I just received a couple of items from eBay seller "Georgiou Vintage Parts"
in Cyprus. A pair of black Bluemels Club Special fenders and a supposedly
NOS vintage "ping-ping" bell. I ordered both items at the same time but the
fenders came a week ago and the bell just today. Looking at the fenders,
they are stamped "BLUEMELS Club Special Made in England", but don't quite
look like what I remember from the 1950s. When did they actually stop
making them? The profile looks about right, but more rounded; I remember
them being more squere shouldered. Also, they used to come with a reflector
sticker (maybe even a white patch) and the mud flap on the front fender was
black, not white like what I received. Anyway, not a real big deal for me.
The bell, however, was nothing like what I was expecting. I remember these
being all aluminum, extremely light, about 1-3/4" in diameter. This one
"looks" like what I wanted http://i6.ebayimg.com/
Anyway, my point is, do you suppose these are actually NOS parts, or reproductions? Has anyone dealt with this seller in the past and what do you think? It actually looks like there are other vendors in Cyprus also selling vintage bike parts. Makes you wonder how all these vintage British parts ended up in Cyprus. At least the shipping was relatively quick.
John Betmanis
Woodstock, Ontario
Canada