bykemike 

This just came into my life, a Monark Silver King bicycle. 3 speed IGH hub, mostly original, rides but needs a new chain.

This is pretty weird but seemingly high quality, all aluminum but seems to be solid aluminum so it is a heavy guy.

Any info is appreciated especially re: age etc.
Thanks, Mike

bykemike 

I am going to need some guidance with this old boy.

I put on a chain and it can be ridden and shifted a bit. It appears this is not an IGH but a common Schwinn coaster brake hub with a...thing.. that hangs on the chain side of the hub that seems to be a set of planetary gears to get a couple of speeds. That kinda floats on the hub and is a bit sketchy at this point, it spins a 26 T sprocket.

I did find a serial number on it , engraved in the left rear drop out "056650"

I love the front fork lock!

Piff 

Solid aluminum? That must have cost a fortune to produce back in the day.

bykemike 

I'm hoping to find someone that knows these bikes. I have looked at a few hundred images of Monarks during the day today without seeing a single one that looks like this one with the solid aluminum backbone, unsprung forks and the multigear/coaster brake drivetrain.

I rode this today for a mile and back on the local MUP, there are issues certainly but it is a rideable bike with a future. As soon as I have a bit more info I'll break this down and scrub the crap out of it, should be easy since there is no painted parts and all raw metal.

I believe the pedals are correct and original, the seat appears to be stock, the fenders..I'm not sure. I've put a bid on a few rear hubs on eBay. I think I'll take the shifter apart and see if I can work with that, it does shift most of the time but it has a false neutral and, when it is in that mode, you lose the ability to stop.

I love working on these old things.

TenGrainBread 

These are definitely considered collectable by a certain group of enthusiasts. Unfortunately for you the C&V forum here tends toward lightweights. Post this on the CABE and you will get a better response.

AdventureManCO 

2nd'd. The fine folks on this sub-forum tend to concentrate on 1960s-1980s lightweight road bikes, whereas the fine folks at the CABE mainly focus on your 1900-1950 bikes, especially moto bikes and balloon tire bikes like this. This is their bread and butter, and can tell you everything about it, including all the right or wrong parts. They also tend to prioritize originality above ALL else, including the original finish, no matter how derelict. Looks like a fine bike, and an awesome find. Good luck with it!

thinktubes 

Mostly true - I cut my teeth on bikes from the 1930-60s. I like to see a Monark, Rollfast, or the occasional Elgin.

rogerm3d

This is a really interesting bike. With a bit of digging it looks like the bike is probably from the mid to late 1930s (probably a 1937 Delux Men's M-137 "Wingbar"). On the hub it looks like there was a conversion kit applied to the hub to convert it from a model D single speed to a two speed model DD.
A Fully Restored Monark Silver King Wingbar
Monark Silver King Bicycles
New Departure Hub Info
better New Departure Hub Photos
New Departure Model D breakdown
EA Labs Horn History

bykemike 

Roger and all who responded, thank you so much.

Thanks for responding to me about this bike, I really appreciate the time and effort you put into it, I am trying to avoid making a mistake in how I handle the bike.

In light of what you dug up for me it may be best to see that this bike gets into the hands of someone who will have the knowledge and skills to see it is restored rather than hacked together just to ride it around as a curiosity,

I expect I will join the Cabe sometime in the next couple of days and get some thoughts from the segment of the biking community that sees the value in a bike like this.

As you mentioned about our groups preferences in C&V, my first thought when putting this bike in my work stand was " heavy"!

I will update as this goes.

nlerner

A couple of years back, a friend showed up on one for a C&V ride. Sorry about the lousy non-drive side pic:

cocoabeachcrab 

that is awesome! i have a couple of mid 30's








silver kings, but i chose to not go the original route (no surprise there...) both of my frames were really corroded, and one had a few cracks that i had repaired. i started out with 160 wet dry sand paper and worked up to 1000 on the good frame, and just 600 for the other one, and that was a project that i did with my granddaughter... she didn't have the patience to keep sanding! for her bike, we got single speed fat tire wheels and then decoupaged silver surfer comic book clippings on the rims. the other bike was converted to a 5 speed with a re-chromed atom freewheel coaster brake rear hub.

TenGrainBread 

cocoabeachcrab Love those bikes. The decoupage is awesome. How did you go about repairing the cracks in the frame?

cocoabeachcrab 

the fellow who sold me the frame had a frame builder acquaintance that stop drilled the crack, cleaned it out and then injected a 2 part epoxy. he said it would take Andre the giant to break the crack open. he preferred that method over welding, as the lug is kinda thin. been riding it for 2 years now with no issues.

etherhuffer 

cocoabeachcrab 

where did those awesome wheel disks come from? i would love to put some on my silver king!

DanBikeFan

I love these bikes! Some amazing resto-mod work in this thread. I always amazes me that Vitus and Alan re-invented lugged aluminum frames sometime in the late 1970s, while American manufacturers had been mass-producing kids bikes using that technology in the 1930's. Monark even made a tricycle version, which must be incredibly rare.

Love the e-bike conversion as well. I was thinking of doing something similar with a Schwinn middleweight, but was concerned about the brake power. etherhuffer, do you find its adequate?

etherhuffer 

This was spotted on a ride in West Seattle. It’s a mid drive e-bike conversion. Apparently it is a good set up save for riding in a cross wind! No idea on where there wheels came from

romperrr 

Very beautiful builds on this thread. Never seen this bike before. Love learning new things. Can someone educate me on how those disks would be a good setup in a cross wind? Seems like it would be a real drag.

bykemike 

Terrible in a cross wind, they look really good though. Just discs that sandwich the existing wheel and attach to each other. They may be made by moon, that is a moon sticker you can see on the rear disc.

tcs

I liked seeing the downtube/seat tube/chainstay construction on this frame. Is there really anybody on this forum that doesn't know what a chainwheel looks like?

tcs

The New Departure Model D was an advertised feature - and one of the few old coasters one can source refurb/overhaul parts for.








That looks like the New Departure two-speed. After the War they offered a three-speed.

tcs

It's realllllllly hard to invent anything absolutely new in cycling.

thumpism

I saw a Silver King for sale years ago at the Hillsville (VA) Gun Show and Flea Market about 40 years ago. Had no need for it but really wanted it. Common sense prevailed.

cocoabeachcrab 

i've heard of common sense as a concept, but never seem to figure out how to apply it.