Hoofddorp Barn, BSA folding Bicycle

[Alex van de Wetering]

front wheel

[Alex van de Wetering]

Steering wheel

[cletrac (RIP)]

Alex, you're doing a great job there. That was an interesting comment you made:
".I want the bike to rust when the paint chips off....not show a bright chrome underneath"
That's the reason I don't use any of that bright blue type primer on my truck. The paint IS going to chip and rust will look better than bright blue or chrome.

[Bill Miller]

Looking good Alex!

Sorry to hear about you losing your job, hopefully it is not too stressful a situation for you. (I lost my job two months ago now )

Grinding off the texture on the rims looks like it was a very tedious job... have you sourced your brake calipers yet? In working on my bike which looks like it has NOS pads on it and not ridden in some time (maybe decades), I noticed that the original calipers are set too tight/close too the rims for really effective braking power. When the calipers are relaxed, the pads only sit about 5mm or less from the rim. I don't know just how far and how long you plan on riding this bike but you may, in the interest of safety, chose to use a less original style caliper over a more effective one. Personally, I think the BSA calipers are over designed with too many moving parts, I also noticed that when there is not enough tension on the cables the the spring that pulls the two sides together may shift to one side and the calipers jam, giving you NO brakes... of course the soles of your boots may be the most reliable brakes of all The bike is so bloody heavy your not likely to get up much speed unless you going down a steep hill! Getting UP that steep hill will give you a heart attack first...

Give me disc brakes or Vee-brakes on an aluminum framed bike anyday.

[Keith Webb]

I also have a BSA pushbike which although incomplete is almost unused from new. It is not the folding type unfortunately but was originally khaki.
The brakes on this one pull up onto the rims which have rolled edges and don't squeeze from the side like yours. I have not been able to source 28 X 1 3/4 tyres or tubes for it unfortunately.

[Bill Miller]

HI Keith, sounds like you have a BSA Mk.IV. Unlike the folding bike it came with push rod brakes and the westwood rims (concave profile). I have never ridden a bike a with that type of brake (not at all common in North America) but supposedly it is pretty effective brake system and easy to adjust/repair. Though issued in WW2, I believe the Mk.IV design dates back to the First World War, maybe earlier? Push rod brakes fell out of favour some 50 years ago.

Are you sure it uses a 28" tire? The Airborne bicycle that Alex and I have uses a 26 x1 3/8? I know that 28" tires & tubes while scarce, can still be had as last year I restored 28" rims on another bicycle I have.... getting 28" rims/spokes and rear hubs... that's another matter.

[Alex van de Wetering]

Dave, Bill, Keith,

Thanks for your reactions. I am having lots of fun with the bike and it gives me some oppertunity to test things and techniques, before going onto the Chev C8.

Thanks Bill. To be honest it is stressful, but I am confident I will find a nice job again and for now I try to concentrate on getting the best out of my last few months at work. The product design scene here in Holland is a small one, so I might need to look at other sectors, though.

regarding the brakes:
I have been able to buy some repro brakes parts from someone here in Holland who produced a run of repro BSA brakes some years ago. The stock was sold out a long time ago, but he offered me the test-parts and some remaining bits. Although the parts will need some work, it does give me something to start with.....which should save time. The set included most of the brake parts, but some were missing. I have ordered the missing parts at laser-cutting firm and expect them to be ready soon.

Bill, I agree with the comments on the reliability of the BSA brakes, but I do want to stay as close to the original as possible and not look for replacement brakes with a more reliable system. Who knows....maybe next month I will think different after rushing down one of the cliffs in Normandy, followed by a bunch of broken bicycle parts.
Anyway, I do plan to ride the bike, but I will probably walk when I think the stress on the bike might get too big.
The design of the BSA brakes is indeed somewhat overdesigned, allthough I do respect the way they created a brake from basically sheet metal parts, which makes them easy to produce in larger numbers.

Alex