bnewberry

I have been asked to help identify an old bike frame. It had belonged to a recently passed WWII veteran who had been an avid cyclist through the 60’s, 70’s and into the 80’s. Sorry about the photo quality. Also found near the frame and fork was a pair of wooden wheels and a set of fenders that look like they belong with the frame. Any ideas?

juvela

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on a machine such as this you would likely receive more and faster identification help over at thecabe.com forum

registration is needed to post; it is without cost and easily done in a moment



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thinktubes 

+1 on The Cabe. It’s a real beaut - thanks for posting!

Fork is somewhat distinctive which helps. Do you have a pic of the cranks/chainring?

Likely pre-war/1930s. Are you in Canada?

bnewberry

Thank you for the pointer to thecabe. I didn’t know about that site but a quick look at some posts and images shows me that is the place!

T-Mar

The subject frame is what is generically called a Motorbike. Basically, they were bicycles styled to look like motorcycles. Common motorcycle features included double top tubes, fork trusses, handlebars with long rearward extension and cross brace, and rear axle kickstands. Some brands went further and incorpated faux gas tanks.

The Motorbike trend started around the Great War and was popular into the later 1950s, though it's peak was the inter-war period. Assuming the wooden wheels and one inch pitch cog are OEM, this would appear to be an earlier example, from the late teens through the 1920s.

markk900

I am by no means an authority, but I suspect the front hub was laced on later - first it looks like a French Atom hub from the 60s/70s, and secondly the rear wheel (which looks very original) has butted spokes which look corroded as suits their age, but the fronts are not butted and very (very) clean, and front nipples do not come through the rim as they do at the back...... There is writing on the hub I can't quite make out - can you read the name on the hub?

bnewberry

Good eye! I noticed the newer looking spokes but didn’t think of the hub. I don’t have the bike with me, no luck reading anything on the hub.

zukahn1 

Looks to be a late 20's Schwinn Motorbike. As said the front wheel hub are a replacements the rear wheel looks to be original. Surprisingly it looks to have fairly good original midnight black paint.

T-Mar

Here's are photos of a 1910s motorcycle and a typical early motorbike, to show how the bicycle industry mimicked the salient design features of double top tube frame, truss fork, long extension handlebars, rear axle kickstand and, in this particular case, a faux gas tank.