# 1946 Hercules Royal Model C



## SirMike1983 (Dec 8, 2015)

This will be the last project to be completed this year. I picked up a matching set of 1946 Hercules bicycles locally. The men's model is done, and the ladies will be the first project of 2016. My shop is a cinder block shed from the 1950s with no heat or running water, so winter work is very difficult. I suspect the ladies model will take awhile. 

This is a Hercules Royal sub brand bike. The head badge has a decal of a rampant lion with "Royal" at the top and "Made in England" underneath the lion. The parts are Hercules parts. It originally had a Perry coaster marked 8-46 but I swapped in a 3 speed Sturmey Coaster  from the 1960s to give some extra gearing options. It has a single rod front brake. It appears to be a Model C Safety roadster with a coaster brake variation on it. The US market heavily favored coaster brakes in 1946, so I suspect this imported to appeal to an American rider. It really is a little version of the traditional roadster- slack frame, but 26 inch wheels and a 21 inch frame rather than anything larger. 

http://www.bikeshedva.blogspot.com/2015/12/final-project-of-2015.html


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## bikecrazy (Dec 8, 2015)

Beautiful bike! Where do you get brake pads?


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## SirMike1983 (Dec 8, 2015)

The pads that came with them actually were relatively new, but I do have some Kool Stop pads as spares. Kool Stop makes both black and salmon pads for the loop base holders. Those could work for you. Just make sure you have the loop base rather than the square base pads.

Here's some on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Kool-Stop-Rounded-Philips-Holders/dp/B005FKP57S


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## bulldog1935 (Dec 8, 2015)

killer roadster


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## bikecrazy (Dec 9, 2015)

Thanks for the info on the brake pads.


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## SirMike1983 (Apr 21, 2016)

It's hard not to want to ride this particular bicycle. It has the laid back frame of a traditional rod brake roadster, but in the smaller package that is closer to a Raleigh Dawn or Raleigh Sports. It's a neat combination of features.

From this evening:


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## bulldog1935 (Apr 22, 2016)

James Coburn pedaling to Spain in The Great Escape has always been my favorite mental image of bicycling


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## SirMike1983 (Jun 11, 2016)

I added a set of celluloid Apex brand grips, which really go well with this bike. Here are a few shots under a big, old Willow Oak. I love the extended daylight this time of year. Evening rides are great.


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## Gasbag (Jun 11, 2016)

It is kind of nice seeing the older Hercules bikes getting some exposure lately. The poor quality and cheapening of the post Raleigh Hercules damaged the brands reputation. The side photos of your Hercules really demonstrates the slack frame angles that make these older models such pleasant bikes to ride.


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## SirMike1983 (Jun 18, 2016)

A brief look at vintage, 'hybrid' braking systems featuring the Hercules Model C and a 1940 Westfield Sports Roadster:

http://bikeshedva.blogspot.com/2016/06/hands-and-feet-hybrid-braking-set-ups.html


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## Gasbag (Jun 19, 2016)

There are a couple more hybrid systems to add to the mix. My 1950 Columbia 5 Star uses a coaster rear and Sturmey Archer front drum brake. Even with the tank and rear rack missing, this is one seriously heavy bicycle and the drum brake adds a pound or two. Drum brakes are making a modern, lighter, return to popularity.

Vintage Japanese bicycles often used a rod actuated front stirrup brake and a rod actuated rear band brake on a single speed freehub. You have to look closely to see the difference because at first glance they appear to have stirrup brakes front and rear. Rear band brakes are still common in Japan and very effective all weather brakes. The high end vintage Japanese roadsters, seldom seen in the U.S.A., are some of the most ornate bicycles to be found. The level of detail can be stunning. 

The U.S.A. preference for rear coaster brake, no front brake, makes an accounting of itself with the frequent amount of bent forks we see on fresh found bikes.

I almost forgot about the TOC bikes that use a fixed gear drive and a front spoon brake.


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## SirMike1983 (Jun 19, 2016)

There's any number of variations of hybrid systems. When you think about it, the coaster rear and hand brake front (any type) makes a lot of sense from the concept that one has a hand to operate the front brake, a free hand to signal or operate a bell, and the feet do the rear braking. On the other hand, the common, two hand brake system occupies both hands. 

This sort of falls apart though, because the coaster brake disables the ability to freely spin the pedals backward in order to get a certain foot position while turning or stopped in traffic. Three speed coaster brakes tend to be a bit weaker than other systems as well, because part of the hub is taken up by the internal gear mechanism. 

Perhaps the best idea is to use a rear 3 speed drum: you get the weather resistance of the internal brake, but more flexibility than the coaster brake.


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## SirMike1983 (Jun 19, 2016)

I also think it is interesting that Hercules continues to live on as brand in India, under the same parent company as BSA. The old story goes that Indian businesses bought the old tooling and production means from the English roadster makers and continued producing bikes.

I doubt today's Indian Hercules bikes are made with the same tooling as the Birmingham bikes, but I do believe these roadsters are the closest thing to descendants of the old Hercules roadsters as we have today. The quality on the Indian roadsters is not as high as the older, English bikes, but they do live on in some form, and roadsters are still a mainstay in that part of the world

http://hercules.in/hercules-roadsters/


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## SirMike1983 (Oct 10, 2016)

A ride on this Hercules down to the park and to drop off the mail. The contrast between this bike and the 1960s Sprite 5 speed I rode yesterday is pretty marked. It's a different style of riding, but both are enjoyable.


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## SirMike1983 (Feb 18, 2017)




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