Originally Posted by
AD-SLE
Here she is. There is absolutely no alpha with the SN. I will try to get other photos. Since I was a small child this bike was in the stall. Rarely ridden by my father but still his pride and joy. He grew up in Cambridge Ma, the small front odometer says 1192. Sadly one of the rotted rubber hand grips blew off as it rode in the back of my truck. I have the chain guard. He was born in '23. I would assume he got it when 13. That would make it a 1936. I suspect, since he tells me he had the first 3 speed in Cambridge and he had to have the bike store special order it, the cost was significant. 1200 miles on a 3 speed is doing something. I suspect that when he turned 16 or 17, cars quickly replaced the bike. I think the bike is a bit of a time capsule that I will carefully clean and ride some day. The handlebars are black, not chrome or nickle. And very narrow. You have to work at keeping your knees in to avoid hitting the end of the bars. he was 5 11, I am 6. I mean other than hang it up in the shop and ride it for parades, 3 speeds in my part of NH are hard to work up and down the hills. The rear hub does not have the normal dating so that is of no use.
If a 1936 then it is a type K hub which have much prettier graphics than the later hubs. So right by where it says 'K' you will find a number; '6' will be 1936 (seems to me the AW was introduced in 1938). The gearing can be changed by removal of the rear sprocket and replacing it with a larger one. A 22 will get you up most hills (on the Lake Pepin 3 speed tour, a 22 is a good ratio to get you up the Bay City Hill). The type K used a threaded carrier for the sprocket, which are the same thread as used on track bikes, so if you can get it off (once you get the hang of it, not that hard) then other sprocket sizes are readily available.
I am 6.0" and no worries with my knees and the handlebars on my 1935 Sports Model (which is a Roadster FWIW) but that has more to do with inseam than it does height. The stem on this bike is quite a bit different in appearance than the post-war stems so do be careful with it. I can't see from the photos- does your machine have a gallows seatpost?
Allegedly the K did not have the big neutral between 2nd and 3rd but its most definitely there on my machine, which was equipped with stainless rims. My hub is a type KB, having a drum brake integrated into the hub.
BTW I would very much like to see what the graphics on the seat tube look like. It appears that yours are similar to mine, but mine are mostly covered by spray paint which has been the devil to remove!