M/42 Swedish military bike Restoration, Hermes by Nymans

29th September 2012

M/42 Swedish Military Hermes bicycles by Nymans

I made a trip to a scrap yard here in Finland last week to look at some old military bicycles that had been left out to survive the elements. I'm not sure how many Finnish winters they had been left there but they were not in a very pretty state.

I got a couple of them home thinking I would be able to get one working bicycle out of the two of them but on closer examination, they were not as bad as I had first expected. I sold one and started on the restoration job.

Hermes Nymans Verstäder badge

Initial research revealed these were M/42. These were produced by a number of famous Swedish manufacturers with the maximum number of interchangeable parts. This particular one has a Hermes frame manufactured by Nymans Verkstäder between 1942 and some time in the 50's and a front drum brake and these bikes were produced by Husqvarna. Nymans Verkstäder changed its name to Nymanbolagen AB in 1947 so the badge indicates it is older than this. The badge was screwed in and upon removal, the Hermes logo was revealed. Further research later on made it possible to narrow down this five year window.

Hermes logo under the badge

Three Crowns and date of 1956 on inner tube

I had also picked up an extra front wheel that had been floating around in the yard. Luckily this gave me two good inner tubes, dated 1956 and still perfectly sound. The only thing I needed to  replace were the tyres.

The inner tubes bore the Swedish Army Three Crowns mark and the name Varnamo. Värnamo is a municipality in Sweden and there is a Varnamo Rubber UK but I haven't been able to find anything about Varnamo and inner tubes from 1956.

Original 1956 inner tube with working valve

Varnamo brand on innertube

A later replacement inner tube was totally disintegrated.

Of particular interest on these bikes is a front drum brake operated by a lever and chain that goes inside the right front fork. The lever is integrated into the handle and is an ingenious mechanism.

Front wheel with drum brake 

Drum brake removed

Cleaned drum brake in lock position

Drum brake in free position

The bottle dynamo was manufactured by ASEA, a Swedish general electric company founded in the late 19th century. The dynamo is contemporary, although I have it on good account that the front lamp is probably a later replacement. The original wires and bulbs are all in working order and with a simple re-connection and a little work on the rear light, all is now good.

6 Volt 0.5 amp bottle dynamo

Dynamo manufactured by ASEA (Swedish general electric)

The finished bike had taken little over 7 hours to dismantle, clean and reconstruct. All that really needed doing was to replace the tyres, reconnect the wires for the dynamo, repair the rear light fitting, and free up the brake drum and lever mechanism.

A closer inspection of the rear hub reveled it was a one speed NOVO coaster brake hub manufactured by Husqvarna although Nymans usually installed a torpedo hub.

With the Nymans badge putting the bike pre '47 and the rear hub post '45, the bike was probably manufactured between those years. However, my source in Sweden informs me that the frame number suggests a date of 1944, making it 68 years old when I found it. And all the parts it came with are still in perfect working order.

These were manufactured at a time before mass consumerism was the norm. Things were built to last, unlike in our modern throw-away society. I wonder what the average age is, in the west, for objects like refrigerators, TV's and washing machines? Five to ten years, perhaps? A refrigerator made in the old USSR from the 30's still works today, and yes, light bulbs can be made to last a lifetime.

I think the bikes probably saw active service from around 1944 until 1956, when the inner tubes and tyres, which were also dated 1956, were changed. I imagine they were then taken out of active service, covered in green paint over the original grey and auctioned off whereupon they ended up in Finland. 

I shall have to remake the saddle which had totally disintegrated but initial rides have proved this to be the most comfortable and solid-feeling bicycle I have ever ridden. Yes, at over 26 kg it is a heavy bike, but like an old Rolls Royce it wafts along with no rattles or squeaks. When you ride over a bump on one of these, you glide over it.

Finished and all in working order.

The Swedish bicycle company Kronan founded in 1997 has its roots in this very bicycle. In the '90s two Swedish university students supplemented their income by buying and restoring M/42 army bikes. When they ran out of stock, they applied for the rights of the original design and had them manufactured in Taiwan and assembled in Poland.

Perhaps I have stumbled upon the last of the remaining stock of original M/42s or could there be more out there in the many scrapyards dotted around Finland?

Frame number stamped under the crank
indicating a 1944 date of  manufacture

Swedish Army three crowns stamped on top of the handle bars

Front lamp manufactured by Bosch in Sweden SP L1,
probably from the 60's or even 70's