htarvainen

Hello! I have this Crescent (the owner says she recalls it's from 1964-65) bicycle and have had no luck on finding the specific model. Some similar ones have come across, but the star shape on the pedals for example doesn't mach any I've found, or some have 26" wheels instead of the 28" on this one etc.

This one has 28" wheels, and the reason I want to identify it is to make it easier to find new wheels in better condition than the current ones. I think similar hoops (brown) can be found on other bikes too (maybe Monarck, which I think at some point were same bikes as Crescents)?


So... Any ideas on the model, or where to start looking for new wheels or other spare parts. The current ones are in pretty bad condition and we'd prefer to have ones that look like these, but in better shape. Also it is missing the lamp, logo and reflectors on the back and front, which would be nice also, but not mandatory for riding it. Thank you in advance for any help, or even clues!

thumpism 

Pedals could easily have been replaced and since yours have the integrated reflectors they are very likely to be newer than the rest of the bike. Love the foldup carrying handle on the front of the seat tube. If these are true 28" wheels and tires (28 x 1 1/2, 635mm bead seat diameter) you might have some difficulty finding new rims the same size but tires are still in production. The Raleigh DL-1 Tourist uses that size and you could cannibalize one of those bikes for the parts you need. However, from the photos yours do not appear to be in bad condition. Good luck with this neat machine. If I were you I'd keep it as original as possible.

If you can find the serial number on the frame there might be a database of the brand's numbers and a pattern to determine the year.

palincss

If all you want to do really is get better wheels, figure out what size the wheels are and go find (or build) some. The specific model of bike really doesn't matter and wouldn't offer any additional help beyond what you already know and can tell simply by looking at the wheels you have now.

htarvainen

Thanks. It has the number N700588 near the saddle, but I can't find information based on it. I tried this "Cykelhistoriskt register" which had many serial numbers, but not this one. Also none of the images in the site's picture section matched.

I would also prefer to keep is as original as possible, maybe I should just get someone to change the spokes from the wheels, and perhaps the hubs, at least on the front wheel it's a bit shakey and I'm not sure opening, cleaning and oiling it would help.

I'm no expert either when it comes things more complicated than changing tires and your basic adjustments, seems there are so many similar spare parts out there and I always get the wrong ones which leads to frustration.

Velocivixen

I've don't what you've suggested before - using the original hub & rim and rebuild with new spokes & nipples.

htarvainen

Yes I know, and now the main priority is to get it in good riding condition so I'll propably settle for that at first. But I would eventually prefer to have original wheels or something very similar, I've seen similar wheels on other bikes in different colours, just not sure what type I'm looking for, keywords etc.

juvela

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Pedals look to be Union. By "star pattern" poster is referring to chainwheel. Could we have an image of head emblem, if present? May we have an image of drive side? Thank you.

You will receive excellent and very to-the-point information at the Swedish bicycle forum:

https://translate.google.com/transla...e/&prev=search

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thumpism 

Also 28" in Euro-bike-speak frequently means 700C (622mm bead seat diameter) and not really 28 x 1 1/2 so he might have more options. OP really needs to read the numbers on the tire sidewall and report back.

htarvainen

Hi again, I couldn't get to resizing and posting pictures in the weekend so here are some new ones now. 28 x 1.75 is what it says on the tire. Also it's unfortunately missing the head emblem, so I don't have pics of that.

The fixing is now in process, a friend said he'd propably be able to restore the original wheels, so we'll see how that goes and hope it works.

T-Mar

With painted Westwood rims and eyelets for a fender skirt, that bicycle would be older than 1960s, if it were USA manufacture. However, I'm not familair with what was happening in Sweden at the time.

The tyres are 47-622 which is a common size used on modern hybrids, so there will be no issue obtaining replacement wheels and tyres. However, I'd question replacing OEM, pinstriped rims. I'd be trying to use these rims, if at all possible.

Edit: If the rear hub is Fitchel & Sachs, it may have a date code which can be used to determine the year.

thumpism 

Loooove the chainguard.

htarvainen

Yeah, we'll hope the guy can fix the original wheels! I'll have to check the rear hub again more carefully, but from what I quickly looked last time, I didn't notice a serial on it. Of course it might also be worn out since the hub doesn't look exactly new.

Thank you for everybody's input!