Vintage Bicycle Item Quiz

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eDJ

eDJ

Member
Jul 8, 2008
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Wayne National Forest
This particular board needs this thread in my Opinion. There are some old timers here
and it would be nice to have them post photos of old stuff if they would and pose the
question What is this ?

I'll go first with this expample. I've thought about these some in the past as I've scavenged
for old bicycle parts and accessories. Haven't came acorss one though and this is the first
photo I've even seen of one.

So, how many here know what it is. (I know) Check out the photo below.
 

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eDJ

eDJ

Member
Jul 8, 2008
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Wayne National Forest
Right about the Siren :D

They began to disappear in the late 1950's as municipalities outlawed them. They were
legal to sell in some localities but not install and use. An Uncle of mine showed me the one
he still had and we turned the bike upside down and turned the pedals as hard as we could
while he held the drive to the tire. Wow, was it loud.

The second, and I'm not positive, is a wind driven speedometer where the impeller drives
the needle which points to the numbers in 5 mph increments. The one shown is about a 1928
model. I once saw one made of plastic which worked similar.

Anyone else got any old stuff to post that may be out of the usual ?

Here's another with the name blocked out. Anyone know what it is ?
 

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fasteddy

Well-Known Member
Feb 13, 2009
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British Columbia Canada
When you said not a generator I remembered seeing the slots in it.
In the early 50s a pal of mine's father owned a hardware store and gave him a siren.
We snuck out one summer night after midnight and went down the long steep hill through town.The only good thing was his dad had sold a few of them and the town cop couldn't find the culprit.
It was a boyhood well spent.
My parents owned the bowling alley in town and I heard all about what would happen if it happened again.Strange part was they would always be looking at me when they said it.
eDJ there is loud and there is loud on a late summer night as it echos down a small town main street.
Sweet.
Steve.
 
eDJ

eDJ

Member
Jul 8, 2008
530
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Wayne National Forest
Yep, those are chain tensioners. More common on a lot of motorcycles of the sixties and
seventies. I've only seen a few bike frames which were designed to use them. I've also seen
the frames which had an adjuster screw which screwed down at a 45 degree angle against the
axle to position it back in order to align the rear wheel and adjust the slack out of the chain.

That dynamo is a Sturmey Archer circa 1928 I believe. It cranked out 8 volts. Earlier SA
Head lights sit to one side with a drive which rubbed the tire and the shaft turned the generator
in the back of the head lamp. Those were late teens and early 1920's.

It's fun looking for this stuff and then figuring how it could be replicated to use for vintage
eye candy. Cause even if I found it I doubt I could afford it. LOL

I have a question for some of those who may know about vintage seats. They are showing a
commercial on TV now where this girl looks at her bicycle and tells it she'll be riding it again after
neglecting it. Ya know the one ??? The seat looks like it has three coil springs under it. One in the front and two in the back. Anyone know what it is ?
 
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2door

2door

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Sep 15, 2008
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Littleton, Colorado
eDJ said:
Would you know what this is if you ran onto one at a swap meet. They were common
at one time.
Click to expand...
This is another type of speedometer, I think. I'd have to assume that air pressure against a bellows moves, maybe a red or yellow band over the green and reads out in MPH on the side scale. The picture is deceiving because it is rotated 90 degrees to the left. This device actually mounts vertically on the bars. Notice the "Up" and 'Down" on the ends.

I just saw that commercial last night and I too noticed the saddle. It looks like one of those high dollar British items, or maybe a cheaper reproduction. Don't have a name....maybe Foster? It looks comfy though.
Tom
 
eDJ

eDJ

Member
Jul 8, 2008
530
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Wayne National Forest
Tom, that's quite a logical conjecture and it would make an interesting speedo, but
Oscylly wins the CIGAR on this one.

It is actually a "Grade-ometer" or as we would today call it an inclinometer. It's from
the mid to late 1920's when multi speed rear hubs were beginning to be affordable
for the public. Strumey-Archer had offered 3,4, and as many as 8 speed hubs in those
days. I believe their gears were contained within the hub.

The Grade-ometer" allowed a less experienced rider to have better command of his
gear hub while learning to use it to compensate for the road grade he or she was traveling.

Below is an old 3 speed Strumey-Archer from 1902. And a later 1913 advertisement "On The
Level" explaining the merits of owning a bicycle so equiped for dealing with grades on a ride.
It was common for boys and men to have to walk thier bicycles over a hill in those times.

Strumey-Archer provided different gears in that time so a bicycle could be "set up" by the local
bicycle shop to custom fit the bicycle to the rider and the countryside around him. Thus this
enabled an owner to enjoy faster travel, greater efficiency with his or her effort, and a more
productive work life as motors for bicycles were still beyond the reach of the masses when so many
didn't have public transportation or automobiles and had to rely on a bicycle. Remember in this
time America was just entering it's Industrial Revolution.

We are now in what is called the Third Industrial Revolution with the information age.
Ironically many of us are enjoying motorized Vintage Replication bicycles to ride to work
during this third revolution ! :D
 

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fasteddy

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eDJ--The bike I rode through town on the siren raid was a CCM with a Strumey-Archer 3 speed.
If I remember CCM was Canadian Cycle Manufacturers who made a vast amount of sports equipment.
There was a thumb lever to shift the gears and I don't remember there ever being any problem with them.They stood up to us so they had to be bullet proof.
On your wheel tensioner there should be a piece in front of the nut that was a channel shape and bridged the gap where the axle went.The nut tightend on it and and pulled on the axle.Every bike I saw in the 50s had them.The worst part was you lost them in the dirt/grass when you worked on your bike and pretty soon nobody had them.Don't think anyone missed them.
Steve.
 
eDJ

eDJ

Member
Jul 8, 2008
530
1
18
Wayne National Forest
In another thread here at MB some of us were talking about the saddle that's on the
bike in the HayFever commercial presently showing on TV. Where the young woman
talks to her bicycle promising to ride it again soon......

Well, here it is below. Who makes it and what's it called ? (I found a source for them)
 

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fasteddy

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Feb 13, 2009
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Looked CCM up on wikipedia.It stood for Canada Cycle and Motor.They made cars as well up untill 1915.
Look up the sight because they have a picture of a Workman style delivery bike with a Pixie motor bike motor on it.I only want one.
Steve.
 
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