I have come across an old bike, I have no idea of the history, age or value. It has a remnant of a logo which I cant make out so I wouldn’t know where to start looking for a valuation.

Do any of you have any ideas about what make of bike it is and any idea of the value?

Might be a good project for someone or it might just be scrap?

Thanks

Please don’t scrap it! Looks to be in good order and is no doubt worth something to someone in the know, or even as a display piece. Will have look through my old bike poster book to see if the logo matches anything in there. Probably try retrobike or better still a vintage bicycle group?

May be worth firing an email to Isambard’s Cycles as their logo certainly has strong echoes of the one on your bike, maybe they used an older logo as inspiration?

Maybe contact an antiques dealer.they sell ones like that for display in cafes and shops etc according to salvage hunters.think youd get about 50 quid for it.

Pre-war Hercules Ladies ‘Popular‘ Roadster (made in Aston, Birmingham) at first guess?

Similar to this one on eBay?

link

Although yours has a ‘lightweight‘ chainguard, as most catalogues show either a full guard or no guard (lighweight model)

Lovely looped Art Nouveau-style. It’s nice yours has some original paint/decals too. Those pinstripes are class…

That has “Eroica” written all over it.

The Cycle Museum would definitely be interested in having a look at that https://www.cyclemuseum.org.uk/

Bit of history

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hercules_Cycle_and_Motor_Company

1928 Hercules exported one in five of all British cycles and, by 1935, 40 per cent. In 1929, it took over the Dunlop factory in Nechells, less than a mile to the north-west in Long Acre. This site was named Manor Mills.[4] The company made its six millionth bicycle in February 1939…

… Production continued and by the end of the thirties, Hercules had produced more than six million bicycles, and could claim to be the biggest manufacturer of cycles in the world.[3]

A third factory was added in the 1950s in Plume Street, Long Acre, a short distance from Manor Mills. By this time, Hercules had become one of the largest businesses in Aston, and helped give the area its character.[5] To this day, the mascot of Aston Villa football club is Hercules the Lion.

In 1946, Crane sold the company to Tube Investments for three and a quarter million pounds criticising his accountant who he said had “given away the company”.[6] He stayed on the board of the company. TI had been the main supplier to Hercules, providing the tubing from which the bicycle frames were made. By then, Hercules had lost its understanding of the market. Its racing bike had steel handlebars when alloy was the fashion. It had five gears when 10 were normal. It had heavy tubing and not Reynolds 531. The last bicycles with the Hercules name were produced by Raleigh factory in Nottingham. The name was allowed to die, although Hercules registered accounts until the end of 2001 and the company was not wound up until 2 December 2003. By then it was registered at Raleigh’s address in Triumph Road, Nottingham.

Thnks OP, made my mid-morning coffee much more interesting 👍🏼

Looks like a pre-war women’s bike – what size are the wheels – 27″ or 28″? The problem is that the costs of the restoration will massively exceed what someone will pay for it.

As a display peice they would just clean it up a bit and keep it original.

Restore it. Here’s one I completed.

More pics here

The frame was resprayed by Argos Cycles and the cranks were re-chromed by S&T in Yate, other than that I did the rest myself.

Stick it on gumtree, I sold a butchers bike for good money to a guy that did them up and sent them to Elstree as props for TV. Sent me a lovely photo of it restored. Imagine it’s on call the midwife now.

It’s very possibly older than 1930, although your chainring doesn’t have the ‘Hercules‘ logo

Look at the pinstriping on this 1921 gent’s Popular

1921 Hercules Popular 26″ Roadster

Your snazzy sculpted mudguard is a feature too. There’s a (small) FB group dedictated to this, probably a good bet to send them some pics?

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1702572406628317

Thanks everyone, I will carry onmaking enquiries. I think we’ve established that it shouldnt just go to scrap.

Here are some more pictures.

Definitely not scrap! In fact that is too nice to repaint. lovely patina, chrome work needs a polish and update. Having the chain guard is unusual.

I’m no expert but the lights on seat stays aren’t original to the bike !!

Keep the original paint.something all buyers will look at is the question as to whether its complete and that certainly is.

If I had a bike like that, and room to keep it, I’d probably put new tyres, saddle and a set of brake blocks on it and ride it. Make a lovely shopping bike* with a rack and panniers that. Saddle would be the most expensive thing.

Anything obviously wrong with it like a worn out bottom bracket or headset?

*I’m going to invent the niche of CargoLite. This is the Vintage CargoLite sub-niche.

I’m going to invent the niche of CargoLite.

aka ‘shopper bike’ 😉

Even the awful Noughties phrase ‘sexed-up’ was sexed-up. Especially when describing consumer-goods.

It’s a cheap looking dynamo, definitly not original

I like the look of the paintwork as it is so wouldn’t dare to remove it, it has character for sure.

That would look great somehwere like Bovington tank museum where they create the real life @home historic style dioramas as part of their displays.

There’s a very good reason why you don’t usually see folk riding bikes with rod brakes.

Looks like a lot of effort and cost, as a guide there’s a set of his and hers in similar nick on ebay at the moment for £65. If you are going to use it or prepared to lose money on it go ahead but go in with your eyes open. I have my own passion project that looks easy by comparison.

There’s a very good reason why you don’t usually see folk riding bikes with rod brakes.

Yep, they don’t work (especially in wet). I find it amusing that people would ride a bike like this but then berate me for riding brakeless fixed gear because apparently I can’t stop and it isn’t safe. Having ridden a 1950’s Raleigh with rod brakes for 2 years as my commuter bike I can tell you that I can definitely stop more quickly by skid stopping a fixed gear than stopping a rod brake equipped 20kg bike.
The plus side is that with chain guard and full mudguards they are good for cycling while wearing a suit which is what I did when I rode one (this was in the old days, 1990’s, when everyone wore suits)

Is there a way to make it rideable without spoiling it? I.e. replacing the type of brakes

Not really – rims are a different shape and no mountings for more modern brakes on frame or fork. Properly adjusted rod brakes should work OK and kerley – basic physics says you are wrong. As does the law.

Rear wheel only braking can not stop you properly at all. simple physics.

Is there a way to make it rideable without spoiling it? I.e. replacing the type of brakes

I bought a bike with rod brakes and that type of rims, which are lovely looking once polished up a bit. However as kerley says: don’t keep the brakes if you ever fancy stopping in the rain!

I had the wheels rebuilt with some Sturmey Archer hub brakes/gears which are pretty good (thank you DCR wheels!). If you really want to keep the vintage look then perhaps a coaster brake at the back and keep the rods at the front?

Properly adjusted rod brakes should work OK and kerley – basic physics says you are wrong. As does the law.

TJ, they’re notoriously awful brakes. Whilst you would be right if comparing with proper brakes, wet rod brakes on a heavy bike aren’t going to stop much.

Like I said, there’s a good reason you don’t see folk using them.

Properly adjusted rod brakes should work OK

I dunno – there isn’t actually any mechanical advantage in the brake ‘caliper’ is there? Just at the lever.

As for stopping power – if those are chromed or stainless rims, then the pads are probably leather and that combo is legendary for not working *at all* in the wet. I speak from experience.

All rod-brake chat is true. I once glided a full 100m past a right turn I wanted to make with new blocks on chrome rims in the wet. 😲

They’re ‘adequate’ in the dry, just leave it in the garage when it’s raining. 👍