Reader Project Update: Margaret's Mystery Bike

I'm totally floored by what our friend Margaret is doing with her still-unidentified mystery bike in London. I posted a "before" photo from her blog last week, and she's done a lot since. I'll post a few pics here, along with some of Margaret's description of her work, but I want folks to check out her blog for more photos and a lovely running narrative of her work. I'm starting to think maybe I should hand over the Old Bike Blog to Margaret! I'm irrationally excited to watch this project unfold from afar, and I hope everyone finds it as interesting as I do.

Margaret writes: I'd really like to identify it, but unfortunately the back hub is so rusty that I can't find any serial numbers. Attached are the most distinctive parts of it - the front decal which is painted on and says "H" - which i'm fairly certain is Hercules, an old English bike company set up in the late 1800s.




The next is the saddle, it says Lycett Model L21.








Finally is the gear changer which says oswaldtwistle and field co. I sent a mail to the English Cycle Museum and they say that it's pre WWI! It's coming apart very nicely. I'm trying to tackle the dynamo at the moment, it's really stuck on pretty well!





This is the front fender before clean up...

...and this is the front fender after.









Front hub before...









...and front hub after.









Margaret has tons more photos and description of what she's doing with her bike, which she's named "Audrey Hepburn", at her blog. Really, go check it out.

Posted in: English bikes,mailbag,reader projects