PRE WAR FRAME QUESTION

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axsepul

axsepul

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is this setup exclusively found on pre war frames?
why did they stop building frames like this?
 
They made a lot of frames after the war that had rear drop outs. I think the reason they changed was to make it easier to remove the wheel with forward facing drop outs. If you deal with them much ,you will find by the time you unscrew the adjusters and mess with trying to get enough slack to take the wheel off its an archaic design....looks cool though. :roll:
 
CWC frames had the rear facing dropouts with chain adjusters up to and including 1953. I think the chain adjusters are great for wheel alignment but the forward facing are easier to remove. I don't back off my adjusters - I take the chain apart and the wheel goes right back into the same adjustment.
 
Also, if you don't have your bike with its rear facing dropouts in tip top shape, meaning, the axle nuts aren't tight enough, the brake arm is something other than properly attached, and/ or you have a chain break there's potential to lose the wheel right out the back, but probably not.
The forward facing dropouts do a great job of keeping the rear axle located securely in the dropouts under any conditions.
 
i know a lot of people that see this set up and automatically say that is a pre war frame. is good to know on what year each company stopped using this set up so it will serve as frame id help when buying a frame since most of the time when you find a frame that is for sale you dont have the time or the literature at hand to verify what the seller is telling you.

thanks for all the help
 
I thought maybe you had a specific situation you were working with.

There were lots of brands back then so it would take a pretty decent amount of knowledge to know what brands stopped when.

Your best bet is our walking bicycle encyclopedia Phil...aka rms37. :wink:
 
Rat Rod said:
I thought maybe you had a specific situation you were working with.

There were lots of brands back then so it would take a pretty decent amount of knowledge to know what brands stopped when.

Your best bet is our walking bicycle encyclopedia Phil...aka rms37. :wink:
Click to expand...

i know i wish i had that knowledge. motorcycles that use chains have a similar set up and aligment is way easier and more precise. it just seems like a better design!!
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Well, the last time I looked at one, track bikes were still using them, or at least Paramount (Schwinn). I'll admit it wasn't anytime this week. :mrgreen: Too complicated (costly :wink: ) to make coaster brakes with motored-type slip through axles.
 
Huffman had some very wide rear facing drops postwar. As well as Shelby, Westfield/Columbia, and Murray. I think Schwinn was the only one to switch to all forward (excluding race bikes) drops postwar. Possibly Snyder/Rollfast, but I'm not sure. Short version is that rear facing drops were phased out by 1954, along with skip tooth chain, which was last seen on some 55 JC Higgins models. -Adam
 
There is some confusion relating to rear facing dropouts/fork ends. Some people believe that rear facing dropouts signify that the frame is pre-war, this is false. In fact the term pre-war is pretty much a marketing keyword. Another belief is that rear facing dropouts (usually on diamond frames) means that it is a track frame, this is also obviously not true. Track bikes have rear facing dropouts, even modern ones. Modern road going fixed gear bikes have them as well. Most roadster bicycles including vintage English ones and modern Indian and Asian models have them, as well as almost all bmx bicycles. Many 26" bmx cruisers in the 80's used them. Worksman still uses them on their bikes. On modern rear facing dropouts rear mounted adjusters are used, if used at all) The advantage of forward facing dropouts is that you can remove the wheel without removing the chain. I imagine the switch for cruisers probably was for safety reasons, maybe so that if the nuts were loose the wheel wouldn't fall off?

I believe Schwinn switched to forward opening dropouts after 1944.
 
Just another bit of info to add, I have what is either a Dayton or a Huffy from either 1950 or 1952 that has rear facing dropouts.

Not being able to take the wheel off without 'breaking' the chain is a hassle but adjusting the rear wheel is much easier.

Rear facing dropouts also look way better to me.
 
Bikes were starting to get heavier with fenders and racks and it was asking a lot from the axle nuts to hold all that load on the rear axle. Most manufacturers started attaching the fender braces and rack legs directly to the frame. If you've ever tried to install a rear wheel on a bike with fenders and racks and rear facing drop outs, it can sometimes be a chore to get everything lined up properly!
 

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