scottbot84

old_bike.jpeg

larger version: https://sdlitwiller.homelinux.net/kscan_0001.jpeg

Hi everyone

My girlfriend just came back from a photography convention with this picture. No idea what this bike could be, but I'm kind of curious. Anyone have any ideas?

The type of photo dates it to the early 1900's. Presumably it was taken at or near Ava, IL, so it could be a Chicago bike company (either Mead or Schwinn)

The head tube angle on this thing is crazy, but it looks like it still has horizontal dropouts. Could be for touring or similar but I'm not sure.

This probably belongs in the vintage forum, but i figure I should give the fixie/ss crowd first look.

fixkid

looks like a pista

dijos

I think it's an old schwinn. I saw a pic recently of a very similar bike, with the same wacky seat setup with the support post. It also looks like cottered cranks. the headbadge doesn't look like the right shape, though..

scottbot84

yeah the headbadge is what's throwing me too. Also the crank doesn't look like the right style to be a mead (Sheldon Brown has a mead ranger I think).

On another note the gearing looks pretty crazy, but the cog is probably large too

Oh No

mercier kilo tt

scottbot84

link to a bigger version (still not a ton of detail though)

https://sdlitwiller.homelinux.net/kscan_0001.jpeg

dijos

https://media.nasm.si.edu/webimages/6...-28254_640.jpg
is a 1910 wright bros bike; your bike looks to be the same period.

scottbot84

that looks really close, obviously the same style.

I think it was taken between 1910-1920, so same time period yeah

dijos

this is driving me nuts. Mead also had a big factory In chicago, but trying to id this bike throught the chainring is a labor of love.

thatcher

thats a slack chain, super rake model

scottbot84

lol don't forget that Sears and possibly Montgomery ward were making bikes at this time possibly. Looks to be too nice to be one of those though.

Its driving me nuts too, but I'm not sure where to look. Should it get bumped to vintage maybe?

vuduchyld

Those handlebars are gangsta! He needs to tighten up that chain.

dijos

I'll laugh if C&V id's this bike in 5 minutes. It could be a columbia, with thte size/shape of that headbadge, too.

Landgolier

I'm thinking the sloped fork crown is going to be one of the telltale ID marks, but this is way above my pay grade.

In 1969 they did a reprint of the 1902 Sears catalog, and there are still copies of it everywhere. I don't have one, but I remember it having a bicycle section. If you can find one of those (local library?) it might be of some help.

scottbot84

interesting stuff from the vintage forum

a b seize

i found the geneology of L.D. Lee. didn't include any information about the bike though. lived 1914-1968. i wonder if that's him or if L.D. Lee took the picture.

666pack

s.d. lee is probably the photographer or at least the owner of the studio the picture was taken in. before cameras were a household item, people would go to pose for photographs in a studio. you would go sit for a photo with some kind of prop that was popular in those days, i.e. civil war soldiers often posed with sabres and other acoutrements of war. that bike is most likely a prop in the photographer's studio.

when you were done sitting for the photo, the photographer would develop it and mount it in a little cardstock frame like that to keep it safe. i'm a history major and i've seen a lot of old photos like this one. my grandmother actually has one much like this hanging in her living room, i'll see if i can get a picture of it and maybe some information about it when i see her next.

bbattle

Ask the C and V folks.