We did Christmas early this year because my family will not all be in town. I got this B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L Mercury bike. It is all original. I don't know if this qualifies as a "fresh find" but I am so excited, I just had to share.
My Mercury Christmas Present :)
- Thread starter carlalotta
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Wow, it even has the Stewart- Warner floating front hub! That bike would make anyone merry! ~Adam :mrgreen:
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Hi Hannah! Yeah, I'd say that qualifies as a "Fresh Find" and as a "Great Christmas Present" It's a beauty!
That is one of the coolest ladies bikes. The Murray Mercury was Viktor Schreckengost first bike designed for the 1939 World's Fair. He is the same genius behind the Sears Spaceliner.
Very nice bike especially if that is original paint. 1939-1941 would be the year.
Very nice bike especially if that is original paint. 1939-1941 would be the year.
Thats pretty cool, how does that floating hub work?
:shock: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :shock:
WOW!!!! That is beautiful!!!!
:shock:
uh, yeah... that defianatly qualifies! sweeeeeet!!!
that is very clean and classy. definatly a keeper and thanks for sharing.
uh, yeah... that defianatly qualifies! sweeeeeet!!!
that is very clean and classy. definatly a keeper and thanks for sharing.
Wow, that's beautiful! I love the way the lines/grooves/ridges in the goose neck stem line up with the grooves in the grips and the grooves of the cowl that wraps around the head tube, as well as the grooves in the tank. Shoot, they're even accentuated in the chain guard too! Pic 2, although sideways, shows it well. (Turning my monitor on its side was a pain but worth it! :lol: ) Anyway, what a beauty!
You got Mercury...... I got coal!
You got Mercury...... I got coal!
maddogrider said:
In earlier times springer
and girder front forks were much more common, but they took materials & labor to build. During WW2 Production Engineers literally wrote new chapters on manufacturing techniques departing from the earlier more costly industrial processes. Stewart-Warner developed the "Floating Hub" for the front wheel as a less expensive solution to dampened front forks. These had an offset axle which could rock back and forth in the hub with road conditions and braking to achieve the same effect as a spring dampened front fork. This rethinking produced at a lower production cost as these could be bench crafted from small cast or stamped parts and the wheel building would not require any different skills of the builders. One thing for sure, the later 50's saw a lot fewer springer forks on the market and more lighter or Mid-weight bikes being built. The Schwinn Sting Ray saw a revival of the springer fork in the early sixties, but the springers weren't long in the Post War era. Nor were the Floating Hubs.
