Hercules Raleigh Roadster

[Big Fat Whitewalls]

I'm curious to know the date of this bike. It doesn't have a Sturmey Archer rear hub, instead it has a 3spd hub with Hercules A type O made in England on it, and no date. It has rod brakes, when did they stop using those? I didn't see a serial number on it, I checked the left side of the seat post with no luck. It's all original, paint,tires and all, well maybe not the seat. Thanks, Dean

 

[phillips1952]

im guessin 50s

most likely 50s ,,by the shape of the fenders and handlebar trigger shifter,although alot were put on.. the top bar shifters broke alot.is the rear brake rod bolted through the bottom bracket?i cant see from the pics.shes a nice bike though it will ride great with some mechanical and elbow grease..i dig it..

 

[zuissjw1]

My guess is that this is late 40's to early 50's. I have a similar looking bike made by Hercules (branded Churchill Deluxe) and mine was 1953. I could date mine as it has a Sturmey Dynohub front hub dated 534. I also have a matching women's bike of the same era.

Mine have the Hercumatic B Type 4 hub. The bicycle serial number should be on the non drive chain stay tab where the rear hub/axle bolts into the frame.

Regards, John

 

[sailorbenjamin]

Judging by the Beetle it's propped up against, I'd say it's a 67 or a 68.

 

[Big Fat Whitewalls]

Judging by the Beetle it's propped up against, I'd say it's a 67 or a 68.

You're a little off, the Beetle is a 66.

 

[SirMike1983]

That looks like a true Hercules to me, not a Raleigh-produced Herc. Those are not all that common here in the US. The quality is the equal to a Raleigh in most cases, which is quite good. Raleigh-made Hercules bicycles are lower grade.

 

[Coreyk]

From what I understand

Soon after Raleigh bought TI in 1960, they changed the head badges to say "Nottingham" on all the brands they bought. I have a 1960 Hercules
with a Sturmey Archer AW dated 2 60, that still has the Birmingham designation.
It is probable that mine is a carryover, and was assembled by Raleigh from existing Hercules parts.

Chances are good that the crossover to "Nottingham" badges was done by 6/1960. The fact that yours has the Hercules hub makes it much more likely to be a pre-Raleigh model. Check the left rear dropout for the serial number. That's where mine is.

All in all, a great find. I really like the geometry of that frame...probably a really nice stately ride to it. Are those 26" wheels?

CK

 

[Big Fat Whitewalls]

Yes the wheels are 26". I bought this bike from an older gentleman, that bought it from the original owners estate. If I remember right, he bought it in the late 60's, and he remembered the original owner riding it all over the neighborhood. I've had it about two years. It was learning against a mailbox, with a cardboard hand written for sale sign, on a rural country road that I don't take very often. It wasn't locked up or anything. When I knocked on the door, the guy was napping. It could have been stolen from him very easily. I actually drove past it, went down the road a few miles, then turned around and went back. I was unemployed at the time, and didn't need it. The kicker is he was asking $10.00 for it, which I gladly paid, even though I didn't know what it was, or if it was anything special. Dean

 

[SirMike1983]

Yes the wheels are 26". I bought this bike from an older gentleman, that bought it from the original owners estate. If I remember right, he bought it in the late 60's, and he remembered the original owner riding it all over the neighborhood. I've had it about two years. It was learning against a mailbox, with a cardboard hand written for sale sign, on a rural country road that I don't take very often. It wasn't locked up or anything. When I knocked on the door, the guy was napping. It could have been stolen from him very easily. I actually drove past it, went down the road a few miles, then turned around and went back. I was unemployed at the time, and didn't need it. The kicker is he was asking $10.00 for it, which I gladly paid, even though I didn't know what it was, or if it was anything special. Dean

It's worth well-more than that.

These bicycles, while not as well-known as the Raleighs are every bit as good in quality of manufacture. They do take some oddball parts that are hard to find in the US, as they're much more common in Britain than the US (where we see mostly just Raleighs and re-brand Raleighs). You made an excellent find. It must have been an odd sight to people back in the day when the original owner was riding it-- something very different.

 

[Doohickie]

That is definitely a pre-Raleigh Hercules. As was said upthread, Raleigh bought out the Hercules brand in 1960.

I have a 1960 Hercules. It's an odd bike in that it has a Montgomery Ward Hawthorne nameplate that says Made in Birmingham, England, but has the Hercules coat of arms on the downtube and says HERCULES very prominently on the seat tube. So that points to a true Hercules. Then, there's the hub which is a Sturmey Archer AW with a date code of 60 4.

And the kicker is that it doesn't look like an English roadster at all. It is more of a 50s cruiser style, with a unique twin toptube that's really a continuation of the seat stays all the way to the head tube.