Felix built by Bev Bowen

[Shanghai]

Back in the days Rubber was only "Natural Rubber" made from rubber trees.
Today Natural Rubber is still around but so is "Synthetic Rubber" which is petroleum based.
So you need to specify "Natural" rubber if this is what you want.

 

[A_HRD]

Many of the rubber items for classic bikes you see around these days are supplied by a small family firm who attend many auiojumbles around the Midlands and South (UK). Their items are gravity cast in moulds by mixing 2 (or more) constituent parts. The result is soft rubber - often having air bubbles trapped in it and feeling greasy to the touch with the mucky surface residue constantly washing off when wet. The surface finish is often not very appealing either; so if you get to the autojumble early you will see the guy and his partner furiously polishing their wares with black Kiwi boot polish to improve the look.

There is only one way to make black rubber items properly for classic bikes. That is to invest in high-pressure injection moulding machines, make (or have made) moulds from steel or brass and buy high quality raw materials (£400+ per 20Kg bag) of the appropriate grade, having the right additives to control hardness, UV resistance, hot oil resistance, tear resistance, etc - as required. These items will last for many years without any significant degradation.

Peter B
Bristol, UK.

 

[A_HRD]

And having contributed to the on-going hi-jack of the thread, I also wanted to say what a magnificent and highly desirable machine Bev Bowen's special is. It's only a couple of years since he completed his Comet - I don't know how he does it! What's next Bev?

Peter B
Bristol, UK.

 

[davidd]

There is an article on the history of this bike at:

http://lsvoc.vincent-hrd.co.uk/felix_history.html

At the very end of the article is a black arrow. Press the arrow and there are more articles by Bev.

David