Hercules Aston Tourist

[biggs682]

Well i have just spent the best part of 2 hours trying to fit the original rear guards back on to this machine to no avail mainly due to them being twisted and out of shape , so tried another pr that fitted well but the rear most support rods were too short to reach the mount points on the rear stays

So 2 hours and still no rear guard .......

 

[raleighnut]

Well i have just spent the best part of 2 hours trying to fit the original rear guards back on to this machine to no avail mainly due to them being twisted and out of shape , so tried another pr that fitted well but the rear most support rods were too short to reach the mount points on the rear stays

So 2 hours and still no rear guard .......

Can you not cannibalise the original stays onto t'other mudguard

 

[biggs682]

Can you not cannibalise the original stays onto t'other mudguard

Tried that as well but when you put the guards side by side the brackets are in different places

 

[raleighnut]

Tried that as well but when you put the guards side by side the brackets are in different places

 

[biggs682]

A bit of thinking and tinkering tonight and I have managed to come up with a bracket to allow me to fit a set of rear guard's on this machine .

Will have to wait until the morning to see the guards on the bike.

 

[biggs682]

First ride this morning after fitting the rear mudguard last night and no rubbing or catching so success .

Just the matching front to fit now

 

[biggs682]

Matching guards and tyres fitted last night .

Just need to lower the tyre pressures.

I would like to say a big thank you to @CarlP as the guards from his old BSA look and work great on this Hercules

 

[biggs682]

Just back from a gentle 13 mile ride which is the longest ride to date on the Hercules and the first time I have ridden it out of Wellingborough.

 

[biggs682]

A nice 20 mile ride this morning on this one .

Nice and smooth till about a mile from the end when the front guard started to rattle so will have to see what is going on there .

 

[biggs682]

Just had this 36 hole n.o.s sturmey archer hub turn up so this and a 27" alloy rim will be dropped off at my lbs for them to do some magic .

Then once complete it will make this bike a lot more useable .

 

[mikeymustard]

It's looking a treat, very nice indeed. In what way is it better to ride than your Lenton? (sorry, just been catching up with the thread )

 

[biggs682]

It's looking a treat, very nice indeed. In what way is it better to ride than your Lenton? (sorry, just been catching up with the thread )

How does it compare with my old Lenton ?
I think a lot of it is down to the way 27" wheels roll along with this one being a smaller frameset than the Lenton
And then the originality ie paint & decals whereas the Lenton has been painted a horrid dull brown ( almost read lead colour )
Hoping once the new rear wheel is built and fitted it will also stop a lot better than the Lenton in all conditions which will make it more useable .
Also 26 x 1 1/4" tyres have a really limited choice even compared to 27 X 1 1/4"
If this all works out ok i might fit 27" wheels on to the Lenton but will see
I am also tempted to try a set of drops on this Hercules as well

 

[mikeymustard]

I think a lot of it is down to the way 27" wheels roll along....

ssh, don't start the '27" wheels roll better' argument again - remember what happened the last time?

 

[Proto]

Nothing to do with your bike, but I have a very tenuous link with Hercules bikes.

My grandfather was a south Wales collier, but after the great depression struggled to maintain employment. Partially to do with economic conditions, but I suspect also something to do with his far left political stance which might have got him blackballed. A bit of an activist. He eventually gave up and moved to Birmingham. I believe the first job he had there was at Accles and Pollock, in the steel tube mill , and then later at Hercules bicycle factory in Aston. His job was putting partially assembled bikes into packing crates for export, I seem to recall him saying 40 per crate. Not sure what else he did after that, but eventually opened a corner shop in Ladywood selling sweets and groceries, and 'pop' by the glass!

 

[biggs682]

Hey @Proto nice memories

And nothing to do with your comment I dropped the Hercules down to my lbs this morning to have an alloy rimmed 3 speed sturmey archer wheel built up .