1 Owner Hiawatha

[Georgeediii]

I bought this today from the original owner. He got it as a Christmas gift as a kid and rode it his whole life, or at least until the mid 70's. He couldn't remember when he hung it up in the barn but said it had to have been 20 to 30 years ago. He remembered taking the chain guard off and painting it as a teenager but other than that and the front tire it appears to be all original. Sadly the chrome is pitted pretty bad. The Cadet speedo lens is cracked and fogged over but the mileage reads 2450. Anybody know how to date this one?

 

[1959firearrow]

Depending on which rear hub you have there may be numbers that will tell you what year the bike is if the wheels have never been swapped. Neat bike for sure!

 

[kingfish254]

Sweet score!
That paint looks like it will clean up pretty nicely!

 

[dogdart]

It has a Shelby sprocket with a Roadmaster tail lense , wich indicates it was built in 1952 or after , when Shelby was sold and production merged with Cleveland Welding bikes . What is the Serial # ? It may have the date of manufacture .

 

[Jpromo]

I've never seen this frame. The front half looks pretty typical but the rear triangle, with the straight seat stays, is really throwing me off. Taking the 3-speed parts into consideration, it almost looks like an English built copy of american bicycles. I know there was a strike at Murray in the mid-50s, leaving 1956 models to be built in Austria, mimicking the curves of american frames. Maybe AMF had the same thing happen at this time? Frames sourced out elsewhere with leftover parts to finish the bikes off? The forks look like forged CWC but I've never seen them with caliper mounting holes.

This is all just speculation, of course.

A picture of the rear dropouts and serial number would help!

 

[dougfisk]

I think this is the CWC built, (Gambles badged), answer to the Schwinn Jaguar of the 54/55 time frame, a 3 speed, hand braked, full zoot deluxe balooner. I have seen a couple called Falcon. As was said, CWC and Shelby of this era usually have a year code in the serial. And SA 3 speed hubs usually do as well.

 

[Georgeediii]

After further review it is a 53 Cleveland Welding. It was so unlike the other CWC bikes I have had that I just assumed it was something else but the serial number tells no lies. Definitely an odd duck.

It has been quite a week for bikes around here. Today I was killing time after dropping my wife off at an appointment when I stopped to grab a flyer at a house for sale by owner. The owner came out and insisted on showing my around the place. I knew I wasn't interested in the house but I had an hour and the older women seemed very excited that someone was interested in her mother's house. Along the way we stuck our heads in the attic and look what I found.





The Schwinn is pretty much a basket case but I am kind of digging the green one. More pics to come when my wife is at work... she still hasn't discovered that I brought them home.

 

[B607]

He got it as a Christmas gift as a kid and rode it his whole life, or at least until the mid 70's. He couldn't remember when he hung it up in the barn but said it had to have been 20 to 30 years ago.

If he rode the bike until his mid 70's, then hung it up 20-30 yrs. ago, he would be 90-100 yrs. old. :shock: Just sayin',

I agree with Al Bundy :wink: It looks like a Schwinn Jaguar clone. Right time period too. Gary

 

[Georgeediii]

He got it as a Christmas gift as a kid and rode it his whole life, or at least until the mid 70's. He couldn't remember when he hung it up in the barn but said it had to have been 20 to 30 years ago.

If he rode the bike until his mid 70's, then hung it up 20-30 yrs. ago, he would be 90-100 yrs. old. :shock: Just sayin',

I agree with Al Bundy :wink: It looks like a Schwinn Jaguar clone. Right time period too. Gary

He rode it until THE mid 70's not HIS mid 70's

 

[Jpromo]

After further review it is a 53 Cleveland Welding. It was so unlike the other CWC bikes I have had that I just assumed it was something else but the serial number tells no lies. Definitely an odd duck.

Wow, always seeing something new with these old things. I wonder if it was an experiment using the, then-standard, forward dropout. I did not know of any CWC product to use the forward dropout until AMF swallowed them in '55 or so. Looks like they redesigned the whole rear triangle to utilize it. Definitely chasing after the unicorn, Schwinn.

 

[Gold Street Customs]

Nice finds, California don't have attics for the most part, basements are unheard of

 

[deorman]

I expect the rear triangle is probably model-specific to accommodate the larger SA hub. :|

 

[B607]

He rode it until THE mid 70's not HIS mid 70's

Okay, that makes more sense. 8) Gary

 

[SCHWINNRAY69]

Nice find! I like that frame design!