still being made. They are Westwood/rod brake 650b 26 x 1 1/2 types. They are made by the Avro company. The spokes are straight gauge (as the originals were) DT Swiss stainless. I have opted to retain the use of oval nipple washers, as original (the rims are single wall at the holes, like the originals), but I have also opted to add brass spoke washers around the hub flanges. 

http://bikeshedva.blogspot.com/2013/06/hercules-3-speed-model-g-wheels-old-and.html

The new rear alongside the old front wheel:


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## SirMike1983 (Jun 16, 2013)

http://bikeshedva.blogspot.com/2013/06/rebuilt-hercules-bicycle-wheels.html

I've rebuilt the front wheel to the original pattern (32 spoke cross 3, no interlace on this one). Once again I've used DT Swiss straight gauge, stainless spokes, along with brass spoke head washers and elongated steel washers at the rim. The elongated steel washers are a carry over from the original design, but the brass spoke head washers are my own addition. I did the rear wheel the same way, but in a 40 cross 4 pattern (the original was that way as well). The rims are Avro 650b Westwood, copies of the originals. I believe the front hub is an oil filler Dunlop.


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## SirMike1983 (Jun 20, 2013)

Tires are on the bike:

http://bikeshedva.blogspot.com/2013/06/westwood-bicycle-wheels-26-x-1-12-650b.html


The wheels are British Westwood type 26 x 1-1/2, which is fortunately today's 650b. 650b tires are making a come back as an intermediate size for vintage and utility use bicycles. I had 2 sets on hand: Demi-Balloon 650b for Schwinn tandems (44mm) and 40mm 650b, which is closer to a true English Roadster size, as far as I can tell (Raleigh DL-1 tires commonly are 40mm in the 28 inch wheel size). These Kenda 40-584 tires have a utility street tread and plain, black walls. The tubes are 590mm for English roadster type, which stretches to fit the somewhat bigger 650b tires. As usual, I went with the Fond De Jante rim tape, which I think blows away the rubber strip type.


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## SirMike1983 (Jun 20, 2013)

They do look sort of "knobby" in that one picture, though that seems to just be a pattern on the tire. They're street treads still.


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## robertob (Jun 21, 2013)

That's cool - I've never seen a british bike with 650b tires before. 650a, sure, but not iso 584.

I have had a phillips with 590 rod brakes...


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## fat tire trader (Jun 22, 2013)

The rear wheel on my BSA Winged Wheel is 650B


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## SirMike1983 (Jun 23, 2013)

robertob said:


> That's cool - I've never seen a british bike with 650b tires before. 650a, sure, but not iso 584.
> 
> I have had a phillips with 590 rod brakes...




I have a Raleigh Dawn in that 650a/590mm size with rod brakes as well. The beauty of the 650a/590mm size is that you can get parts more easily. The Raleigh Sports pattern rims could run either caliper or rod brakes, which means you can actually just locate some Sports wheels and use those if you need to. 650b... not so much. I had to have rims shipped from England for this bike. The shipping costs for that stink. The 650b size seems to have been an intermediate size between the 650a/590 and the 28 inch wheel bikes, but also a size that never gained much steam in the US. I will say not everything gets worse as time goes on; we have more options in 650b tires now than we did even a few years ago.


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## SirMike1983 (Jun 25, 2013)

Some more progress: I've assembled the bicycle. A few things remain: brakes, handlebar cleanup, mount a proper saddle, and overall finish touch up in some spots. This is one tall bicycle, with a 24 inch frame. 

http://bikeshedva.blogspot.com/2013/06/hercules-model-g-three-speed-progress.html


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## SirMike1983 (Jun 29, 2013)

Cleaning up and re-finishing the handlebars. They were originally black painted, and I plan to continue that.

http://bikeshedva.blogspot.com/2013/06/hercules-model-g-all-black-handlebars.html


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## SirMike1983 (Jul 12, 2013)

The bike is essentially done. There may be a few minor adjustments, and perhaps a part replacement or two left, but it's internal/minor components and nothing overly major.

http://www.bikeshedva.blogspot.com/2013/07/1935-english-hercules-3-speed-model-g.html


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## Larmo63 (Jul 12, 2013)

Love it, Mike....!

These old British bikes are really becoming a lot more sexy to me. Reminds me of an old Austin Healy 3000.

I want one now.

Great job!!!!!!


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## OldRider (Jul 12, 2013)

You did a great job Mike..........its beautiful!


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## SirMike1983 (Jul 12, 2013)

Thanks guys- I appreciate the compliments. I was somewhat disappointed by the number of parts I ended up having to just replace.  Fortunately, many of the parts are still being produced. I think the biggest surprise was that you can still get 650b (26 x 1-1/2 in the English size) rims. Once I found the holes and rusted interior of the rear rim I was concerned about the project being in bad shape for getting back on the road. I was truly psyched when I found the rims are still being made in plated steel and in the original 40-32 drilling.


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## Larmo63 (Jul 12, 2013)

I'm actually serious, and this type of thread proves it to me.....I really 

want one of these amazing machines.....!


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## Larmo63 (Jul 12, 2013)

I was in Newport, Rhode Island last week at an antique store and I spied a Rudge enclosed chain

men's bike stashed in the back for sale......she wanted $1200 for it or make an offer......... Ouch.


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## SirMike1983 (Aug 13, 2013)

A couple more from my ride the other day.

http://bikeshedva.blogspot.com/2013/08/summer-rides-1935-hercules-model-g.html

Before: 





After:


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