Classic & Vintage - Look what I found in the woods today...

So I'm driving along in my work truck, and look out my window to the left. Is that a bike?

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r147/dekalbSTEEL/DPP_0156.jpg

So, I get out, take a closer look

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r147/dekalbSTEEL/DPP_0157.jpg

Yep, it's a bike alright, and looks pretty interesting...

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r147/dekalbSTEEL/DPP_0158.jpg
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r147/dekalbSTEEL/DPP_0169.jpg
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r147/dekalbSTEEL/DPP_0170.jpg


What is it? It's a Mead Ranger, made by Mead Cycle Co. , Chicago Illinois

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r147/dekalbSTEEL/DPP_0162.jpg
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r147/dekalbSTEEL/DPP_0160.jpg

Anyone have any info?

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r147/dekalbSTEEL/DPP_0167.jpg
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r147/dekalbSTEEL/DPP_0171.jpg
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r147/dekalbSTEEL/DPP_0166.jpg
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r147/dekalbSTEEL/DPP_0165.jpg
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r147/dekalbSTEEL/DPP_0164.jpg

Some poor kid probably took a ride, got lost in the woods and never came back for his bike 50-60 years ago...

That is a neat find thanx for posting.

Gonna snatch it?

It's still good!

Blair Witch Bike

vjp

Maybe it's a memorial.

Blair Witch Bike

That's along the lines of what I was thinking. That first picture with it at a distance in the snow looks really eerie.

Cool find, by the way.

Very odd...:p
Seems to me that it is up for new ownership...:rolleyes:

I wonder if ebay will ship to the woods?? Then I can just be drivin' along and find it. And bring it home. It would probably only work once. My wife doesn't believe that I found 20 bikes in our crawl space, but she might believe 1 in the woods...hmmmm

vjp

Awesome find! Looks like an interesting story.

Great find!

Tom

how many times have you passed that spot and it wasnt there?

That is sweet..... I would see if you could take over ownership....

Thats gotta be from the late 30s or early 40s, you can tell by the cross bar on the handlebars. I think those were built by schwinn. Very original condition, amazing that front fender light is still there.

look at the chain and lock. it was left recently.

look at the chain and lock. it was left recently.

Correction...:rolleyes:
It was dumped recently.

It was most likely stolen and stashed there before the leaves fell from the trees. I bet it couldn't be seen from the road last summer or fall. Check with the land owner or nearest resident and the local police. Do the right thing. You still might end up with a great old bike to restore. It does have supper potential. Best of luck.

I think Pastor Bob is right--that chain would seem to indicate recent ownership, although it's odd that someone would leave a great old bike like that out in the woods to get rusty.

I think I would check with the police though.

East Hill

Are forestbikes solitary or do they live in packs?

- note how the rodents have nearly chewed off the saddle!

look at the chain and lock. it was left recently.
I dunno... I zoomed in on the lock and the shackle is as rusty as the rest of the bike. Also bits of the chain have rust too. I think it's a galvanized chain and the lock body is brass so they just aren't as corroded as the rest of the bike.

Edit: In fact the lower end of the chain wrapped around the rack is severely corroded too. Looks like the seat offered some protection to the upper part of the chain.

If there was ever a candidate bike for an Oxalic acid bath, this one is it! :D

Ok, some more info....

I have seen this bike before, I just never had my camera with me. It's been there for at least a few months.
It's actually on a wooded lot in a wooded unincorporated area of West Chicago IL. I can't figure out who put it there or why.
There are a lot of older residents in that area.

http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/4802/rangerlocationsmallgj5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

It very well may be a memorial to a lost loved one then.

I hope you save it. It would be a shame to have it rust out in the woods.

I have Januarys issue of decline mountain bike magasine. On the cover is Billy Savage with that Schwinn .These bikes were pre ww11 Schwinns called Excelsiors sold under the BF Goodrich name. These bikes were converted into the first mountain bikes in the early 70s by Joe Breeze and thes guys from Marin county Cal. They called them Klunkers

... It does have supper potential. Best of luck.

Yes, it does look kind of tasty. :p :D

Sorry im not saying its a Schwinn but looks identical to the ones featured in the magasine.

If a Tree fell in the forest would the bike still be there?

Yes, it does look kind of tasty. :p :D
:o :o it was early this morning :o :o

So I'm driving along in my work truck, and look out my window to the left. Is that a bike?

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r147/dekalbSTEEL/DPP_0156.jpg

So, I get out, take a closer look

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r147/dekalbSTEEL/DPP_0157.jpg

Yep, it's a bike alright, and looks pretty interesting...

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r147/dekalbSTEEL/DPP_0158.jpg
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r147/dekalbSTEEL/DPP_0169.jpg
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r147/dekalbSTEEL/DPP_0170.jpg


What is it? It's a Mead Ranger, made by Mead Cycle Co. , Chicago Illinois

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r147/dekalbSTEEL/DPP_0162.jpg
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r147/dekalbSTEEL/DPP_0160.jpg

Dude, Thats a sweet bike! :) and no matter what the situation, unless its stolen, and I doubt very much that it is stolen, I think you should keep it and try to keep it orig, that paint is very workable, the rust will come off with a little work, and the paint can be revived with a little cleaning and buffing, if you repaint it, it wont be orig, and thats what its all about with these bikes, a great phrase I learned at the Schwinn site,"Its only orig once!" that light is a Delta light, even in the shape its in it might fetch you anywhere from $40.00 on up! ;) I ask you to please keep me in mind should you choose to sell/trade it :)

That's amazing. I'd probably pee myself if I found that in the woods.

I was wondering where I left my bike! Thanks for finding it.:D

Anyone have any info?

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r147/dekalbSTEEL/DPP_0167.jpg
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r147/dekalbSTEEL/DPP_0171.jpg
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r147/dekalbSTEEL/DPP_0166.jpg
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r147/dekalbSTEEL/DPP_0165.jpg
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r147/dekalbSTEEL/DPP_0164.jpg

Sheldon Brown has alittle about the Mead Ranger on his site. Sheldon Brown owns one, but it's a older 1916 roadster, he seems to think their well made bikes.

Tom

COOL FIND !
A number of manufacturers did Rangers for Mead.Among them are Schwinn,Columbia,Phillips,and Manton and Smith.I am reasonably certain this one was done by Manton and Smith which was also a Chicago bicycle manufacture of bicycles.I think this is a 1950's bike.I have a similar bike with spring fork and tank,missing the light though.
Grab it while you can.

Well, that bike looks kind of lonely sitting there in the woods. Looks like it's been waiting for an awful long time for someone to find it. It's not getting ridden there in the woods. Check with the police but please rescue that old bike.

Well if it's public property then sure, it's obviously been abandoned and is free for the taking. But if it's private property then the OP must ask the landowner if he can have it. I would hate to think someone could be coming along with fresh flowers to place by the bike come spring and find it gone.

Besides, it would be worth talking to the landowner to get "the rest of the story".

Im sure that if someone set this up as a memorial they would have sense enough to place a sign or posting of some kind stating so, "In loving memory of whoever" Im also sure that there would be flowers or something visible from past visits, or a religious item like a cross and so on, anyone that leaves a bike alone for any reason shouldnt be surprised when they come back and find it gone, be it a thief or just the junk man, again, Im sure its what it is, a cool bike left out to rust by someone that obviously no longer wanted it. :)

You still can't take it without landowner permission if it's on private property, no matter how much you want it.

I think its kinda cool sitting out there, its the old mystery bike. The only reason I'd like to see it removed and put in safe keeping is in case some dumb vandals spot it and smash it up. Seen it happen before, a mall parking lot was being expanded and dug out all the way out by some peoples backyards and I spotted some older bikes sitting behind someones shed rusting away, one of them interested me so I knocked on the door and asked if I could have it, wasnt interested in the other one so it was left there, few weeks later I noticed it missing, and spotted it over the guard rail all demolished all over a buncha rocks.

And if someone does grab it, well I hope they don't just do so to sell it either.

Thanks for all the great replies! It's definitely on private property. I might check with the homeowners on either side of the lot and see if I can find anything out. I had seen Sheldon's mead before, but that was the only info I could find up until this point. I'll keep you guys posted....

Hi dekalbSTEEL-

You almost have a responsibility now as a rider to talk to the landowners. They might be pleased to have someone take it off their hands...and it also won't settle into a small mound of iron oxide on the forest floor if you can intervene!

~ Blue Jays ~

A morbid thought, did the previous owner look for a quiet wooded area to take a final ride?
You may have literally stepped on the previous owner on your way over to take the photos.
Hope not, but look @ sites like the doe network, and you relize how many people are missing- or not missed.

You still can't take it without landowner permission if it's on private property, no matter how much you want it.


Im not telling the guy to go on private property and break the law :rolleyes: but he should most definately find out if its not wanted and ask if he could have/buy it just so the above stated reasons dont become reality :) Id hate to see it smashed to bits or end up at the scrap yard, if it were me I would have found out the moment I saw it! ;)

if the bike was dumped illegaly cleaning up an illegal dump site is not a crime it is a public service

If only I were in Chicago.....

That is a 50s bike with older handlebars. Frame is unusual, looks a lot like it was made by the same company that made JC Higgins bikes. Murray I think. If it was me I'd have it already.

Whats going to happen is that you will go talk to the gezzer who was hopeing that someone would steal it and when he sees that you have intrest in it he'll sell it to you for 300 bucks.

I think it looks a little like my Coleson Commander? Well the front sprocket anyways, Take a look and tell me what you guys think????

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/stumpyspic/commander002-3.jpg

<<I think it looks a little like my Coleson Commander? Well the front sprocket anyways, Take a look and tell me what you guys think????>>

Thats a Wald sprocket. Much like the rack and the chaingard on the other bike it is seen on many different brands of bikes. That being said that Colson has some great lines for a 50s bike. Very sweet.