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Here is all I know:

Seems to be a 26" frame.

Lug construction on main frame but the seat stays are bolted on.

Serial number at seat clamp: 3051CT

Has strange hole in bottom bracket shell.

"Made In England" stamped on underside of BB.

Forks are of a pretty old construction style.

Has tiny holes to mount a badge on the head tube.

Possibly a Raleigh Bomber from the early 80s, but I am thinking it is a 1940s-1950s Phillips frame from their 'Cyclemaster' line. That filler hole and no Raleigh stampings make me think it is a Phillips...

Attaching pics of my frame, plus two from the Phillips catalogues. Bottom right is frame, fork is center in the other pic.

What do you all think? Year range is hard to figure out from Google.

(Raleigh bought Phillips in the 60s i think, and looks like they dug into Phillips' back catalog 1980 for the Bomber frame - it's nearly identical.)

THANKS!

Unknown bicycle frame

Serial Number

Hole in bottom bracket shell

Front Fork Detail

Lug Detail

Phillips Cyclemaster

Philips Fork Options

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    The hole in the BB is meant for an oiler cap, a kind of screwed-in thing with a spring-loaded cover meant to pour oil into BB. I've one on a '37 vintage bike.
    – Carel
    Commented Sep 14, 2017 at 9:22
  • @carel do you mean a grease nipple or zerg? BBs tend to not be liquid oil, but I guess its not impossible.
    – Criggie ♦
    Commented Sep 14, 2017 at 12:33
  • It was a single-speed bike - the trackends instead of dropouts show that. How far apart in millimetres between the two inside surfaces of the dropouts? 110, 114, 120 and 126mm are all possible.
    – Criggie ♦
    Commented Sep 14, 2017 at 12:36
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    I'm not convinced it is a Bomber. YES, there is an amazing resemblance- but that BB grease/oil hole, and the lack of all Raleigh stamping... Will edit my main question in a few to add my new info.
    – 111936
    Commented Sep 15, 2017 at 3:28
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    @Criggie: The thing I'm speaking of from the vintage bike is screwed-in like a grease nipple but it has a little hinged cover to reveal the hole for an thin tubed oiler can. The orignal BB was 'bain d'huile' (oil bath) and had felt gaskets around the axle and a drain screw at the bottom. The idea was to fill it with oil to the underside of the axle so that the ball bearings ran through the oil.
    – Carel
    Commented Sep 15, 2017 at 13:22

2 Answers 2

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There are numerous Vintage Bike Resource sites available. Old Roads.com, The Headbadge, are a couple I use. The Headbadge has a nearly complete list of Raleigh Catalogs for most years. It appears you have a frame at least similar to a Canadian Model 99 Gents circa 1954. It can be difficult to date a Raleigh bike visually as many models were made for decades with very few visual changes. The bolt-on chain stays aren't that unusual. I haven't found any definitive reason why they were used. Some feel it was just a hold over from the days of fully enclosed chain cases. It may also may have been to allow the chain to be removed without breaking the chain. For many owners a Raleigh was a once in a lifetime purchase. Hence the oiler port on the bottom bracket and wheel hubs.

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  • Dug around on both, but need to register etc to post. I did dig up info on Phillips Cyclemasters, and this may be my frame. See edited main post.
    – 111936
    Commented Sep 15, 2017 at 3:49
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The Raleigh Colt had those dimpled fork crowns, bent top tube (on the boy's version) and square-cut lugs. The rear triangle looks different though. Perhaps something else from the Raleigh line, circa 1960s/70s.

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  • Googled the Colt, but that is definitely not this - the Colt's top tube is curved along most of its length, but mine is straight for 2/3 of it. I am having difficulty locating a good source for seeing models from them over the years needed, and google searches are fairly random results. Will keep poking around.
    – 111936
    Commented Sep 14, 2017 at 5:05

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