Barry C Posted November 4, 2007 Share Posted November 4, 2007 I brought a British WW2?? bicycle back to Canada from Holland this summer. I had been looking for a bike at Beltring but didn't want a folding bike. It's just to hang on my truck and use at meets. My question is how do I find the manufacturer and where can I get parts? I have found a lot of numbers below the seat post but don't know their significance. Any help is most appreciated. Barry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted November 5, 2007 Share Posted November 5, 2007 Oh Goody another member for the HMCF :-D Biycycles were scourced from many manufacturers. As the bike came from Holland, it is possibly Dutch military issue. There is not a lot of diffrence bettween it and the British version. Can you post a picture? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ford 369 Posted November 5, 2007 Share Posted November 5, 2007 there is a website dedicated to military bicycles which contains info on bikes from many different countries I have not looked at it for a long time now but seem to remember it being called warbikes .com Nigel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry C Posted November 7, 2007 Author Share Posted November 7, 2007 Thanks Nigel and Tony for your replies. I will try to get some photos posted. Cheers, Barry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry C Posted November 7, 2007 Author Share Posted November 7, 2007 http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b239/barjanin/Bike-8.jpg[/img] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry C Posted November 7, 2007 Author Share Posted November 7, 2007 The tires are brand new as the old ones were junk. They have the reflective sidewalls which I know are incorrect, but I wantrd to make sure I had good tires for moving the bike around Schipol Airport. Barry http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b239/barjanin/Bike-9.jpg[/img] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 It looks like a Dutch one. I'll have to check with someone who has one. there should be a clip for the rifle butt under the saddle. there is also a leather strap over the handle bars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
79x100 Posted November 17, 2007 Share Posted November 17, 2007 Hello Barry, I have to say that I really fundamentally like my two-wheelers to have engines but they do sometimes come from the same manufacturers ! I thought you might like to see a picture of an Enfield military Mk V http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/9292/26rz0.th.jpg[/img] I think that you could probably pin down your bike's origins a bit by checking thread forms and sizes. If there are any metric sizes then it's likely to be european but if they're mostly 26 tpi cycle thread and take a Whitworth spanner then it probably came from the British isles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted November 17, 2007 Share Posted November 17, 2007 What make is the saddle? Brooks or Browns are the standard English, and can still be got. A lanolin dreesing is best for treating it. Slack the leather down when you treat it. the rear brake should be in the hub, that is more continental then English.Visuallythere is very little diffrence bettween dutch and English. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry C Posted November 17, 2007 Author Share Posted November 17, 2007 Thanks for the Enfield photos. I have a tool bag just like that one laying around. It has no straps and the mice have eaten a corner but maybe I will use it. There was a beauty pre war Enfield at Beltring but I didn't buy it :dunno: I don't know why. It had the original decals and everything. It would have been a shame to paint it green though. I must have gone and looked at it about 20 times. I never thought of the diferent threads so I will have to check that. The saddle is a Brooks but may not be indicative of what country the bike is from. Dirk had a couple of saddles and I just picked the best looking one. What does "slack" mean? Thanks again Barry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
79x100 Posted November 17, 2007 Share Posted November 17, 2007 Barry, as you suggest, Brooks saddles are very common in The Low Countries. The bikes in factories here (yes, really !) often have them as they are far harder-wearing than the modern stuff. Just what Tony means by "slack" depends on where he's from. If he's from "oop North" then he might mean "coal" but he probably means loose - with the tension off ! If you haven't come across the different spanner sizes yet, then you'd better start tool collecting (a worthwhile hobby in itself !) If you start using English (or 'murrican) spanners on metric bits you'll soon round everything off (believe me, I know, I trashed all the Weinmann and Campagnolo parts on my old Holdsworth because I :whistle: didn't know metric existed ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted November 18, 2007 Share Posted November 18, 2007 Just what Tony means by "slack" depends on where he's from. If he's from "oop North" then he might mean "coal" but he probably means loose - with the tension off ! blimey if I came from any futher South I'd be French :-D Yeah loose the tension off the screw at the front underside of the saddle. When treating the saddle with leather dressing do it from underneath, this is the 'Flesh ' side, the top is tanned to make it waterproof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry C Posted November 24, 2007 Author Share Posted November 24, 2007 Here is a thread on another site. Barry http://www.mapleleafup.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=87598#post87598 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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