![]() ![]() In addition, a customer could specify the recently introduced Sturmey-Archer two speed gear. ![]() No other British cycle maker offered such a choice. With the success of their 1934 catalogue, they extended their model range the following year to try out variations such as the ‘Model QD’ which could be ordered in anything from 18 to 26 inch frame sizes. The world was recovering financially and exports were booming. Hercules was on a roll in the second half of the thirties. ![]() Every Hercules was a mobile advertising board for the company. It is plastered with Hercules transfers (decals), components such as the handlebar and front hub bear the company name, and HERCULES is spelt out within the chainwheel (sprocket). The ‘Model QD’ you see here epitomises this: a superbly built heavy duty machine, with double top tube and 28″ wheels …but low (22 inch) frame. The genius of Hercules was to build basic bicycles to a high standard but at low cost, but spend a lot of money on presentation. Though Raleigh’s brochures were also well-produced, the 1934 Hercules brochure is the most dynamic bicycle catalogue ever presented to the public.īy presenting it as a ‘cycle magazine’ the company was able to use it in conjunction with subsequent years’ sales catalogues which, in turn, were quite basic folded brochures. The catalogue was a great success, particularly in America. The features are reminiscent of a Hollywood film magazine and the locations similar to a movie set. In 1934, the Hercules Cycle Co launched an full-on export campaign with a fabulous full colour ‘Hercules Cycle Magazine’ portraying all the Hercules models in typically English settings. ![]()
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