Yes, the chain was upside down, I just got it home.

Is it really a track bike or just a bike built the way they built them in those days?

I'm afraid that any attempt to restore it would ruin it. I'd just wipe it down with some oil and hang it up.

For all you non-believers, the bike is completely apart. The seat post tube is still shiny with zero rust.

+1, good question. But coaster brakes did exist at that time. This is from a period when the top end bikes, what the professionals rode, were track bikes. So any bike with any pretensions was made like a track bike.

Whatever it is, it is totally cool. I look forward to more photos.

Since you pulled her apart, I'm guessing your not just going to hang it on the wall. What are your plans with it? The world is dying to know!

I'm always amazed at how modern these 100+ year old bikes look. If you look at the frame geometry, the dropouts, the headset, they havent changed much in all these years. I recall seeing a circa 1900 parts catalogue on this forum a while back and thought the same thing then.

BTW, love the handlebar shape.

Looking forward to pics of the disassembled bike. I say go for it!

Not sure yet, right now I'm preserving it, and find the missing parts. I'm undecided on a full restoration or leaving the patina, either way I want to take care of the rust and get it complete. Though it won't be a rider, I would like to be able to take it for a spin if I desired.

For comparison purposes, you might want to take a look at this thread about a track bike that -holiday76 dug up a few years ago. I'm almost finished restoring that one now; it turned out to be an "Alvin" from the "Velox Cycle Company" (i.e. New York builder Alvin Drysdale). The serial number, which is stamped under the BB and on the back of the fork crown, points to a 1936 date. So obviously a later bike than yours; but it resembles yours in a lot of details: bolted seat stays, mashed front dropouts, crude lugs, etc. The Alvin was the bottom of Drysdale's line at the time; the high end bikes were really quite lovely.

The lugs, BB shell, fork crown, and presumably tubing on the Alvin were all British. BB shell and BB bearings were all made by Walton and Brown. The words "British Made" were stamped on the left side of all the lugs and on the outside of both rear fork ends.

I am guessing yours, since it has a cottered crank and lugged construction, came from a small maker who like Drysdale used English components.

Certainly a difficult decision.

I'll throw my vote in for a partial resto. Clean-up the rust, and hopefully bring out the intricate and beautiful graphics on the frame, get the needed parts and make it rideable again. It will make a great conversation piece and it would be a real kick to take a spin on that when you want!

it just may be english made, standard nor metric wrenches fit the nuts and bolts...

wow-you got the post out!

do some reading about nickelplating-it is possible to do yourself if you read up-it looks great also.

do a good inspection on the rims to see if they are rusted beyond use, if they were squeezed from tube they normally rust in the seat area.

if they are 28" I might be able to help you

No rust on the rims, they are wood.

I think puch meant check for termite damage on those rims...(sorry, couldn't resist...)

I admit, I know nothing of wooden rims. Do you think it would be ok to ride on 100yo wooden rims?

That would depend on the condition of the rims, but the fact that they're 100 years old wouldn't be a reason to doubt them. You'd sit on a 100 year old chair, right?

Nope, wouldn't want to be held responsible in case it broke.

I'd also toss my vote in for this, being able to ride it would be oh so cool.

I would personally do a full restore/repaint, everything. Get it to a %100 rider again. The only thing that I would be super attached to would be trying to recreate that awesome edwardian swirling design on the DT and ST.

I'm leaning towards a full resto, I plan on keeping this bike and don't think I would be happy unless I do.

Yay!

You've got yourself a fine piece of history there, sloar.

One thing I'm curios about is the front hub, it looks like a rear hub, but where the cog would screw on there's a big nut, what's up with that?

Same front and rear spacing? Maybe one could have different cog sizes and swap them?

I have no idea what I'm talking about.

I think you shouldn't remove the rust if you are going to keep it.
Rust actually acts as a protector on the metal. Just wipe it with an oily rag every so often.

If the wooden rims are buckled at all then here is what i do.
Dismantle the spokes completely and then tie the rims as tight as possible to a metal rim that is straight.
Bind the rims with twine all the way around as tight as you can.
Soak them in hot water for a while and then let them dry naturally.
When fully dry they should be straight. Don't try to straighten them with a spoke key how you would a normal rim.

Then the fun starts when you rebuild the wheels. For some reason the spokes turn into spaghetti!

Someone bumped an ancient thread and I stumbled on this post. Not the same bike, obviously, but there are some noteworthy similarities.

Interesting, please keep posting pictures of your progress. I myself would have oiled it down and hung it on the wall, but that seat post revealed some strong metal - could it actually be ride-able one day?