MY MUSSELMAN HUB

[Steve '75]

I've had this old girls Elgin hanging on the wall for over twenty years and I noticed it had one of those old finned Musselman hubs so I took it down, cut it free of the rotten spokes and gave it a cleaning and re-packing. Under the crud I expected chrome or cadmium plate. What I got looks like thin black paint over brass plating. Is this normal? I stopped scrubbing.
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[Dr. Tankenstein]

If it's painted black, it may be a 'war time' hub. During WWII, bike hubs were painted black to same the resources for the war effort.


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[Steve '75]

If it's painted black, it may be a 'war time' hub. During WWII, bike hubs were painted black to same the resources for the war effort.


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My thoughts as well but the bike was not military. Perhaps it was just a way to use up old wartime parts. I'm thinking of removing all the black finish for a steam punk look.

 

[Bicycle808]

Doesn't have to be military to have a war-time finish. The hub simply had to be produced then.

 

[Jpromo]

Picture of the bike? It does look like a black enamel, which was the wartime finish of choice. They typically turn up more on very early postwar bikes than actual wartime bikes. I've never seen a blackout Musselman either, but it looks legit.

 

[Steve '75]

The bike is a girls Elgin. I'm still fumbling around when it comes to posting pictures. The same bike is shown by some guy as the sex change bike.

 

[Crassly]

I have never seen a complete blackout Musselman either, but I do have some nos Musselman blackout adjusting cones, so I assumed the hubs existed.

 

[bikesnbuses]

Bumping up an old thread..They DO exist!
I scored some NOS wheels that came out of an old auto parts store and there was one complete NOS wheel with the Musselman black finned hub! AND the nipples WERE painted black(mostly worn away)

 

[Bicycle808]

Is it weird that i'm more fascinated by vintage coaster hubs than i am by vintage frames? That black-out air-cooled Elgin/Musselman hub is just such a compelling little piece of metal. If i owned it, i probably wouldn't even lace it until i'd spent a few hours just gazing at it.