Posted 10 years ago
DoubleLDes…
(7 items)
I bartered with a fellow bike enthusiast the other day for this early pre-war bike frame. I have been told it is Mead but not really sure. The first photo is after I found some parts for the bare and dented frame. After a few hours of straightening the frame I began putting old salvaged parts on the frame and decided to keep it simple and clean. quick paint job and a few pinstripes here and there...and English saddle and I took it for a ride. It is nice to be able to be the first person to revive something such as this and enjoy a momentary trip back in time....I'm 62 but doing this makes me feel ....well....much younger!
A lovely looking old bike, nicely restored. Straightening the frame sounds challenging. Is that gas torch work? I'm in Australia, so the brand is not familiar to me, nor the design. I hadn't heard the term skip tooth before either, but after a close look at the front sprocket, I can see where it comes from. Is there a reason for that tooth pattern? Does it have a practical purpose? Looking closely at the back wheel in your second photo, I'm wondering, does it have a hub brake?
Nice bicycle , the original term for that style chain and sprockets is twin roller, skip tooth has unfortunately replaced it. Keep on building them !
Yeasty, I inquired about the "skip-tooth" on a bike posted about 4-5 days ago & got a good clear definition. Very recent so I'll let you do the search. Was interesting.
These are not my "bag" but I always give a "LUV" because I have passions for things & appreciate others rescuing objects of their passion.
Yeasty, I just looked at my comments & it was DoubleLDs who posted this bike! Maybe he can "patch" the info without going thru it all again? You can save him time by going back 2 days on posts. Hi, Double, again.
Thanks Blunderbuss. It appears that skip link chains were far more widespread than I would have guessed. A younger friend tells me he had such a setup on a bike in the 70s. Advanced metal technology made them obsolete as far as I can see, with lighter , stronger roller chains and better sprockets taking over. I think components in my youth (post WW2) were of poor quality. I well remember very worn sprockets, pedal cranks, etc. I appreciate your comments leading me to investigate bikes on CW. They're very popular to collect and restore, and quite different to the style we had in Australia.
Yeasty, I'm 68 and didn't know they were that common. Learn something every day! I've found it very interesting. I've filed it under "Interesting- but probably useless info", for me anyway.