Western Flyer

[Ulu]

This bicycle belonged to a 90 year old lady two doors down, who traded it to my next-door neighbor for some game. I traded him a cheap little B&D mouse sander.

I didn’t really want it but he wanted it less than I did.

Anyhow I have a different skinny bike now for the build off.

 

[Ulu]

 

[Ulu]

Did you get a look at that crown nut?
I think her husband worked on it with a pipe wrench.

 

[Ulu]

I found some descriptions and photos online right away. I knew it should have had peaked fenders, but I didn’t know it was supposed to have a little chrome button at the tip.

Anyhow this is the same bike except I don’t have the correct saddle either.

It’s a neat saddle though but I don’t know what it is because the tag is gone.

This is the online material:

This bike weighs 35 pounds including the dirt. That’s a shame but somebody has beat the snot out of the handlebars trying to raise them.

 

[RustyGold]

I'd guess between '63-'69…Raleigh made.

 

[Ulu]

Sure looks Raleigh. Looking at the photos closely I think the rear seat stay is cracked loose at the drop out.

 

[Couch tater]

Sure looks Raleigh.

Most likely Phillips. When AMF started buying up the British bicycle industry, many smaller brands were amalgamated under the Phillips brand. The chainring is the big clue, very much Phillips.

 

[Ulu]

Thank you. I’ve never even seen a Phillips bicycle

 

[Couch tater]

Thank you. I’ve never even seen a Phillips bicycle

You've probably seen many of them. They are hands down the most re-branded of all British bicycles. Good bikes. Not up to Raleigh level of fit and finish but still very nice up to the mid 1960's when quality dropped off.

 

[RustyGold]

From 1960 on they were all under the TI umbrella and used Raleigh frames. Phillips was just another brand after that.

The rebranded Raleighs sold to US companies were generally equipped with bottom of the barrel components, wheels, and even frame tubing.

 

[ingola]

Thats a raliegh frame that keep in mind that headnut is 26tpi so you'll need a raliegh headnut. The bottom bracket will be the same

 

[Couch tater]

From 1960 on they were all under the TI umbrella and used Raleigh frames. Phillips was just another brand after that.

The rebranded Raleighs sold to US companies were generally equipped with bottom of the barrel components, wheels, and even frame tubing.

This jogged my memory from a book I read long ago. TI was the company that bought out the British bicycle industry. AMF set itself up as the North American importer and distributer. AMF would bring in partially built bikes to beat tariffs and assemble them in the USA, hence the AMF decals that began showing up in the early 60's. If I am recalling correctly, TI set up a manufacturing facility in Indonesia that continued the Phillips brand, mostly sold in southeast Asia. All of this while there was a steep decline in the market for this style of bike.

My rule of thumb during the British bike phase I went through was to avoid anything other than high end Raleighs built after the law mandating pedal reflectors was passed, 1964?. Quality began to drop off substantially about the same time and the reflectors were a quick and easy way to identify bikes to pass on.

 

[RustyGold]

That sounds about right.

British automobile, motorcycle, and bicycle manufacturers all went through the same thing. Decline of industry...consolidation of brands under one British 'motors/motorcycle/bicycle' Company... various licensing and outright purchases...collapse of industry in Britain but some brands survive outside of Britain, often in India. It's why you can still buy a brand new Royal Enfield, from India.

 

[Ulu]

You've probably seen many of them. They are hands down the most re-branded of all British bicycles. Good bikes. Not up to Raleigh level of fit and finish but still very nice up to the mid 1960's when quality dropped off.

I’m not sure where you live, but here in the hinterlands of the San Joaquin, genuine English bicycles seem very rare. Genuine Schwinn bicycles are rare as well.

99% of the bicycles I see are mostly made in China.

I typically ignor any bike that has a fork built like this.

When I see that fork design it is the mark of a modern mass production or Asian bicycle, and I look the other way. Because I’m an American, and it still hurts.

90% of the houses here in Clovis did not exist when the Wayfair flyer was sold in the 60s. This was all fig trees, olives, nuts & citrus orchards.

That means that anything from the old days is very rare here and certainly of recent import.

 

[kingfish254]

Cool score. Have fun with it in the skinny.

 

[Ulu]

Thank you. I have to figure out whether this is a welded bike or a brazed bike.

It’s lugged construction, like a sweat-brazed bicycle, but it says right on it that it is all steel. I assume that means it’s welded and not brazed but I can’t tell yet.

Anybody?

 

[RustyGold]

I'm confused...what would it be other than steel?

 

[Wildcat]

It looks like one of the many English bikes from the early 60's. Hercules, Phillips, BSA, Robin Hood, etc, all the same frames. The genuine english lightweight decal is fairly common. Wards Hawthorne also sold those bikes. I've had several of them, good quality but less than a Raleigh. It has a Bendix red band one speed hub, that's a plus. It probably came new with a SA one speed hub. There's no marks from a 3 speed cable or hand brakes. Someone redid the bike and added 80's reflectors, but it has a lot of good original parts.

I thought all those lugged frames were brazed.

 

[RustyGold]

I'm sure there are exceptions (I've seen lugged Ti & carbon fiber before, for instance) ...but, if lugged it is steel and brazed or it is aluminum and probably screwed and glued.

 

[Ulu]

I'm confused...what would it be other than steel?

Could be nothing more than advertising.