Zaphod Beeblebrox 

the guy with the bike was a real nice dude and I had the spare time last week. That said I don't wanna go back to Long Island in a car again for a while (on a bike or train, OK).

mkeller, the fenders are aluminum and I think the rims are too. A magnet won't stick to the rims...
The bike looks rough but its all cosmetic. Some pre-Drew did a real mess of a paint job on the fenders, rims and frame apparently using a roller and brush.

Rhm, thanks for all the links and pics... I'm checking into those now. As for the oil ports, they are all identical on the Front & Rear hub and the Bottom Bracket.

mkeller234

Haha! "pre-drew", thats a good one. Has anyone guessed what the age may be?

mickey85

I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't have a derailer - that reaction arm looks made to slide back and forth on the frame. If you ride it as-is, I'd probably put some grease on that part of the frame so that you can protect the paint a bit and keep it from scratching.

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

Based on everything I'm reading here and elsewhere its sounding like the hub and probably the entire bike is 1951

cudak888 

Throw a Suntour RD on it, and enjoy it as a semi-modernized 3-speed.

-Kurt

noglider 

Kurt, then the coaster brake wouldn't work very well.

mickey85

Or...just ride it as-is and move the rear wheel if you REALLY need to.

cudak888 

Hence why it has a caliper brake up front.

-Kurt

noglider 

I still wouldn't recommend any chain tensioner on a coaster brake bike. In this case, once he defeats the rear brake, he has only one brake left.

mickey85

And what's the point of putting a derailer on it? It's not exactly like you'd need to shift all the time, just stand up!

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

Hub Closeup showing the Date and Letter Code in the pre-1958 style. Its fairly certain this is a 1951 hub.



A shot of the movable coaster brake, and some evidence on the frame that it has been moved around. Thats +1 point for no derailleur




Check out this little thing...looks to my eye like a cable guide of some sort...its brazed onto the seat lug....possibly a guide for a brake cable or a derailleur cable?


Have a look at all these holes in the rear dropout....only one is threaded for the Fender Stays...no clue what the rest are for (saving weight? )




Couple shots of the Fenders and Head/Tail lights.

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

The oil ports. I love the oil ports.

noglider 

Maybe there was a derailleur of the no-cable-tensioner type, and that's what the cable guide was for.

I love oil ports, too. I wish we still had them.

When I was on my three-month wandering tour of Europe, I poured oil into my Campy record hubs every so often. Eventually, it came out at the ends, dissolving the grease. I kept oiling, so no harm done.

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

Its funny, just last week I saw a picture of a bike here in C&V that had a sweet oil port on the BB and I thought to myself.....self, you'd like a bike with a BB oil port because oil ports are cool.

Lo and behold the Durkopp has 3

After A bit of inspection last night, I've discovered that the original paint is still there under the crappy paint job, and you can even still see some of the box lining that used to be painted on there. The Fenders are Aluminum and still shiny under that paint, I noticed there is a remnant of a red pinstripe peeking through as well (Why in the world would anyone paint over this stuff?!?) and the rims are some kind of alloy...i managed to see some shiny and I found the outline of a panto'd logo, I just gotta remove the paint from the rim.

Am I better off to use scotchbrite pads or some other kind of abrasive or should I use a chemical to remove this paint?

rhm

Those fenders with built-in lights are fabulous. And they're aluminum, painted to look like aluminum?

The many holes on the dropout are not necessarily for anything very specific. When you want to mount a fender, a chain guard, a baby seat, and who knows what else, it's nice to have options. You may find some kind of old derailleur fits one or two of those holes, which would suggest the frame was built to accommodate such a thing; but it wouldn't mean the bike ever had it.

Help me read that rear hub shell. Is this what I see:

If so, I'd speculate that DR = Deutsche Reich, as opposed to its successor states BRD and DDR for West and East, respectively. This would suggest your hub was made on machinery that pre-dates the founding of those states (1948?). I wouldn't go so far as to say the bike (or even the hub) is quite that old; just don't know. I have a camera that a great uncle bought in Germany in 1947; it has "Made In Germany" stamped into the black leatherette case, with "US Occupied" stamped in white paint just below it. Markings like this continue into the 60's:
Play that one by ear! On the fenders, I'd definitely go solvent before abrasion, but bear in mind that some solvents will attack an anodized finish (which you probably don't have, but who knows?). Also, bear in mind that a solvent may soften a paint without dissolving it; perhaps you can soften it to the point that it will peel up. I don't think it will be hard to find a solvent that softens the rattlecan and brush paint without attacking the original paint; but it may remove the pinstriping. So while you're working, keep your digital camera handy to record anything you see; you may see traces of box lining, silkscreening, etc. that vanishes before you're done.

Scotch brite? Maybe... but try old credit cards and/or sharpened pieces of wood, too (similar in hardness to finger nail, but doesn't cause genetic damage).

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

:rolleyes: yes. Same with the rims :rolleyes: they say it takes all kinds (of idiots) to make the world go 'round. ;)


The only thing different is it says <DP> rather than <DR>

And I'm not sure if its dirt or not, but it looks like there may be a "3" after 'System Sach'...or is it a funny looking 's'?

...have a look at the closeup, see what you think.



I doubt the bottle generator that came with it is original, but the lights are very cool.

There's also a rack and a chainguard that I neglected to snap pics of.

rhm

Ah, well, in that case, never mind... just another brilliant theory destroyed by uncooperative evidence.

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

I hate it when that happens. I really liked your theory.

buck mulligan

My bike has a BB oil port. I think the technical term for it is a "seat tube."

wahoonc

I have Goof Off to remove paint splatters from my Raleigh Superbe with great success, in my case it didn't bother the box lining, but I was careful to stay away from the decals.

Aaron

clubman 

This Durkopp is turning out to be one special bike...have a look at this Copake Auction.

https://tinyurl.com/y6n9h2l

Your bike is now officially hot!

cudak888 

Hmm - now that seems to say something about the RD system.

-Kurt

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

This all explains quite a bit.





I kinda had a feeling there were supposed to be wingnuts on the rear hub just like the front hub.


and this is a familiar sight,




Anybody care to take a guess at frame materials? What was the high end stuff to be making a bike out of in the early 50's?

Andrew F

Be careful with the scotch brite pads. I have a Hercules of simular vintage that was rattle canned. I thought I was being careful enough but discovered that I was removing pigment from the box lining. The result is that the lines remainded but just enough that I can see to have them repainted. If I had it to do over again, I think I would have taken a gentler approach. By the way, what a cool find!

clubman 

German steel...pre WWII, yes? Probably very well made. It might be time to strip that puppy down for some restoration love. If the frame and fork weigh in under 5 lbs it would be fine indeed.

It may be a little difficult to find parts though...you think?

As mentioned, Made in Germany usually signifies prewar...everything after is qualified East or West, until the 90's of course.

I have some NOS vintage 5/32" headset bearings in a little tin that says Made in Germany. I'll send you as many as you need if they fit.