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The Royal Imperial with Sturmey Archer AW-9

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3-speeder

Wore out three sets of tires already!
So I picked up an old 3-speed today with a Stumer Archer that had the AW-9 stamping on it. I know I've seen a hub on here with that marking. Thought someone said if was a 1939 model. Who can help me remember that? I know, I know. This is a big tease right? Sorry about that. I'll get the bike posted as soon as I get pictures. It was raining costs and dogs when I got home so it's still in the van. Here's the hub marking
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Yep, 1939. A big plus is the 1930s-1940s AW hubs take threaded track cogs rather than the three pip and snap ring Shimano style cogs.
 
So here it is. It's called The Royal Imperial. I think it's in great shape if it is indeed 80 years old. Still has some solid black paint and nice red pin striping. The hub is very sound and shifted between all gears without any adjustments. Wheels have a slight wobble but not too bad. Mismatched pedals. Headbadge is not a badge but rather a decal or such. Looking it over seems there has been some black spray paint touch up. There is also what I call Kalamazoo chrome on the rims and saddle undercarriage. I've seen this before where it looks like silver paint used on the metal as a way to preserve it perhaps. Over all I'm pretty happy with it. Haven't seen one quite like it.

What can anyone tell me about a manufacturer and maybe year of build? The heavy lugs remind me of @SirMike1983's pre war Phillips. The wheels are a standard 26 x 1 3/8 EA3 size with the Schwinn Spitfire tires. Second English bike I have now with those tires. How about the seatpost? Is that a homemade piece or did some come like that? I sure love a good mystery bike. Should be a fun rehab. I plan to overhaul the mechanics but just mildly clean it to leave that old bike look.

Here are some pics
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The Royal Imperial is like the KuK Post on Austro-Hungarian stamps-Kaiserlich und Koeniglich Imperial and Royal Post. And in 1939 George VI was king of England and nominally emperor of India.
 
Looks like a pre-war bike to me. 1939 is correct for the hub. Most of the paint is original. The silver, I think, is a re-spray someone did and is not original. Black paint and red pins should be original from the look of it. Seat post is a "gallows" post, correct for pre-war and 1940s era. I'm not familiar with that headbadge, but it is very typical of the pre-war bikes. With the gallows post and pre-war equipment, they ride differently from the 1950s and later bikes - more upright and not quite as "sporty feeling" as a DL-1 (if you can believe it - they're very much a basic, utilitarian bike with an upright riding position, even compared to a standard 1970s DL-1). The brake levers are kind of a peculiar shape, but the pre-war bikes show a lot of variation in the handlebars and lever. Elswick/Hopper had some weird rollers in that style back in the day. It's a good bike and should clean up nicely. You'll need to be patient truing the wheels - make sure you have penetrating oil and a little heat in there before truing. Those brass spoke nipples strip easily if you're not careful.
 
Looks like a pre-war bike to me. 1939 is correct for the hub. Most of the paint is original. The silver, I think, is a re-spray someone did and is not original. Black paint and red pins should be original from the look of it. Seat post is a "gallows" post, correct for pre-war and 1940s era. I'm not familiar with that headbadge, but it is very typical of the pre-war bikes. With the gallows post and pre-war equipment, they ride differently from the 1950s and later bikes - more upright and not quite as "sporty feeling" as a DL-1 (if you can believe it - they're very much a basic, utilitarian bike with an upright riding position, even compared to a standard 1970s DL-1). The brake levers are kind of a peculiar shape, but the pre-war bikes show a lot of variation in the handlebars and lever. Elswick/Hopper had some weird rollers in that style back in the day. It's a good bike and should clean up nicely. You'll need to be patient truing the wheels - make sure you have penetrating oil and a little heat in there before truing. Those brass spoke nipples strip easily if you're not careful.
Thanks for the information and advice. I appreciate it. Looking at this style of brakes it makes me think changing a tire must have been a real chore. Probably needed a few more tools with the patch kit for these ones
 
So the cotter pins came out pretty smoothly. Yay! Here are a couple images of the rear brake assembly. Probably the same as the top one in the previous image. Makes sense as that was from the 1939 Phillips catalog.

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Nice original lightweight. Something different. That front decal needed some serious contortion to go around the lugs. Someone was paid to apply those as a job.
 
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