1950’s Armstrong Club Racer
Armstrong 1952 Super Continental club racer
Armstrong head badge
“Made by craftsmen especially for clubmen.”
The Armstrong Cycles Limited company was started by Henry Fearn in 1918. Henry retired in the 1940’s, but his bikes continued to be produced by the British Cycle Corporation in Birmingham throughout the ’50’s and 60’s.
This model is a club racer type, built for more discriminating riders than the entry-level models. The bike is a little rough, never having been restored, but it has some interesting details.
The cable continues on to the rear derailleur
The cables run inside the frame
The Cyclo shifter manages a single tooth difference among the two Fortress chainrings
The frame is built out of Reynolds 531 butted steel, and features internal cable routing for the Hiduminium brakes and the Cyclo Benelux rear derailleur.
The Cyclo shifting system up front manages a one or two tooth difference between the chainrings with a swing of the derailleur lever.
Cyclo Benelux rear derailleur
Bayliss-Wiley 4 speed cassette and hub
Dunlop stainless steel rims
The Benelux rear derailleur shifts over four cogs, giving the bike a massive total of eight gears bridging a six-tooth difference. As a point of reference, the typical modern road bike has twenty or more gears spanning a 33 tooth difference.
The wheels feature an interesting Bayliss-Wiley cassette style rear hub and Dunlop stainless steel rims.