HP Snyder Peerless ID

[Peerlessguy]

Hello ratrodbikes members, I was wondering if I could get any info on what year, model, etc. my prewar peerless bicycle. It was made by HP Snyder, same as rollfast.

 

[Peerlessguy]

Here is a picture. I will try to get more pictures of the rear of the bike up soon. I added the homemade truss rods, so please do not take them into consideration.

 

[RustySprockets]

Absent any further information, I'd probably date this somewhere between 1936-39. The chainring style and straight downtube are right out of that era. Maybe someone else can narrow it down more.

 

[Peerlessguy]

Thank you RustySprockets. I was thinking the same time period based on the frame, however the rear hub is a new departure model C. They stopped making those in 1933, so I was a little unsure of year.

 

[RustySprockets]

I'd call that "a clue." If nothing else, it pulls the date estimation needle toward earlier rather than later. I suppose there was a period of overlap while leftover Model C supplies were consumed, but I doubt it would have been very long.

 

[Peerlessguy]

Thanks for the info. Is there any way to tell a year from the serial number? Or are there no records for HP Snyder? Also, here's a picture of the full bike.

 

[RustySprockets]

I'm not aware of an existing serial number list, but sometimes there is a method of assignment to the numbers that has been decoded. If such a scheme is known, perhaps someone else can chime in here.

 

[Peerlessguy]

Thank you. Any other info would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ReVo]

Can you get us a picture of the number on the bottom bracket? I know there is a way to tell but only after 1940. The early ones are kinda difficult.

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[Peerlessguy]

I know of the reverse date code after 1940. It does not have that, so I suspect pre-1940.

 

[jd56]

Keep in mind that it was not unheard of, that the wheelset could have been replaced by the previous owner.
Nice project!

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[ReVo]

It's interesting. I have a 48 Snyder frame that has a similar chainring. It has the reverse code on the bottom bracket and front facing dropouts.

I also have a 37 Snyder built rollfast bike. Oddly enough the last number in the serial is a 7. Whether or not that has any relation to it being a 37 I have no clue. It may be a push in the right direction though.

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[Rustinkerer]

Reverse year codes ran from 40 - 56. -Adam

 

[Phil Fink]

The chart below has information from Adam @Rustinkerer and others; and a lot of backwards guessing into yesteryears.

Not sure how reliable any of it might be; especially the teens, twenties, and seventies.

 

[Rustinkerer]

The chart below has information from Adam @Rustinkerer and others; and a lot of backwards guessing into yesteryears.
View attachment 174743
Not sure how reliable any of it might be; especially the teens, twenties, and seventies.

I do know there are "I" serials in '67, and they went back to A in either '69 or '70, some debate after that. The sources I've read say Snyder shut down in '76, and AMF & Westfield/Columbia made Rollfasts long enough to fill existing orders. I've seen both. -Adam

 

[Phil Fink]

I'll work on fixing it then.

From congressional hearing July 14, 1977.

Also, wondering about 1952-54, skipping 2 letters I and J, or maybe I missed it?

 

[Phil Fink]

A post from the BMX Museum website and elsewhere:
https://ratrodbikes.com/forum/threads/mossberg-mx.31186/#post-305536From the book: Mossberg More Gun for the Money:

"in early 1973, Mossberg purchased the stock of the HP Snyder company of Little Falls, NY.

"At the time we bought Snyder, they mostly made bikes for DP Harris under the "Rollfast" name, as well as contracts for Montgomery Ward.

"Shortly thereafter, we started selling them to Western Auto, Sears, and other distributors we had contracts with for the firearms and other products. Mossberg marketed their bicycles under their own brand rather than Snyder. Most of these bikes were sold to the contract market, and were therefore never stamped with the Mossberg name, but those sold to the smaller accounts did carry the Mossberg logo on the frame— a distinctive crest shield in red, yellow, and blue with armored helmet above the shield and full Mossberg name below the emblem.

"Around 1976, Mossberg lost their big contracts with DP Harris and Wards, and closed the bike business".

 

[hammer mechanic]

I have a Peerless similar to that of the OP. Straight down tube, drop stand tabs on the dropouts, cinch bolt for seat post. The rims are mismatched, with a drop center in front and a flat profile rim similar to a Schwinn S-2 in back. Don't know if the springer is original or not. The bike was ridden regularly well into the 60s. The serial # doesn't match any of the examples. Any ideas?

 

[hammer mechanic]

Took some of the black paint off. Looks like the number was stamped over the top of the original #. Original # is pretty much obliterated.

 

[Phil Fink]

If the prefix is a letter “Z” versus a number “1” or “7” then the year 1938 might fit.
(Rollfast workers may have had difficulty in fully stamping by hand such tall letters on a curved round surface).

I believe that the semi-streamlined frame (with the straight down tube) was 1937-1942 for Rollfast bicycles.

Also, the letter “X” suffix is not likely to have the same meaning as an “X” prefix letter.