Outlaw Hobbs
Senior Member
- Location
- Herts
It is not without some trepidation that I am starting this thread as it may upset the purists amongst you.
The background to this build (briefly ) is that I have been the custodian of my late father's pre-war Hobbs bike frame since my teenage years. Father rode it competitively before the war (on the road and at Herne Hill track) then joined up but after being demobbed never really could get back to competitive racing. I suspect that the death in combat of his brother with whom he had cycled had something to do with this.
Way back in the 60s the frame was dragged out of the loft and we had it painted and fitted with parts of that era. I then rode the bike enthusiastically for about 10 years since when it has languished in various garages and sheds.
This summer I vowed to resurrect the bike and here is how it sadly looked pulled from my shed:
After stripping off the parts here is how the frame looked:
Research suggests this bike is a Hobbs 'Continental' but I am prepared to be educated on that by someone who knows better.
Now comes the controversial part. On inspection the head clamp was fractured, the headset bearings were not in the best of shape, the fork blades were bent and cracked where they entered the crown and the chainstay and seatstay bridges were cracked.
The wheels and brakes and other parts were in poor shape and not much was salvageable. I looked into availabilty of original parts and found them to be hard to find, expensive and probably not all that durable. The decision was taken to modernise and update the frameset to facilitate the fitment of modern parts but in as sympathetic way possible and create an 'homage' bike.
After doing some more research and speaking to a few framebuilders it was obvious Argos Racing Cycles in Bristol would be a good choice so off I went to Bristol and had a long discussion with Mark. We decided to make new forks, upgrade to an 'A' head, re-space the rear end, cut off the old mudguard and pump lugs, replace the broken stays, braze up the oil hole in the BB, replace the rear dropouts. New guides for the modern brake and gear cables were then brazed on.
After all that work and a repaint with the addition of reproduction decals carefully chosen to reflect the pre-war nature (so 'Hobbs' but not 'Hobbs of Barbican') this is the result:
I appreciate that some may consider it sacrilege but it is my decision and I wanted a bike that will be strong and reliable on long rides.
I have accumulated the necessary parts and little bits and pieces ready for the build except for a seatpost. As it comes together over the winter I'll update this post. First thing to do is protect the paint with some wrapping to avoid damage whilst building (as recommended by the framebuilders). Any tips would of course be welcome. I'm planning to start with fitting a chainstay guard fabricated from helicopter tape.
The background to this build (briefly ) is that I have been the custodian of my late father's pre-war Hobbs bike frame since my teenage years. Father rode it competitively before the war (on the road and at Herne Hill track) then joined up but after being demobbed never really could get back to competitive racing. I suspect that the death in combat of his brother with whom he had cycled had something to do with this.
Way back in the 60s the frame was dragged out of the loft and we had it painted and fitted with parts of that era. I then rode the bike enthusiastically for about 10 years since when it has languished in various garages and sheds.
This summer I vowed to resurrect the bike and here is how it sadly looked pulled from my shed:
After stripping off the parts here is how the frame looked:
Research suggests this bike is a Hobbs 'Continental' but I am prepared to be educated on that by someone who knows better.
Now comes the controversial part. On inspection the head clamp was fractured, the headset bearings were not in the best of shape, the fork blades were bent and cracked where they entered the crown and the chainstay and seatstay bridges were cracked.
The wheels and brakes and other parts were in poor shape and not much was salvageable. I looked into availabilty of original parts and found them to be hard to find, expensive and probably not all that durable. The decision was taken to modernise and update the frameset to facilitate the fitment of modern parts but in as sympathetic way possible and create an 'homage' bike.
After doing some more research and speaking to a few framebuilders it was obvious Argos Racing Cycles in Bristol would be a good choice so off I went to Bristol and had a long discussion with Mark. We decided to make new forks, upgrade to an 'A' head, re-space the rear end, cut off the old mudguard and pump lugs, replace the broken stays, braze up the oil hole in the BB, replace the rear dropouts. New guides for the modern brake and gear cables were then brazed on.
After all that work and a repaint with the addition of reproduction decals carefully chosen to reflect the pre-war nature (so 'Hobbs' but not 'Hobbs of Barbican') this is the result:
I appreciate that some may consider it sacrilege but it is my decision and I wanted a bike that will be strong and reliable on long rides.
I have accumulated the necessary parts and little bits and pieces ready for the build except for a seatpost. As it comes together over the winter I'll update this post. First thing to do is protect the paint with some wrapping to avoid damage whilst building (as recommended by the framebuilders). Any tips would of course be welcome. I'm planning to start with fitting a chainstay guard fabricated from helicopter tape.
- well done. 
