Morning All
I've recently had the good fortune to buy a Horace Bates, with Cantiflex Tubing, Diadrant forks et al, for the princely sum of £150. It's not in the best of condition, and I wanted to find out what I could before I set about restoring it. See pics below. All I've been able to decipher from the BB is the following: Running round the BB, on the drive side, the letter U, and underneath it, 9Y12. Also, running across the BB, the figure 69. There may be more, but it's currently hidden by the paint job.
The bike has been repainted by hand in red, and the paint is flaking off. Underneath, there's some chrome, and some bare metal, suggesting a badly decomposed chrome finish. No sign of any rust though. It's fitted with a Titan Major Taylor style adjustable stem, and some roadster style bars that cannot be original. It's wearing a 4 speed Sturmey Archer at the back, but that doesn't seem right to me. That said, there are no braze ons for derailleurs. I'd like to find out how this bike would have been equipped originally. It currently has a Williams crankset.
My thinking is that I might build it up as a path racer. I would like to strip off the red paint, and what little remains of the chrome, and get it rechromed, but that gives me some questions. How should I best remove the chrome, should I simply use a local plater, or do I need to go to a bike specialist for the rechrome, what should I expect to pay, and how do I protect the headbadge during that process (see pics). The forks are still chrome, but badly pitted, so would need rechroming also, as would the stem. How should I prep for this? Would this bike have originally been geared? I'd like to fit some period appropriate aluminium rimmed flip flop hubbed wheels, but what do I need to look for, and where? I guess a nice set of Titan track bars would go nicely with that stem, the sort which curve immediately away from the stem, with no real flats. Does anyone have a set to sell, or know where I might look?
I guess overall, I'm setting out on a bigger task than I've tried before, and I need some help. Help me out, oh listmasters!
http://i14.photobucket.com/
Cheers in advance
Sam Wise
Southampton, UK