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52? Hercules Safety Model

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3-speeder

Wore out three sets of tires already!
I found this bike on CL a while ago and I'm just now starting the rehab. It is a ladies framed light roadster style Hercules that appears to say "Safety Model" on the seat tube. It is of a type I have not often seen and also in a color that I haven't often seen. It has a rear hub with the Hercules markings that say "Type 2" which I thought was code for the year. I had a type 3 that was a 53 but that one said "B Type 3". I can't make out any letter before the "Type 2" as the hub shell is pretty shot. Suprisingly the hub itself spins like a top and looks great inside. While working on it I found that the sprocket is threaded onto the driver and not the 3 tab type. I'll probably swap that out to make lacing new spokes easier and to add a larger cog. I already have the perfect cream colored Schwalbes in the 26 x 1 3/8 size. They'll go great with the geen. Here are some before pictures

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thanks very much for sharing this find

what do you envision as an end goal of your work with this?

do you see it as a "make it work" project or more of a "restoration"?

asking because ferrous oxide looks quite advanced in numerous spots

refinishing all of the cycle's chrome bits would be quite costly

shall look forward to following along as you proceed 😉

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This bike will get my usual treatment. I will clean it up as best I can and do a complete tune up to all the bearings and surfaces that they roll in. Replace what needs replacing and get it road worthy. I couldn't resist buying this bike at 20$. Just the kind of oddity that keeps me in the hunt.
 
Wow. The Birmingham bikes are quite different from the RI bikes I've ridden. The one I had used very slack geometry (like a regular roadster), and had a considerably lower BB height, which I discovered after a massive pedal strike on pavement. But man, the bike could ride itself. I'd have snapped that up without hesitation. Looking forward to seeing the cleanup.
 
The "safety" models were a line that Hercules advertised as having 26 inch wheels and a lower frame, so that you could put your feet on the ground when stopping the bike without leaving the saddle. They were portrayed as a solution for stop-and-go traffic, city biking, or anyone who wanted a bike where they could just pull the brakes, and put their feet down from the saddle. Hence they are a little lower than a common roadster frame. I had a Hercules-made Royal Model C roadster from 1946 for awhile.

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I eventually sold mine because I was not a huge fan of the 21 inch frame, even with the slacker angles. They're well-made bikes and definitely different from the common Raleigh/AMF Hercules. I guess the frame just didn't quite have the ride that I liked.
 
3-speeder, If you take the same approach with this, as with the Humbers, you will be rewarded! Yes its got some "oxidation", but you could always upgrade some of the plated bits later, with better used parts, as you go, or as you find them. Keep going!!!
 
The stamping on the seat lug looks like a typical Hercules serial. They usually had two letters and four digits, and they had them on the seat post lug for a while in the late '40's and early '50's. I'd guess you're correct on the hub date.
 
The stamping on the seat lug looks like a typical Hercules serial. They usually had two letters and four digits, and they had them on the seat post lug for a while in the late '40's and early '50's. I'd guess you're correct on the hub date.
I didn't know that stamping would be the serial #. Good to know. Thanks.
Looking back at images of my '53 Coronation model I see that it had the s n on the left drop out. 5 digits and then 2 letters
 
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