1951 Les Ephgrave restoration

[old steel Bikes]

I purchased the frame as is. The frame was restored with period style lug and box lining by Cleveland Bike Spray a relatively short lived outfit who did beautiful work. I stumble onto this frame late one night and as soon as I seen I wanted it that took about 8 weeks to tell the wife I needed another bike. Why the hell do you need another bike anyway after much grovelling I got my way and it was on its way from England. I knew that a 50s project was going to happen so parts collection was well under way, Cranks, stem, bars, and a set of low flanged Airlite wheels and other bits and pieces. I have chased parts from everywhere in an effort to build the bike as close to what I believe it would have or could have in 1951. By the time it arrived it was on the stand and into it lets see what it is going to look like. I have had it now for about 5 months and a week ago got to ride it for the first time as a fixed wheel single. The rest of the parts are coming and some are still being sourced as some 1950s parts are very hard to find. I have never wrote anything like this before so I hope you can make some sense out of it and you enjoy the photos. I would also like to thank some people from the forum how have assisted me with parts and knowledge in this build.
Breakup of the parts
Cranks.................................Chater Lea 50 46 rings
Pedals.................................Chater Lea
Toe Clips..............................GB
Toe Straps...........................What I believe are NOS brooks fist model with the terrible buckles
Cluster................................5 Speed 3/32 by 14,16,18,20,22
Hobs...................................Harden 32 40
Rims...................................Fiamme tubular
Seat...................................Brooks B17 Narrow
Seat Post............................ REYNOLDS Alloy full dome
Gears................................. Huret rod front changer and Huret twin cable rear changer to suit the frame
Stem..................................GB
Bars...................................MAES with cork plugs form bottles of red wine I drank in Italy
Water Bottle.......................Twin alloy handle mounted
Brakes................................GB super hood levers and 1948? GB Hiduminium side pull brake callipers not installed at the moment has GB Mark 3s on it

[HappyHumber]

Ah sod it....

your pics need to be seen again!


EDIT: My link corrections removed. Thanks to MulgerBill for updating the original post.

Lookin' pretty schmick. Very nice.

[old steel Bikes]

Thanks

[hiflange]

Beautiful. How do the Chater Lea chainrings connect?

[old steel Bikes]

There is a alloy spacer ring that fits between the chain wheels if you look at the picture you can see it. Then the 3 attaching bolts are longer. Chater Lea made 3 different attaching bolt sizes for different setups
There is a whole article on spacer that can be found at www.classiclightweights.co.uk

[ldrcycles]

Magnificent.

[Clydesdale Scot]

Danny
thanks for posting.
The bike is from my favourite period.
And it looks like it is in excellent hands.

any chance of a closeup photo of the engraving on your chainring adapter?

[Typhoon Ken]

Going to be an absolute stunner

[old steel Bikes]

Hi I hope this helps there are a number of photos they include 3/32 chain ring and chain there are some measurements as best as I could do with it all together if these are not good enough I can pull them apart. There is also some photos of a single 3/16 chain ring and block chain heavy gear indeed. There is not much engraving on the chain ring adaptor separator. Let me know if you want any further information






Adaptor Separator thickness


Inner step down where the 2 chain rings are secured 3 of position with 3 bolts the third screws into the back of the crank


Engraving a bit hard to see CHATER LEA MADE IN ENGLAND


3/32 chain on chain shows clearance


3/16 single chain ring and block chain heavy gear note the bolts are wrong they are too long


Again 3/16 chin on the back sprocket

Let me know if you want any further information

[HappyHumber]

Got the pics sussed mate. Lookin' good.

[singlespeedscott]

Mate that is sweet. I love the Chater Lea chainset but the poms where really years behind the stuff that the French where making, ie Stronglight, TA and Rene Herse.

Regarding your 5 speed freewheel. Wouldn't a 4 speed be more appropriate?

[old steel Bikes]

I like the bike and French did make great stuff you may have noticed the rear gears are French (Huret Louison Bobet) also the water bottles and front changer . The French made some great stuff for bikes and bikes I have been on the lookout for a Peugeot frame but as yet have not been able to find one a white with black with Nervex Pro lugs would be great. As for the cluster being 4 or 5 it is really still up in the air as I have not run the chain through the gears and it is all going to be about the rear changer and what it can handle 4 or 5 speed.

[silverlight]

This is stunning,
Ephgrave rate very high amongst the great marques,
Choice of parts are in my opinion perfect and will look terrific completed,

Ive added 2 images of an adapter I have for reference,
You can see where the rings will be held in place and mounted.

[WyvernRH]

Regarding your 5 speed freewheel. Wouldn't a 4 speed be more appropriate?

Yes and No Four speed blocks were common (possibly the 'norm' at that point tho 3-speed blocks were still widely in use) in the UK in 1951 but 5-speed blocks were being used by 'cutting edge' types like British League of Racing Cyclists and had been since WWII ended. I believe French tourist types had been using 5-speeds pre-war but I can't find my sources for that at the moment so YMMV.
If the original owner could afford an Ephgrave he could have had a 5-speed. It depends on the rear dropout width of the bike really.

Richard

[old steel Bikes]

The 5 speed fits no problem but to me it is all about the rear changer

[Tinker]

Gorgeous looking bike.

I always wondered how the other half lived

[Clydesdale Scot]

any idea when the Huret Louison Bobet was released?
and there are some notes on it here

the 1950 Holdsworth Aids has the Huret Competition Special (with Chain tension lever)
the 1952 Aids has the Tour de France ensemble with the twin lever operating the front changer
The 1954 Aids has "Bobet Model. The most up-to-date controlled tensioned gear."
The Dancing Chain p160 suggests it was released in 1953, and that it was a "deluxe version of the Competition" and on p161 it again is described as 1953. However the brochure clearly indicates that the Bobet had special parts and the other parts were identical to the Tour de France model.

Velobase is vague; here and here

I am puzzled by the twin chain stay braze-ons, unless the frame was updated later, or the Bobet Special came out earlier, or the frame was later.

Have you thought about joining the VCC and accessing the Ephgrave Marque enthusiast?

and this from 1956 suggests that the Bobet Special was for 3,4 or 5 speed; it gives a capacity range but, as it is in French and German, I am guessing capacity of 8 teeth on the chainrings and able to shift a freewheel ????? teeth. (Aids 1952; p12 has the TDF model, on which the Bobet Special is based, as being able to accommodate a gear span of 24 teeth!!"
French and/or German readers please correct this. BUT The Dancing Chain, p161 had the earlier released Competition as capacity of "8 on the freewheel and 14 teeth on the chainwheels." 14 teeth capacity between the two chainrings: that seems doubtful in the early 1950s.

the 1950 Aids has freewheels up to 5 speed available.

was this the frame you bought?

[singlespeedscott]

I dare say it would have been after his '53 Tour de France win or his '54 world championship win.

[Clydesdale Scot]

I dare say it would have been after his '53 Tour de France win or his '54 world championship win.

this photo suggests otherwise.
from the reports of 1953

and the RD and another and the twin shift levers
these are from the excellent resource Cycling Passions

[singlespeedscott]

Maybe he was running a prototype? Not an inconceivable concept.

[Clydesdale Scot]

and a section of a photo in a 1953 Miroir Supplement No435 p42 (from a copy I hold)

There is plenty of accompanying text that I will have to work through trying to see any reference to "Huret" and "derailleur". If there is any, I will call upon a French speaker (son's girlfriend) to provide some assistance.

[hiflange]

Thanks for the pics of the adapters. I'm still curious about them; what do they offer that three spacers a la Specialities TA don't? Seems like a fair bit of extra metal. I have a pommy frame tucked away, 1949. It came with Chater Lea cranks and I'm dreaming about a CL double up front

[old steel Bikes]

I really could not answer that I have my ideas but they mine someone else may have the answer

[WyvernRH]

Thanks for the pics of the adapters. I'm still curious about them; what do they offer that three spacers a la Specialities TA don't? Seems like a fair bit of extra metal. I have a pommy frame tucked away, 1949. It came with Chater Lea cranks and I'm dreaming about a CL double up front

I'll have ago at the answer, but this is not gospel, just my interpretation OK?
The CL fixture is the engineers answer to the problem. It's alloy (I assume, I've never handled one) so extra weight pah! This fitting will exactly align the two rings with no chance of misalignment. The spacers rely on the indents in the chainrings to do this and if badly fitted will still allow the chainrings to sit 'out of round' Believe me, I have fixed up far too many badly assembled 'bike boom' Peugeot chainsets...
However,the CL solution is much more expensive too make and with a modicum of care on the assembly line not really necessary. However also remember at this point in time the UK industry was to some extent stuck with the machine tools (and design thought to some extent) from pre-war so modifying the chainrings to have indents was probably considered harder than making up a small investment casting to do the job?
Lots weirder design decisions have been made....

Richard

[Clydesdale Scot]

Richard and Robert
after 1934 the adapters were in alloy Source
The purpose was set out in 1929 " to replace the existing riveted double-chainwheels with two standard chainrings enabling riders to "dissemble and fit alternative chainwheels expeditiously". Source
In the 1932 catalogue they explained that the adapter "insures an absolutely concentric and rigid chain wheel assembly, and correct chain line" and " the adapter "can be used with any of the standard chain wheels listed on p6" Source p14
Both were referring to tandem bikes, front derailleurs were only just beginning to be developed (Dancing Chain p126-27)

Of the 11 bikes listed in Hugo's database of Classic Lightweight bikes, only one has dual Chater Lea chainrings installed, a 1951 Thanet
The 1952 Brown Brothers catalogue (p55) had listed the ' "Chater Lea" Duralumin Adapters for tandem chain wheels'
From the Classic Lightweight page, it seems that the CL adapter for 'solo-cycle[s]' was introduced in 1953.

I think I have the pre1953 model 1307-2 with bolts, and an early (c1947) Simplex rod derailleur, but they will probably remain in my 'seemed like a good idea at the time' box.

Danny, make sure you proudly point to the chainrings and adapters, as they seem to be very rare.