spinnanz

Im looking at getting this, do the basics to get it ride-able and slap on some black enamel paint. Any idea on its age? from the badge Im lead to believe it is a BSA. None of them have chain guards or front fenders? Looks like I'll also need to make up a front stand.

clubman 

Nice bike, I may have a catalogue page somewhere.
If the crankset was made by Williams, there may be a date code stamped on it, and then you can look here.

CliffordK

Interesting bike.
Postal Bike?
Paper Bike?

I've seen those bent top tubes before. Looking at things more, perhaps it is due to the seat tube angle + a right-angle lug on the seat tube.

I'm guessing maybe the 1930's. But, it is hard to say.

What is the rear hub? Sturmey Archer put date codes on all of their hubs, although I don't see signs of a shifter.

The seat, and perhaps grips are from a newer generation.

Velo Mule

Well, that for sure, looks like a BSA Logo on the headbadge.

spinnanz

Single speed rear so I'll need see if anything is on the crankset

Bad Lag

My guess - grocery delivery bike.

I used to work at a small, neighborhood grocery store. It was literally a corner grocery store. I delivered the groceries to customers who would call in their orders. The bike was similar - small wheel up front, monster basket. The basket would hold about 6 paper bags or a couple of cardboard boxes.

bluesteak 

Very interesting bsa.

does it have a coaster brake? I don’t see anything else.

Good thing I didn’t come across it. I would have had to have it.

spinnanz

Yeah its got a rear coaster brake. At the cost of originality id want to convert it to 3 speed....

Bad Lag

The grocery delivery bike I used had a MONSTER stand to hold it upright when dismounted. It was like the center stand on a motorcycle except it attached to and pivoted on the front wheel. Once it was down, you could easily hold 100 pounds in the basket with no other means of support.

CliffordK

Yeah... it could be a can of worms... replacing spokes with something shiny?

Sturmey Archer also made a 4-speed by the 1950's, and a 5-speed by the 1960's and 1970's.

thumpism 

Frame style is sometimes called a camelback and the bike style is generically called a Cycle Truck. Schwinn made them for decades and I recall seeing them in use here in town for (literally) the corner drugstore and neighborhood grocery.

spinnanz

Ive recently converted a Raleigh Sport to electric, the original 3 speed wheel is now spare so might fit, or be made to fit?

spinnanz

I'll need to make a new stand up, this one pivots on the front lower rail of the basket cage

bluesteak 

It doesn’t make sense to put a three speed hub in it. Better to get it as close to original as possible. The head badge has already been painted over.

I have seen bikes like this in old English bike catalogs. I can’t recall the name of the site that has all the English bike history stuff. I doubt that bicycles were produced under the BSA name much later than 1955.

spinnanz

The owner tells me the rear wheel is stuffed, in which case using a spare 3 speed rear wheel I have here does make sense. Id pref a bit of un-originality to make it usable, plus its not like it couldn't be undone by a future owner. Id be keeping any old parts because of this.

repechage

my great aunts lived in a small city that had a grocer with delivery. They were decades long customers that even after the store stopped that, they still received deliveries.

Clang

The folks here might be able to aid you https://thecabe.com/forum/

Bad Lag

Yes, that's the type of store it was.

My parents and their siblings used to go there as children during the depression era. They told me stories of how the owner was very kind to all during the depression. They would later shop there as adults when raising their own kids. I was in there twice when I was a child visiting my aunt. The store had the same owner the whole time. The owner was in his late 70's and early 80 when I worked there as a teenager in high school.

The bike sat outside, unlocked the entire time I worked there. No one ever touched it. No one would dare steal it. The owners were well respected in the neighborhood, generation after generation.

My story is not about the OP's bike but these bikes have a history. Each one has a story to tell, if only it could speak. They have been around.

Save it.

clubman 

Here's a 1936 BSA Carrier. Similar but for the bent top tube.

Note...can't upload files from computer tonight as attachments. Odd.

cudak888 

Any closeups of the lugs, crankset, or general details?

I'm curious whether this predates or postdates Raleigh's buyout of the marquee.

-Kurt

John E

I think the IGH conversion, whether 3 or more speeds, is a great idea. It would not compromise the look at all, and it would greatly enhance its practicality. If you live in a relatively flat area, a close-ratio Sturmey 4-speed would be an interesting choice, if you can find one. If you still want the coaster brake, then you'll need a coaster 3-speed from S/A (been there ... done that ... worked decently).

clubman 

Trying again...

cat0020

Not a classic, but I bought this for less than $450 delivered to my driveway.

Looking forward to putting it to work in NYC metro, maybe fit an electric motor when I wear out the rear wheel.

NHmtb

I think you should haul lobsters with that thing

noglider 

When I was a kid growing up in Manhattan, the supermarkets used this tricycle. I can't remember if the box was galvanized or painted, but it usually had no graphics.

It's made by Worksman Cycles in Queens, NYC, a company founded in 1898 and still producing these trikes and other utility bikes.