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

Indigenous tree species in Finland

I shall be adding links and pictures to this list and notes concerning uses and fruits.

Softwoods: 
Pine (Pinus sylvestris)
Spruce (Picea abies)
Common juniper (Juniperus communis)
Common or european or english yew (Taxus baccata)
Hardwoods:
Silver birch (Betula pendula)
Downy birch (Betula pubescens)
Common or european alder (Alnus glutinosa)
Grey alder (Alnus incana)
Aspen (Populus tremula)
Rowan, european mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia)
Oaklef mountain ash (Sorbus hybrida)
Swedish whitebeam (Sorbus intermedia )
Teodori rowan (Sorbys teodori)
European bird cherry (Prunus padus)
Littleleaf linden (Tilia cordata)
Norway maple(Acer platanoides)
Common or english or pedunculate oak (Quercus robur)
Common or european ash (Fraxinus excelsior)saarni
Wych elm (Ulmus glabra)
European white elm (Ulmus laevis)
Crab apple (Malus sylvestris) 
Common buckthorn (Rhamnus catharticus)
Alder or glossy buckthorn (Rhamnus frangula)
Hawnthorn (Crataegus monogyna)
Goat willow (Salix caprea)
Bay or laurel willow (Salix pentandra)
Black maul. almond or almond-leaved willow (Salix triandra)
Dark-leaved willow (Salix myrsinifolia)

No known English name:
Crataegus rhipidophylla
Salix borealis

At the lake

15th September 2012

Twenty-two minutes to get to the lake over six kilometres away on a mono-speed bicycle.

I get that down to 17 minutes on the return journey. It was getting dark and cold. I was in a hurry and the thought of getting into my hot sauna seemed to provide the impetus necessary to add some extra rotational force to my pedalling legs.

...

Chris unchains the oars and little rowing boat, we load up our rods and paddle off around the lake skimming the banks with its reeds and marshy edges. We fish with rubber lures which are lead-weighted at the heads. They cast beautifully.

Halfway round Chris hooks and lands a pike. It's not big but would make a decent meal. Chris says the white flesh is difficult for him to distinguish from cod which I find difficult to believe - I imagined pike or most lake fish to be muddy tasting. The water is very brown here but translucent brown in the shallows. Chris says its from the peat.

The pike makes a disturbing croaking sound and before I know it, Chris has unhooked it and put it gently back into the water. It swims off.

My dinner swims off.

I am having more luck hooking the lilies than any fish and on the way back I volunteer to row. We've been on the water for one and a half hours so it's a good distance back.

...

The dark lake, like a gypsy's crystal ball reflects another world. Autumn is just starting here but in the upside down world it is easy to imagine the arrival of spring in New Zealand, the land of my birth.

First signs of Autumn

15th September 2012

A solitary nettle protrudes above the wild raspberries in the chill autumnal air. The green leaves of the fruit bushes are interspersed with rusty weeds lacking the suppleness they once enjoyed, like stiff and wizened old folk. The trees in front of my window still harness the green naivety of summer but strangely it is the interior branches that host the older leaves. Now yellow and as if punctured by a dirty nail dappled with brown spots which will soon spread like the veins in a blue cheese.

Beyond, a sliver birch still stands tall and green. One neighbour is a patchwork of green and yellow while yet another is almost completely transformed and will soon wear its full autumn cloak.

Low clouds puff along to the north as a heart-shaped hole of turquoise opens up like a beacon of hope. Through the hole, cumulo clouds form with bright tops touched by the sun.

The wind rustles through the leaves.

Perhaps this afternoon it will be sunny.

Back in Finland after my visit home

15th September 2012

It's been a while since I last posted anything.

I've been back in the UK visiting family.

The kids are great and I miss them deeply. My older boy Jun did brilliantly in his 'A' level exams and got into the university of his choice, Sheffield, to read economics.

I've got a great family and I am always thinking of them; Jun, Sean, Eli, Mum, Dad, Katie, Al, Soph. All of them.

...

My father was diagnosed with cancer and had been receiving treatment since March. He was hospitalised due to an infection following chaemotherapy. It really took it out of him and he was greatly weakened.

I managed to get back a couple of days before he returned home. As he was pushed up the path in a wheel chair, my heart stopped. He looked so thin and frail and there was concern about his faculties - we needn't have worried about that though.

Over the course of three weeks or so, we managed to get him back on his feet and exercising a little to get the strength back into his atrophied legs. After three weeks in hospital, the muscle had just slipped off his body. He graduated from a Zimmer frame to a walking stick and was venturing about without any aid when he tripped over and hurt himself.

His confidence took a big knock and he gave up for a while. It must be frustrating being mentally alert and having been previously so active in the garden and in his pottery studio but not being able to get about - the mind being strong but the body being unable.

He got back up but is more down than up.

It's a big shock for all of us but especially mum to see the big strong man who played such a leading role in our lives reduced to thin legs in baggy pyjamas.

I love you dad. We all do and our thoughts are with you always.

HST Blank Printable 15 rep 2 week cycle

15 rep cycle

(Insert 60% of 1 rep max for exercises on final day of cycle. Subtract 1kg each day working backwards for small muscles and 2-5kg for bigger muscles - lighter weights are at beginning of cycle.)

Monday Day 1

General warm up

Body weight leg raise 3 X 20-25

Crunch machine 3 X 20-25

Hyper extensions body weight 3 X 20-25

Legs

Leg press or squat Warm up, 2 X 15 X

Leg curl 2 X 15 X

Leg extension 2 X 15 X (optional)

Chest

Bench slight incline Warm up, 2 X 15 X

Back

Chins or Lat pull down

Wide; Warm up, 2 X 15 X

Narrow; 2 X 15 X

Shoulders

Rear delts

Bent over lateral raise 2 x 15 x

Traps

Shrugs; standing calf press machine 2 X 15 X

Biceps

Standing cable preacher (change frequently) 2 X 15 X

Triceps

French Curl 2 X 15 X

Calves

Standing press 2 X 15 X

Wednesday Day 2

General warm up

Body weight leg raise 3 X 20-25
Crunch machine 3 X 20-25
Hyper extensions body weight 3 X 20-25

Legs

Leg press or squat Warm up, 2 X 15 X
Leg curl 2 X 15 X
Leg extension 2 X 15 X (optional)

Chest

Bench slight incline Warm up, 2 X 15 X

Back

Chins or Lat pull down
Wide; Warm up, 2 X 15 X
Narrow; 2 X 15 X

Shoulders

Rear delts
Bent over lateral raise 2 x 15 x
Traps
Shrugs; standing calf press machine 2 X 15 X

Biceps

Standing cable preacher (change frequently) 2 X 15 X

Triceps

French Curl 2 X 15 X

Calves

Standing press 2 X 15 X

Friday Day 3

General warm up

Body weight leg raise 3 X 20-25

Crunch machine 3 X 20-25

Hyper extensions body weight 3 X 20-25

Legs

Leg press or squat Warm up, 2 X 15 X

Leg curl 2 X 15 X

Leg extension 2 X 15 X (optional)

Chest

Bench slight incline Warm up, 2 X 15 X

Back

Chins or Lat pull down

Wide; Warm up, 2 X 15 X

Narrow; 2 X 15 X

Shoulders

Rear delts

Bent over lateral raise 2 x 15 x

Traps

Shrugs; standing calf press machine 2 X 15 X

Biceps

Standing cable preacher (change frequently) 2 X 15 X

Triceps

French Curl 2 X 15 X

Calves

Standing press 2 X 15 X

Monday Day 4

General warm up

Body weight leg raise 3 X 20-25

Crunch machine 3 X 20-25

Hyper extensions body weight 3 X 20-25

Legs

Leg press or squat Warm up, 2 X 15 X

Leg curl 2 X 15 X

Leg extension 2 X 15 X (optional)

Chest

Bench slight incline Warm up, 2 X 15 X

Back

Chins or Lat pull down

Wide; Warm up, 2 X 15 X

Narrow; 2 X 15 X

Shoulders

Rear delts

Bent over lateral raise 2 x 15 x

Traps

Shrugs; standing calf press machine 2 X 15 X

Biceps

Standing cable preacher (change frequently) 2 X 15 X

Triceps

French Curl 2 X 15 X

Calves

Standing press 2 X 15 X

Wednesday Day 5

General warm up

Body weight leg raise 3 X 20-25
Crunch machine 3 X 20-25
Hyper extensions body weight 3 X 20-25

Legs

Leg press or squat Warm up, 2 X 15 X
Leg curl 2 X 15 X
Leg extension 2 X 15 X (optional)

Chest

Bench slight incline Warm up, 2 X 15 X

Back

Chins or Lat pull down
Wide; Warm up, 2 X 15 X
Narrow; 2 X 15 X

Shoulders

Rear delts
Bent over lateral raise 2 x 15 x
Traps
Shrugs; standing calf press machine 2 X 15 X

Biceps

Standing cable preacher (change frequently) 2 X 15 X

Triceps

French Curl 2 X 15 X

Calves

Standing press 2 X 15 X

Friday Day 6

(the weights below should be your 60% of 1 rep max.)

General warm up

Body weight leg raise 3 X 20-25
Crunch machine 3 X 20-25
Hyper extensions body weight 3 X 20-25

Legs

Leg press or squat Warm up, 2 X 15 X
Leg curl 2 X 15 X
Leg extension 2 X 15 X (optional)

Chest

Bench slight incline Warm up, 2 X 15 X

Back

Chins or Lat pull down
Wide; Warm up, 2 X 15 X
Narrow; 2 X 15 X

Shoulders

Rear delts
Bent over lateral raise 2 x 15 x
Traps
Shrugs; standing calf press machine 2 X 15 X

Biceps

Standing cable preacher (change frequently) 2 X 15 X

Triceps

French Curl 2 X 15 X

Calves

Standing press 2 X 15 X

Hypertrophy-specific Training. 15 rep 2 week cycle

11th June 2012

The problem I can foresee here is, because I am not lifting very heavy weights at the moment, some of the increments are very small. This will make it difficult to find weights small enough. I might have to double up some of the days whereby I do the same weight on consecutive days and maybe pushing one more rep.

Perform a simple short full body warm up prior to lifting any weights. It is sufficient just to raise the heart rate a bit for maybe up to five minutes.

Do not perform any stretches.

Some of the exercises require a warm up which entails lifting half the target weight 15 times and are indicated below.

2 X 15 means lifting the weight 15 times, resting and then doing it again 15 times. The maximums for each repetition group will be the target weights for the end of the two week cycle.

Back and chest have alternative exercises each time. Day 1, 3, 5 consist of wide and narrow lat pull down for the back and slight incline bench for the chest. Day 2, 4, 6 consist of T-bar row (should be wide and narrow grip) for back and dips or pec deck for chest.
Try to mix up the exercises for biceps frequently.

First cycle
15 rep max programme
Monday Day 1

Abs
Body weight leg raise for now 3 X 20-25

Legs
Leg press or squat; Warm up, 2 X 15 X 75kg
Leg curl 2 X 15 X 75kg
Leg extension 2 X 15 X 75kg

Chest
Bench slight incline Warm up 2 X 15 X 25kg

Back
Chins or Lat pull down
Wide Warm up, 2 X 15 X 40kg
Narrow 2 X 15 X 40kg

Shoulders
Rear delts
Bent over lateral raise 2 x 15 x 4kg
Traps
Shrugs: standing calf press machine 2 X 15 X 40kg

Biceps
Standing cable preacher (change frequently) 2 X 15 X 12kg (Note: Failed. Moved closer to the cable on second set and only managed 12 reps. Try same next time standing slightly further back.)


Triceps
French Curl 2 X 15 X 15kg

Calves
Standing press 2 X 15 X 40kg

Notes:
Monday 11th June 2012
This was more difficult than I had anticipated. It is a long time since I did a full body workout with 15 reps. In fact, the last time I did anything similar, my wife was pregnant with my 10 year old son.

Wednesday Day 2
Abs
Body weight leg raise for now 3 X 20-25

Legs
Leg press or squat; Warm up, 2 X 15 X 78kg
Leg curl 2 X 15 X 78kg
Leg extension 2 X 15 X 78kg

Chest
Pec deck 2 x 15 X 25kg

Back
T-Bar Warm up, 2 X 15 X 32kg

Shoulders
Delts rear bent over lateral raise 2 x 15 x 4.5kg
Shrugs Standing calf press machine 2 X 15 X 43kg

Biceps
standing cable preacher (change frequently) 2 X 15 X 13kg
Triceps
French Curl 2 X 15 X 13kg

Calves
standing press 2 X 15 X 43kg

Friday Day 3
Abs
Body weight leg raise for now 3 X 20-25

Legs
Leg press or squat; Warm up, 2 X 15 X 79kg
Leg curl 2 X 15 X 79kg
Leg extension 2 X 15 X 79kg

Chest
Bench slight incline Warm up 2 X 15 X 26kg

Back
Chins or Lat pull down
Wide Warm up, 2 X 15 X 45kg
Narrow 2 X 15 X 45kg

Shoulders
Delts rear bent over lateral raise 2 x 15 x 5kg
Shrugs Standing calf press machine 2 X 15 X 44kg

Biceps
standing cable preacher (change frequently) 2 X 15 X 14kg


Triceps
French Curl 2 X 15 X 14kg

Calves
standing press 2 X 15 X 44kg

Monday Day 4
Abs
Body weight leg raise for now 3 X 20-25

Legs
Leg press or squat; Warm up, 2 X 15 X 80kg
Leg curl 2 X 15 X 80kg
Leg extension 2 X 15 X 80kg

Chest
Pec deck 2 x 15 X 27kg

Back
T-Bar Warm up, 2 X 15 X 34kg

Shoulders
Delts rear bent over lateral raise 2 x 15 x 5.5kg
Shrugs Standing calf press machine 2 X 15 X 45kg

Biceps
standing cable preacher (change frequently) 2 X 15 X 15kg


Triceps
French Curl 2 X 15 X 15kg

Calves
standing press 2 X 15 X 46kg

Wednesday Day 5
Abs
Body weight leg raise for now 3 X 20-25

Legs
Leg press or squat; Warm up, 2 X 15 X 82kg
Leg curl 2 X 15 X 82kg
Leg extension 2 X 15 X 82kg

Chest
Bench slight incline Warm up 2 X 15 X 28kg

Back
Pull downs
Wide Warm up, 2 X 15 X 48kg
Narrow 2 X 15 X 48kg

Shoulders
Delts rear bent over lateral raise 2 x 15 x 6kg
Shrugs Standing calf press machine 2 X 15 X 46kg

Biceps
standing cable preacher (change frequently) 2 X 15 X 16kg


Triceps
French Curl 2 X 15 X 16kg

Calves
standing press 2 X 15 X 46kg

Friday Day 6
(the weights below are 60% of my 1 rep max which I found using the calculator in exrx.)
Abs
Body weight leg raise for now 3 X 20-25

Legs
Leg press or squat; Warm up, 2 X 15 X 84kg
Leg curl 2 X 15 X 84kg
Leg extension 2 X 15 X 84kg

Chest
Pec deck 2 x 15 X 30kg

Back
T-Bar Warm up, 2 X 15 X 36kg

Shoulders
Delts rear bent over lateral raise 2 x 15 x 6kg
Shrugs Standing calf press machine 2 X 15 X 48kg

Biceps
standing cable preacher 2 X 15 X 15kg


Triceps
French Curl 2 X 15 X 15kg

Calves
standing press 2 X 15 X 48kg