# HERCULES drop bar 23" frame



## shoe3 (Jun 28, 2018)

Pickep this up other day, road yesterday, middlemoores not broke in  my prostate is.Tried to pass on no luck.


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## juvela (Jun 28, 2018)

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them thar quill peds cain't be _originale.

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## shoe3 (Jun 28, 2018)

juvela said:


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> 
> them thar quill peds cain't be _originale.
> 
> -----_



came with bike, you may be right, I have no i dea , they look good


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## dnc1 (Jul 5, 2018)

Phillip,
Hercules are impossible to date from frame numbers, no rhyme or reason to their numbering.
Looks 40's/50's to me, but with sloping top tube frame may well be earlier, 30's at the latest.


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## dnc1 (Jul 5, 2018)

Sorry, should have read thread title better, I now realise you meant drop handlebars, not dropped top tube. Apologies, definitely 40's/ 50's/60's I'd say.


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## rhenning (Jul 5, 2018)

The bike looks like my old Hercules I bought new in 1963 and redid it to look like that about 1965.  I added the drop bars which cost me about $2 back then.  It was a Raleigh clone and mine was sold at the local Gambles hardware store for just under $40 on sale.  Actually $20 and a Remington single shot .22 rifle.  Roger


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## wrongway (Jul 5, 2018)

I had a 1969 once and it had those chrome 'tape' stripes on it. I would date this more into the mid to late 60's. Maybe it's a Kestrel?  Looks like a fun ride!


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## Oilit (Jul 27, 2018)

wrongway said:


> I had a 1969 once and it had those chrome 'tape' stripes on it. I would date this more into the mid to late 60's. Maybe it's a Kestrel?  Looks like a fun ride!



I think you're right about the date. That chrome fork cap looks like the generic Raleigh style, the Hercules style was longer. And since most drop bar bikes were 10 speeds by the '60's, I'm guessing this one's been converted just like @rhenning described.


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## juvela (Jul 28, 2018)

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+1  


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## harpon (Jul 31, 2018)

60's I think- I looked at images on google trying to date this one I repainted and built with 27" wheels-mid 60's sometime it seemed
Was that reflective tape on the fork from the factory?  I thought someone had done that and it would NOT come off.

That same rounded off Phillips steel crank is that period I think- and that didn't want to come off either, while I had a nice alloy thing with a 45 ring instead of the big 48.  The ring had to be straightened with a big 12" crescent wrench and  I lubed the BB with heavy gear oil down the seat tube and it spilled out all over the floor for a few days!

Notice how close the wheel clearance is with Schwinn World tourist 3 speed coaster brake 27" wheels. 700C wheels would fit better, and you could go down to 23 or 25mm tyres.  I'm amazed at the light weight it already is, and a significant amount could still come off.  The front rim is still steel, because the fork only accepts an older skinny axle.

I threw out the chrome cap because it was both rusty and clunky- the original crown gives it almost a more modern sloping look.


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