Crated 1903 Featherstone
 

In an antique shop in Williamsburg Va. Not for sale, but the owner will entertain offers.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...9e65199ca.jpeg

Looks like a proper gravel bike to me.

Should clean up nicely with some lube, new paint, decals, and tires

Interesting saddle -- I guess there is nothing new in saddle design. :)

What size and type of tires are those rims made for?

Otto

Yep... That wall hanger looks great just as it is...

Seriously though, what do we think something like that is worth? $10k, $20k, $50k more? I'm sure there are deep pocketed collectors out there, but how many NOS 100yr old mens bikes are there out there?

No idea, I do not follow that market, too many hills adjacent to my house to make use of it.

I think that one (or one just like it) sold for around $2,500 a few years ago (2017). Might have been auctioned off again later as well.

https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/cr...icycle.103886/

Given the era, my guess is that they are single tube tyres. During the mid-1890s there was huge bicycle boom. However, the boom enticed more manufacturers into the bicycling industry, setting off a war of escalating price cutting that quickly led to market saturation and an industry recession by the end of the decade. At that point, the large American Bicycle Company (ABC) was established and started buying out companies in the hope of stablizing the market by eliminating most of the competition and fixing prices. Basically, ABC was an attempt to form a monopoly.

The bicycle tyre industry followed a similar path. When Dunlop's pneumetic tyer was introduced to the USA in the very early 1890s, it set off a huge demand for pneumetic tyres. As a result a plethora of pneumatic tyre styles were introduced. This quickly settled down to a war of four competing styles. Dunlop's tyre evolved into the wired-on style for easier mounting and repair but it faced steep competition from the single tube, double tube and clincher.

Wired-on: U-shaped casing with wire hoops encased in small beads. Separate inner tube. What cyclists to-day call a clincher.

Single tube: Seamless O-shaped casing with tube vulcanized to inside of casing. Tyre glued/cemented to rim.

Double tube: O-shaped casing with seam that is sewn together, Separate iiner tube. Tyre cemented/glued to rim. What today's cyclist would call a sew-up or tubular.

Clincher: U-shaped casing with with very large rubber beads, that fit under very pronounced hooks in rim. Separate inner tube.

With the arrival of the recession, the same monopolist approach employed by ABC would be used to control the bicycle tyre industry, with the Rubber Goods Manufacturing Company being established specifically for this purpose. By the arrival of the new century. they had acquired controlling rights to the wired-on, single tube and double tube tyres. A weakened industry was looking for a inexpensive tyre and Rubber Goods Mfg. Co, was happy to promote the single tube. While OEM profits were not as high, it was more than compensated by the higher level of aftermarket profits, as single tube tyres required more frequent replacement than the alternatives. In the long run, single tube tyres would be more profitable for the company and they were more than happy to let the double tube and wired-on pass away quietly. They would also acquire the clncher very early in the 20th century and also let it die.

Alfred Featherstone had been a very early Dunlop licensee but he sold his company to ABC in 1899. Given ABC's need to turn a quick profit and Rubber Goods pushing the single tube, a single tube tyre would be the leading canduate for a 1903 Featherstone.

Single tube tyres were typically manufactured in even 2" increments, from 20" up 28'. For an adult bicycle circa 1903, 28" would be my leading candidate.

I don't know exactly when they were introduced but I've seen saddles with the perineal slot, in literature dating to the early 1890s.

@T-Mar - Thanks for the history! Always interested in that "stuff!"

I'd spread the frame and make that one my first modern build.

:D

I imagine some hipster would turn it into a fixie.

Entertain likely being the operative word there.

I’m curious of the build details, tubing? Geometry? Weight?

There. 😆

Not sure what happened to the other images. This will give one a better idea of the geometry.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...916365d68.jpeg

Hmmm, it’s about my size and style. I was just wondering if I could find any modern tubular tire that could go on those rims. Would it likely be fixed gear or were freewheels already common? I would at least prefer to have a brake.

Otto

doubt you will find mod tires that will fit but there was a recreation of the single tube tires in some sizes. $$$.
50/50 fixed, maybe 60/40
i think the info on the crate stated no brake
it did have the gear ratio

Nice! My size too, tall frame. I wonder what type of brakes these had. I would think it should be left as a display. It is obviously in the right hands, it looks in good shape, box and all.

Double wow! Although I'd be tempted to assemble and test ride, it's perfect as it is in its original crate.

Given the era, it's most likely a brakeless, fixed gear model. During this era, brakes were usually an option on men's bicycles. At tis time, this bicycle would have sold for $35.00 -$40.00 and the optional ABC or Barwest coaster brake would have added $5.00 to the price.

I've done some more resesarch and have more info on the model and tyres. In 1903, Featherstone had five basic models (with addional women's and cushion frame variants). It's obviously not the shaft drive Chainless model or the dropped handlebar Boulevardier. That leaves three versions of their Men's Roadster model and this appears to be the middle F-3 Men's Roadster model based on the two piece crankset with round section arms. Original price was $35.00.

Regarding tires, all models came standard with Hartford (single tube) tyres with the exception of the bottom of the line version of the Men's Roadster, which came with Morgan & Wright (double tube) tyres. As an option, you could order G+J Detachable (Gormully & Jefferey, clincher) tyres or Dunlop Detachables (wired-on) tyres. This supports my earlier post of single tube tyres being the leading candidate. Note how they offer all four tyre styles but pushed the single tube style by making it the standard offering. The optional tyres would have increased the price. From the 1903 Featherstone catalogue:
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...01c50e9a0b.jpg

Some members may be interested in the story behind the Hartford single tube tyres. These tyres were introduced for the 1892 model year, as the pneumatic offering on Columbia bicycles, the leading USA brand at the time.

The man behind Columbia was Albert Pope a founder of the American bicycle industry. A manufacturer of various goods, he became interested in the nascent bicycle industry and started importing then English hi-wheelers in 1878, then having a local sewing machine machine company manufacture copies later the same year. Within a few years he was designing his own bicycles and had obtained controlling share in his former contractor's company.

However, while Pope offered quality bicycles, his industry control resulted just as much from his practice of buying bicycle patents, which he rigorously enforced with litigation and expensive royalties. His most notable acquisition was Pierre Lallement's original bicycle patent. Pope's patents brought him royalties from his competitors and drove up their prices, so that they were not as competitive with his Columbia brand.

With the arrival of pneumetic tyres in the very early 1890s, Pope knew they would soon become standard on all bicycles. However, he did not want to pay royalties to Dunlop or antbody else with a patented pneumatic tyre. He thought he had found the solution in the Boothroyd, the first single tube tyre. Invented in England in 1890, the Boothroyd design was offered royalty free. Pope then purchased controlling interest in the neighbouring Hartford Rubbber Works Co. to manufacture his pneumatic tyre under the Hartford brand.The fact that Pope chose single tube tyres was not lost on the industry and the consumer. Other manufacturers followed Pope's lead, realizing that Pope was the accepted industry leader and that the format that he chose would likely become the industry standard.

Pope was dealt a minor blow in 1892 and 1893 when Pardon W. Tillinghast was granted USA patents for his single tube tyre, which was similar to the Boothroyd . Pope's response was to obtain controlling interest in the Security Pneumatic Tyre Company, which then bought the Tillinghast patents.

The mid-1890s brought the orignal bicycle boom and with it, an increase in bicycle companies. The increased competition brought down bicycle prices and caused manufacturers to seek less expensive tyre alternatives. Between it's low cost and Pope's endorsement, the single tube tyre became dominant in the American bicycle industry. Pope was making money off every single tyre manufactured and sold in the USA, regardless of the brand.

The increased competiton some brought market saturation and an industry recession in the very late 1890s, Dwindling sales would force Pope to sell his single tube patents and align hinmself with sporting goods tycoon A.G. Spalding, to spearhead the incorporation of the American Bicycle Company, an amalgamation of leading USA bicycle companies, that hoped to control supply and fix prices.

However, Pope's Hartforrd single tube tyre had been instrumental in establishing the single tube as the dominant tyre in the USA market and was the brand having the highest recognition with consumers.With the establishment of ABC and their need for an inexpensive tyre, the corporate ties via Pope likely resulted in the Hartford single tube tyre becoming the standard tyre for bicycle brands under the ABC banner.

Another interesting piece of technology on the bicycle that has been fairly recently rediscovered is the two piece crankset. It is mentioned in the specifications and you tell that it two piece with the spindle being integral with the drive side crankarm by the fact that the drive side is mounted to the bicycle, while the non-drive side arm is not mounted but tied to the bicycle frame.

The two piece crankset concept was reintroduced about two decades ago, but with oversize hollow spindles and external bearings, to decrease wieght and increase rigidity. Now that I think of it, external bearing are not new either. Some manufacturers were using them, over 120 years ago.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a90c1c663e.jpg