Whiskey98
New Member
Hi everyone! First post on here, apologies if my terminology is way off!
I have been the owner of a Tildesley Pipit Plus road bike from the 1950s for over 4 years now. I bought it off a man on ebay in early 2021 who shortly before had bought it off an elderly collector. The little I know about Tildesley I have found on this forum, being that they were a very small outfit of about a dozen people making bicycles in the Planet Works of Birmingham before it burnt down in 1958 and never recovered.
This is my sole bicycle and I ride it everywhere, from Leeds, to Portsmouth, to Glasgow and it's never let me down. I probably spend more time going round it with an oil can and rag than I do actually riding it! During my ownership I have completely stripped and cleaned it, with new ball bearings and grease in the headset, crank, wheels, and pedals, fitted new brake shoes, replaced the toe clips with XL size, and replaced the brake levers with the dual lever type with grip tape.
Of the very few examples of Tildesleys I have found online, I have found two 'Planet Pipit' s who's frames look very similar to mine with two exceptions that I can find: The decorative lugs are of a different style, and my downtube has stubs to allow fitment of gear shifters rather than the shifters clamping into place.
I am unsure if the name Pipit Plus implies this was an upmarket de-luxe version of the Planet Pipit, or if this was a Mk2 that succeeded the Planet Pipit entirely.
For a while I thought most parts of the bicycle were original, but I'm starting to believe the only original parts left are actually just the frame and forks, not that it matters to me! All I care about is if the parts on it look and feel period correct. I feel as this is confirmed by a post on the ebay finds thread on here back in 2019 (2 years before I bought it) stating there is a nice looking Pipit Plus frame and forks for sale. Can't confirm it without pictures obviously, there could even be another one out there.
The patina on the frame and forks is absolutely perfect in my opinion, the details on the Pipit Plus logo on the downtube are wonderfully preserved, the seat tube has the initials PP above and below another pipit although this one seems to have lost much detail at its head. Above that is the famous Reynolds 531 logo. The top of the forks are also emblazoned with the PP initials just in case you forgot what it was called earlier!
I reckon everything else has come off bikes ranging from the 1960s to the 1980s, done some research but I'm sure any experts on here can confirm.
The stem has the initials BF cast into it (think it stands for Belleri France?)
Handlebars have no markings but they may be BF too
The headset locknut says 'Tange-Allez made in Japan' google search reveals the entire headset is Tange-Allez
Brake levers when I bought the bike were Weinmann, the dual levers I replaced them say Weinmann on the primary levers and Dia-Compe on the secondary levers
Brake calipers are branded 'Mafac', although the bridge splitter piece above each one is also branded Weinmann
Saddle is Brooks, looks to be from a 50s road bike (very uncomfortable!)
The crankset is branded 'Williams' also looks to be from a 50s road bike
Pedals are Lyotard - made in France, toe clips were bought by me brand new, toe clip strap came with the bike and is made in Italy
Wheels are Van Schothorst - made in Holland, Tyres are Panaracer Pacela made in Japan, replaced by me when I rebuilt it
Derailleur is a Simplex SX630 as is the non-indexed shift lever on the downtube - Apparently from the 80s, many people online seem to hate Simplex but in my experience, it shifts beautifully.
As you can see, it truly is a mix of British, French, Japanese, German, Italian and Dutch parts - a real international affair!
If anybody has any additional info/insight into the Pipit Plus, or even just Tildesley bicycles as a whole, I would be very excited to hear it. I'm also curious if this is the last surviving example of its kind.
Apologies if the pictures are a bit dim, I'm happy to provide more if you wish.
Kind regards
Peter
I have been the owner of a Tildesley Pipit Plus road bike from the 1950s for over 4 years now. I bought it off a man on ebay in early 2021 who shortly before had bought it off an elderly collector. The little I know about Tildesley I have found on this forum, being that they were a very small outfit of about a dozen people making bicycles in the Planet Works of Birmingham before it burnt down in 1958 and never recovered.
This is my sole bicycle and I ride it everywhere, from Leeds, to Portsmouth, to Glasgow and it's never let me down. I probably spend more time going round it with an oil can and rag than I do actually riding it! During my ownership I have completely stripped and cleaned it, with new ball bearings and grease in the headset, crank, wheels, and pedals, fitted new brake shoes, replaced the toe clips with XL size, and replaced the brake levers with the dual lever type with grip tape.
Of the very few examples of Tildesleys I have found online, I have found two 'Planet Pipit' s who's frames look very similar to mine with two exceptions that I can find: The decorative lugs are of a different style, and my downtube has stubs to allow fitment of gear shifters rather than the shifters clamping into place.
I am unsure if the name Pipit Plus implies this was an upmarket de-luxe version of the Planet Pipit, or if this was a Mk2 that succeeded the Planet Pipit entirely.
For a while I thought most parts of the bicycle were original, but I'm starting to believe the only original parts left are actually just the frame and forks, not that it matters to me! All I care about is if the parts on it look and feel period correct. I feel as this is confirmed by a post on the ebay finds thread on here back in 2019 (2 years before I bought it) stating there is a nice looking Pipit Plus frame and forks for sale. Can't confirm it without pictures obviously, there could even be another one out there.
The patina on the frame and forks is absolutely perfect in my opinion, the details on the Pipit Plus logo on the downtube are wonderfully preserved, the seat tube has the initials PP above and below another pipit although this one seems to have lost much detail at its head. Above that is the famous Reynolds 531 logo. The top of the forks are also emblazoned with the PP initials just in case you forgot what it was called earlier!
I reckon everything else has come off bikes ranging from the 1960s to the 1980s, done some research but I'm sure any experts on here can confirm.
The stem has the initials BF cast into it (think it stands for Belleri France?)
Handlebars have no markings but they may be BF too
The headset locknut says 'Tange-Allez made in Japan' google search reveals the entire headset is Tange-Allez
Brake levers when I bought the bike were Weinmann, the dual levers I replaced them say Weinmann on the primary levers and Dia-Compe on the secondary levers
Brake calipers are branded 'Mafac', although the bridge splitter piece above each one is also branded Weinmann
Saddle is Brooks, looks to be from a 50s road bike (very uncomfortable!)
The crankset is branded 'Williams' also looks to be from a 50s road bike
Pedals are Lyotard - made in France, toe clips were bought by me brand new, toe clip strap came with the bike and is made in Italy
Wheels are Van Schothorst - made in Holland, Tyres are Panaracer Pacela made in Japan, replaced by me when I rebuilt it
Derailleur is a Simplex SX630 as is the non-indexed shift lever on the downtube - Apparently from the 80s, many people online seem to hate Simplex but in my experience, it shifts beautifully.
As you can see, it truly is a mix of British, French, Japanese, German, Italian and Dutch parts - a real international affair!
If anybody has any additional info/insight into the Pipit Plus, or even just Tildesley bicycles as a whole, I would be very excited to hear it. I'm also curious if this is the last surviving example of its kind.
Apologies if the pictures are a bit dim, I'm happy to provide more if you wish.
Kind regards
Peter
