W B Hurlow 'Touring' - 1969
Posted: Wednesday 12th August 2020
| Frame | Frame No. 16945. Ornate hand-cut lugs, Reynolds 531 double butted tubing, and Campagnolo 1010 horizontal dropouts. Typical Hurlow sloping fork crown and curved brake bridge (with ornate reinforcers, forming an “H”). Silver-gold paint (original) with distinctive robin-egg blue panels (on stays, top tube, seat tube, and down tube), and red lining. Chromed head lugs and partly-chromed stays and fork blades. Threaded mudguard eyes on dropouts, under brake bridge, and behind chain stay bridge. Braze-ons include: rear cable stop for center pull brakes, rack attachments on seat stays, brake cable guides - stops on top tube, pump peg on seat tube, stop on bottom of down tube (to prevent clamp-on shifter from sliding), and one set of bottle bosses on down tube. 22" top tube (c to c), 21.5" seat tube (c to c) , 17.25” chainstays, 40.75” wheelbase, and 24” front center. |
| Wheels | Campagnolo Record 36-hole large flange hubs, polished 700c x 23mm wide rims, tied-andsoldered spokes, and Campagnolo quick release levers (straight). Grand Bois Cyprès 700x32mm tires. |
| Chainset | TA Cyclotourist crankset with 170mm arms, capped pedal holes, and 46/30 chain rings. TA bottom bracket with TA 344 axle. |
| Pedals | Orginal Lyotard pedals and toe clips. |
| Gears | Front: Campagnolo Record with slotted cable stop. Rear: Campagnolo Nuovo Record, modified with a long cage. 6-speed, 14 - 26T freewheel. |
| Brakes | Dia-Compe Gran Compe levers (engraved, but not drilled) with quick releases and adjusters. NOS Dia-Compe rubber hoods, Mafac Dural Forge center pull brake calipers, with Kool Stop salmon pads. |
| Stem/Bars | 11 cm Cinelli 1A oval-logo (Milano) stem with Cinelli Giro d'Italia (shield) 38cm wide bars and red cloth tape. Headset - Campagnolo 1039 Record Strada. |
| Saddle | Brooks Professional on Campagnolo 2-bolt seat pin. |
| Extra Details | Many components and accessories are original, but brake pads, chain, chain rings, freewheel, rear derailleur, pedals, 45mm alloy mudguards, chrome rear rack, bottle cage, wheels, and tires are not. Bill Stevenson contributed the modified rear derailleur and Corey Thompson contributed the freewheel and built the wheels. |
Diana purchased Hurlow #16945 in January 2012 from a dealer. The bike’s original owner was Macy Allen of Baltimore, Maryland, a founding member of the Baltimore Bicycle Club. Between 1969, when the bike was built and 1982, when Macy died, #16945 saw a lot of miles, regular use, and has the marks to prove it. #16945 came to us without fenders, a non-original 27″ wheelset, a non-period rear derailleur, and narrow, fully rotted tires. I assume that after Macy died in 1982, the bike was hung up for nearly all of the intervening 30 years.
I overhauled the bicycle, adding alloy fenders, installing wider tires, attaching a modified Campagnolo Record rear derailleur to handle the wide gear ratio range made necessary by our steep terrain, and adding a new, tied-soldered, 700c wheelset built on Record LF hubs.
The rebuilt bicycle handles and performs well. It is notably stable on the road and has one the nicest rides that I’ve ever experienced, no doubt enhanced by its fairly wide, supple tires. Hurlow #16945 fits my wife perfectly and is well suited to her needs. Its clearances and mudguard attachments are welcome, allowing the easy attachment of wide mudguards that are needed in Oregon’s rainy climate. What struck me when I rebuilt the bike (besides Hurlow’s skilled and impeccable workmanship), was how well designed the bike was, how easy it was to add tires up to 32mm wide, how easy it was get a good fender line, and how easy it was to remove the rear wheel from the Campagnolo 1010 horizontal dropouts, even with fenders and wide, inflated tires. Clearly, Bill Hurlow had built this type of bike many times before.
Posted: Wednesday 12th August 2020
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